A chronology of events in Azerbaijan

10/05/05

1828

Russia and Persia conclude Turkmanchay Treaty, dividing Azerbaijan. Present-day Azerbaijan becomes part of the Russian empire.

1840s

First oil wells drilled near Baku.

1918-20

Azerbaijan enjoys short-lived independence, gained as a result of collapse of Russian empire, before re-conquest by the Red Army.

1922

Azerbaijan is part of Trans-Caucasian Soviet Federative Republic within Soviet Union.

1936

Azerbaijan established as separate union republic of the Soviet Union.

1967

Heidar Aliyev becomes head of Azerbaijani KGB.

1969

Aliyev named head of Azerbaijani Communist Party.

1982

Aliyev becomes full member of Soviet Politburo.

1987

Heidar Aliyev leaves Politburo.

1988

Inter-ethnic strife hits Nagorno-Karabakh region. Ethnic Azerbaijanis begin to leave Karabakh and Armenia and ethnic Armenians leave Azerbaijan. Violence in Azerbaijani city of Sumgait leaves at least two dozen ethnic Armenians and six Azerbaijanis dead.

1990

Inter-ethnic tension in Karabakh escalates. Trouble also occurs in Nakhichevan exclave, as local residents agitate for more open border. Soviet and Iranian authorities ultimately agree to ease border-crossing restrictions. Inter-ethnic violence in Baku leaves at least 100 dead and prompts intervention by Soviet troops.

Ayes Mutallibov named Azeri Communist Party leader. Communist Party retains power in parliamentary elections, but opposition Popular Front also gains representation.

1991

Azerbaijan regains independence after failed coup attempt against Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev sparks the collapse of the Soviet Union. Mutallibov becomes Azerbaijani president. Heidar Aliyev assumes leadership of Nakhichevan exclave.

Armenian leadership of Nagorno-Karabakh declares the region an independent republic. Warfare between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces breaks out.

1992

More than 600 Azerbaijanis are killed as they flee an Armenian attack on Karabakh town of Khojaly. Ethnic Armenian forces establish land corridor linking Karabakh with Armenia proper.

Mutallibov forced to resign. Abulfaz Elchibey, leader of Popular Front, becomes president.

1993

Armenian forces occupy Azerbaijani territory surrounding Karabakh. Political instability rocks Baku. An uprising led by an army commander, Col. Surat Huseinov, prompts Elchibey to invite Aliyev to return to Baku. Elchibey subsequently steps down, and Aliyev assumes leadership of the country. His rule is later ratified in a referendum.

1994

Armenia, Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh sign a ceasefire accord. Ethnic Armenians remain in control of Karabakh and a swathe of Azerbaijani territory around it. Aliyev acts to consolidate his authority, cracking down on Popular Front. Later he declares a state of emergency following what he characterizes as a coup attempt.

Azerbaijan signs what it calls the "deal of the century" with a consortium of international oil companies, led by British Petroleum, for the exploration and exploitation of three offshore oil fields.

1995

Karabakh functions as de facto independent republic, holding legislative elections. Robert Kocharian becomes Karabakh leader. The Aliyev-led New Azerbaijan Party wins controlling share of seats in parliamentary elections. Voters approve a new constitution in a referendum.

1997

Kocharian becomes prime minister of Armenia proper. Aliyev and his Armenian president Levon Ter-Petrossian agree to OSCE proposal for step-by-step Karabakh solution. Fierce domestic opposition to peace plan in Armenia forces Ter-Petrossian to resign. Kocharian becomes president of Armenia.

1998

Opposition activists complain that president election, won easily by Aliyev, is marked by fraud. International monitors note irregularities.

2001

Azerbaijan becomes full member of Council of Europe, despite criticism about the country's human rights record. US-brokered talks on Nagorno-Karabakh, held between Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents in Key West, Florida, reportedly produce tentative deal to settle the conflict. However, the deal, if it existed, ends up falling apart.

Following the September 11 terrorist tragedy, the United States lifts sanctions against Azerbaijan imposed over Karabakh conflict. Azerbaijan becomes ally in anti-terrorism campaign.

Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey reach agreement on oil and gas pipelines linking Caspian fields with Turkey.

2002

Construction work starts on multi-billion-dollar pipeline to carry Caspian oil from Azerbaijan to Turkey via Georgia. The Pipeline is known as Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC).

2003

Aliyev appoints his son, Ilham, as prime minister. In April, Heidar Aliyev collapses while making speech. He is rarely seen in public after that. Ilham wins a landslide election as president in October. Opposition leaders, complaining about vote-rigging, mount a protest. Authorities crack down hard against opposition. Authorities announce in December that 80-year-old Heidar Aliyev has died.

2005

Journalist Elmar Huseinov, an outspoken government critic, is killed in Baku in March. Opposition supporters believe killing was politically motivated. Police use force to break up an opposition rally in Baku in May. The same month, authorities and diplomats celebrate the formal opening of the BTC pipeline. Azerbaijan and Armenia renew search for Karabakh peace settlement under the so-called Prague Process.

Posted October 5, 2005 © Eurasianet