Russians in Azerbaijan
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Russians ( az, Azərbaycanda ruslar / Азәрбајҹанда руслар, russian: Русские в Азербайджане; ''russkie v Azerbajdžane'') are the second largest ethnic minority in
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...
and is also the largest Russian community in the
South Caucasus The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Arme ...
and one of the largest outside of
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
.Russian Community of Azerbaijan Celebrated 15th Anniversary
/ref> Although in decline, the community still numbers 119,300 people as of 2009. Since their arrival at the beginning of the 19th century, the Russians have played an important role in all spheres of life, particularly during the Czarist and Soviet period, especially in the capital city of Baku.


History

Although a Cossack outpost near
Lankaran Lankaran ( az, Lənkəran, ) is a city in Azerbaijan, on the coast of the Caspian Sea, near the southern border with Iran. As of 2021, the city had a population of 89,300. It is next to, but independent of, Lankaran District. The city forms a dis ...
already existed in 1795, the first Russian civilian settlers in Azerbaijan arrived only between 1830 and 1850, after the ratification of the
Treaty of Turkmenchay The Treaty of Turkmenchay ( fa, عهدنامه ترکمنچای; russian: Туркманчайский договор) was an agreement between Qajar Iran and the Russian Empire, which concluded the Russo-Persian War (1826–28). It was second ...
. In 1832, the forced transmigration of Russian Old Believers and so-called ' sectarians' from the inner provinces of Russia to the South Caucasus began. In the mid-1830s ethnic Russians from the governorates of
Tambov Tambov (, ; rus, Тамбов, p=tɐmˈbof) is a city and the administrative center of Tambov Oblast, central Russia, at the confluence of the Tsna and Studenets Rivers, about south-southeast of Moscow. Population: 280,161 ( 2010 Census); 29 ...
,
Voronezh Voronezh ( rus, links=no, Воро́неж, p=vɐˈronʲɪʂ}) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on ...
, and Samara began to arrive in the Shamakhy and Shusha uyezds, establishing the settlements of
Vel Vel ( ta, வேல், lit=Vēl) is a divine javelin or spear associated with Murugan, the Hindu god of war. Significance According to Shaiva tradition, the goddess Parvati presented the Vel to her son Murugan, as an embodiment of her shakti, ...
, Privolnoye, Prishib, Nikolaevka, and
İvanovka İvanovka (russian: Ивановка) is a village and municipality in the Ismailli District of Azerbaijan. It is at a height of 848 m above sea level, 13 km far from Ismailli region. The municipality consists of the villages of İvanovka an ...
.Volkova. "Ethnic Processes in the South Caucasus in 19th-20th centuries" Caucasian ethnographic collection, ed. "Science", Moscow, 1969 For some time, the 'sectarians' were forbidden to settle in cities, until later when they founded neighbourhoods in
Shamakhy Shamakhi ( az, Şamaxı, ) is a city in Azerbaijan and the administrative centre of the Shamakhi District. The city's estimated population was 31,704. It is famous for its traditional dancers, the Shamakhi Dancers, and also for perhaps giving i ...
and
Lankaran Lankaran ( az, Lənkəran, ) is a city in Azerbaijan, on the coast of the Caspian Sea, near the southern border with Iran. As of 2021, the city had a population of 89,300. It is next to, but independent of, Lankaran District. The city forms a dis ...
. In 1859 they were allowed to settle in Baku. According to census records, by 1897, the Russian-speaking population of the Baku Governorate was 73,632; another large population of Russians was centered on Elisabethpol (modern Ganja), with a population of 14,146. In the second half of the 19th century, the South Caucasus saw an unauthorised settlement of mainstream Russian Orthodox migrants, mostly landless peasants from European Russia. This process became widespread after the legalization of such migration by a special decree issued on 15 April 1899. In 1914 there was a large population of Russians in both Baku and Elisabethpol Governorates and adjacent uyezds of the
Erivan Governorate The Erivan Governorate was a province ('' guberniya'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire, with its centеr in Erivan (present-day Yerevan). Its area was 27,830 sq. kilometеrs, roughly corresponding to what is now most of central A ...
, the largest groups being in the uyezds of Goychay, Shamakhi and Lankaran in the Baku Governorate and the Elisabethpol uyezd in the Elisabethpol Governorate. Mass urban migration was also taking place. A favourable economic situation in Baku attracted many people from all over the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
. The Russian population of Baku grew from around 37,400 in 1897 to 57,000 in 1903 and reached 76,300 by 1913. Interethnic conflicts in the
South Caucasus The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Arme ...
that accompanied the
Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
,
Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
, and Azerbaijani declarations of independence in 1918 greatly impacted the Russian population. After the army of Azerbaijan suppressed the pro- Denikin and pro- Kolchak and later
Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
political movements in
Mughan Mughan plain ( az, Muğan düzü, مغان دوزو; ) is a plain stretching from northwestern Iran to the southern part of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The highest density of irrigation canals is in the section of the Mughan plain which lies in ...
, much of the Russian population of the steppe chose to relocate to the
North Caucasus The North Caucasus, ( ady, Темыр Къафкъас, Temır Qafqas; kbd, Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, İṩxhərə Qauqaz; ce, Къилбаседа Кавказ, Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; , os, Цӕгат Кавказ, Cægat Kavkaz, inh, ...
, even though the
Musavat The Müsavat Party ( az, Müsavat Partiyası, from ar, مساواة ''musāwāt'', ) is the oldest existing political party in Azerbaijan. Its history can be divided into three periods: Early Musavat, Musavat-in-exile and New Musavat. Early Musa ...
-ruled government of Azerbaijan recognised their ownership of the lands which belonged to the prior to the
October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mome ...
. Less than half of them returned in 1921, after the defeat of Musavat. Russian parties were represented in the parliament of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic up to Sovietization of Azerbaijan in 1920. Migration trends continued in the Soviet epoch, when qualified professionals from other parts of the Soviet Union moved to Azerbaijan (mainly to cities). Russians remained the largest ethnic group in Baku, according to the 1926 and 1939 censūs. In Ganja, the Russian population constituted 8.2% in 1926. Overall, 26.6% of the total urban population of Azerbaijan in 1926 and 35.7% in 1939 were Russians. The last massive wave of Russian migration in Azerbaijan was observed in 1949, having to do with the development of the industrial city of
Sumqayit Sumgait (; az, Sumqayıt, ) is a city in Azerbaijan, located near the Caspian Sea, on the Absheron Peninsula, about away from the capital Baku. The city has a population of around 345,300, making it the second largest city in Azerbaijan after Bak ...
north of Baku. The activation and subsequent rise to power of the National Democratic
Azerbaijani Popular Front Party The Azerbaijani Popular Front Party (APFP; az, Azərbaycan Xalq Cəbhəsi Partiyası, ) is a political party in Azerbaijan, founded in 1992 by Abulfaz Elchibey. After Elchibey's death in 2000, the party split into two wings, the ''reform'' win ...
in the early 1990s was generally met by Azerbaijan's Russian population with disbelief, although from the advent of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict local community organizations unanimously supported the Azerbaijan's position with regard to
Nagorno-Karabakh Nagorno-Karabakh ( ) is a landlocked region in the South Caucasus, within the mountainous range of Karabakh, lying between Lower Karabakh and Syunik, and covering the southeastern range of the Lesser Caucasus mountains. The region is m ...
.Aryeh Wasserman. A Year of Rule by the Popular Front of Azerbaijan. Yaacov Ro'i (ed.). ''Muslim Eurasia: Conflicting Legaies''. Routledge, 1995; p. 153 The deterioration of the Azerbaijani-Russian relations and the ensuing anti-Russian propaganda of the Popular Front played contributed to the concern of the Russian population for its future in Azerbaijan. Although, according to the then Russian ambassador to Azerbaijan Walter Shonia, the new government did not pursue the policy of suppressing the Russian population, the press and some party leaders in their speeches supported the nationalist feelings by mentioning
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
as an ally of
Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...
in the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict and a power which sought to deprive Azerbaijan of its newfound independence. The events of
Black January Black January ( az, Qara Yanvar), also known as Black Saturday or the January Massacre, was a violent crackdown on the civilian population of Baku on 19–20 January 1990, as part of a state of emergency during the dissolution of the Soviet Uni ...
, the economic downturn, and the war with Armenia, coupled with growing pessimism and psychological discomfort, and pressure from the Azeri refugees from Armenia led to the exodus of Russian-speaking population of Azerbaijan. Between 1989 and 1999, the numbers of the Russian population fell from 392,000 to 142,000, of which 63% were women and the median age was 41 (compared to 26–31 across the country).


