The 1993 Azeri ''coup d'état'', also known as the Ganja Uprising, was a

military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

led by

Azerbaijani military The Azerbaijani Armed Forces () is the military of the Republic of Azerbaijan. It was re-established according to the country's Law of the Armed Forces on 9 October 1991. The original Azerbaijan Democratic Republic's armed forces were dissolved a ...

commander

Surat Huseynov Surat Davud oghlu Huseynov (; 12 February 1959 – 31 July 2023) was an Azerbaijani military officer and politician who served as Prime Minister after ousting Azerbaijan President Abulfaz Elchibey in the 1993 Azerbaijan military coup. Huseyn ...

. On June 4, 1993, Huseynov's forces led a march from the city of

Ganja ''Ganja'' (, ; ) is one of the oldest and most commonly used synonyms for cannabis flower, specifically marijuana or hashish. Its usage in English dates to before 1689. Etymology ''Ganja'' is borrowed from Hindi (, IPA: �aːɲd͡ʒa� ...

to the

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

i capital of

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

in order to overthrow President

Abulfaz Elchibey Abulfaz Gadirgulu oghlu Aliyev (24 June 1938 – 22 August 2000), commonly known as Abulfaz Elchibey, was a Pan-Turkist Azerbaijani nationalist, politician and Soviet dissident who was the first and only democratically elected President in pos ...

who was elected in independent Azerbaijan's first free election in 1992. The Russia-backed coup ousted Elchibey and installed

Heydar Aliyev Heydar Alirza oghlu Aliyev (10 May 1923 – 12 December 2003) was an Azerbaijani politician who was a Soviet party boss in the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic from 1969 to 1982, and the third president of Azerbaijan from October 1993 to ...

as president.

Context

declared independence from the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

in 1991 amid the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

. Later that year, Azerbaijan became embroiled in the

First Nagorno-Karabakh War The First Nagorno-Karabakh War was an ethnic conflict, ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan, between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nag ...

against the breakaway

Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh Artsakh ( ), officially the Republic of Artsakh or the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh ( ), was a list of states with limited recognition, breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory was internationally recognised as part of Azerbai ...

backed by

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

n forces. In part due to unrest generated by the conflict, a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

deposed the government of

Ayaz Mutallibov Ayaz Niyazi oghlu Mutallibov (12 May 1938 – 27 March 2022) was an Azerbaijani politician who served as the first president of Azerbaijan. He was the last leader of Soviet Azerbaijan, and first President of Azerbaijan from 18 May 1990 until 6 M ...

, who was replaced in elections in 1992 by Abulfaz Elchibey.

Prelude

In the months leading up to the rebellion, divisions grew between Elchibey and top members of the Azerbaijani military apparatus, including

Minister of Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

Rahim Gaziev and

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Surat Huseynov, leader of the 709th Brigade. In February 1993, after military personnel reported accusations of insubordination implicating Huseynov and Gaziev, the Elchibey government took action to punish both leaders. Huseynov was ordered back to the capital

, but instead