Concentration

According to the 1999 census, Russians comprised 7% of the population of Baku with approximately 120,000 of its 1.7 million people. This is significantly lower than in the middle of the 20th century when Russians comprised about a third of the population. Smaller concentrations of Russians, including Cossacks, live in Sumqayit, Ganja, Khachmaz, Mingechaur, and
Shirvan Shirvan (from fa, شروان, translit=Shirvān; az, Şirvan; Tat: ''Şirvan''), also spelled as Sharvān, Shirwan, Shervan, Sherwan and Šervān, is a historical Iranian region in the eastern Caucasus, known by this name in both pre-Islam ...
. Additionally, small Russian communities, some the descendants of exiled 'sectarians' and Old Believers, live in a number of villages throughout the country including Ivanovka in the Ismayilli Rayon; Slavyanka, Gorelsk and Novoivanovka in the
Gadabay Rayon Gadabay District ( az, Gədəbəy rayonu) is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the west of the country and belongs to the Gazakh-Tovuz Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Dashkasan, Shamkir, Tovuz, and ...
, Chukhuryurd, Gyzmeydan (formerly Astrakhanka) and Nagharakhana (formerly Kirovka) in the Shamakhi Rayon and Rus Borisi in the Goranboy Rayon. Approximately 500 Russians live in the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan. ; Change in numbers of Azerbaijan's ethnic Russian population


Language

Russians in Azerbaijan speak
Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
as a first language. However, the Russian vernacular of Baku reveals a series of distinct features in
phonetics Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that studies how humans produce and perceive sounds, or in the case of sign languages, the equivalent aspects of sign. Linguists who specialize in studying the physical properties of speech are phoneticians. ...
,
vocabulary A vocabulary is a set of familiar words within a person's language. A vocabulary, usually developed with age, serves as a useful and fundamental tool for communication and acquiring knowledge. Acquiring an extensive vocabulary is one of the la ...
and prosody, characteristic of Russian-speakers of all ethnicities in Azerbaijan. They are considered to be the influence of
Azeri Azerbaijanis (; az, Azərbaycanlılar, ), Azeris ( az, Azərilər, ), or Azerbaijani Turks ( az, Azərbaycan Türkləri, ) are a Turkic people living mainly in northwestern Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan. They are the second-most numer ...
. Furthermore, the originally Southern Russian dialect of the descendants of the 'sectarian' Russians still bears many traces of Old Russian which have been lost in literary Russian. Despite the strengthening position of the Azeri language, Russian continues to be a vernacular language of Baku. Periodicals and other literature are printed in it. Russian-speaking writers are united by an organisation called ''Luch''. Unlike in
Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
, Russians in modern Azerbaijan are more likely to be bilingual in Russian and the national language, with many being fluent in Azeri.


Religion

The majority of Russians in Azerbaijan are adherents of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, although a small number identify as atheists. The first Russian Orthodox church in Baku was built in 1815. In 1905, the Baku Eparchy, currently known as the Eparchy of Baku and Azerbaijan, was established; it currently oversees five subordinate churches. Outside of Baku, where there are three churches, Russian Orthodox churches function in Ganja and Khachmaz. There are officially registered communities of
Molokan The Molokans ( rus, молокан, p=məlɐˈkan or , "dairy-eater") are a Spiritual Christian sect that evolved from Eastern Orthodoxy in the East Slavic lands. Their traditions—especially dairy consumption during Christian fasts—did not ...
s in Baku, Sumqayit, and
Shamakhi Shamakhi ( az, Şamaxı, ) is a city in Azerbaijan and the administrative centre of the Shamakhi District. The city's estimated population was 31,704. It is famous for its traditional dancers, the Shamakhi Dancers, and also for perhaps giving it ...
.Religious communities have passed state registration
The State Committee of Azerbaijan for Work with Religious Organizations.


Notable people

*
Anatoliy Banishevskiy Anatoliy Andreyevich Banishevskiy ( az, Anatoli Andreyeviç Banişevski; russian: Анатолий Андреевич Банишевский; 23 February 1946, in Baku – 10 December 1997, in Baku) was an Azerbaijani footballer. Throughout most o ...
*
Nikolai Baibakov Nikolai Konstantinovich Baibakov (russian: Никола́й Константи́нович Байбако́в; 6 March 1911 – 31 March 2008) was a Soviet statesman and economist who served as Minister of Oil Industry from 1944 to 1946 and 1 ...
*
Garry Kasparov Garry Kimovich Kasparov (born 13 April 1963) is a Russian chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist and commentator. His peak rating of 2851, achieved in 1999, was the highest recorded until being surpassed by ...
* Vyacheslav Lychkin *
Vladimir Makogonov Vladimir Andreevich Makogonov ( rus, Влади́мир Андре́евич Макого́нов, August 27, 1904 – January 2, 1993) was a chess player from Azerbaijan SSR. He was born in Nakhchivan but lived in Baku for most of his life. He ...
* Maksim Medvedev * Matvey Skobelev


See also

*
İvanovka İvanovka (russian: Ивановка) is a village and municipality in the Ismailli District of Azerbaijan. It is at a height of 848 m above sea level, 13 km far from Ismailli region. The municipality consists of the villages of İvanovka an ...
- one of the largest Russian villages in Azerbaijan. * Azerbaijan-Russia relations * Azerbaijanis in Russia


References

*''Muradov GL, Poloskova TV, Zatulin KF, etc.
Directory Russian compatriot
// M. Russian World, 2006. 2nd edition - pp. 11–14 *''Zapletin H., Shirin-Zadeh H.''Russian in Azerbaijani history. - Baku, 2008


Further reading

*


External links


Friendly Association of Russian Cossacks of AzerbaijanFriendly Society Youth Department of Russian Cossacks of Azerbaijan

Russian community of Azerbaijan

Russian village İvanovka
(Russian) {{Ethnic groups in Azerbaijan Ethnic groups in Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...
* Azerbaijan–Russia relations Eastern Orthodoxy in Azerbaijan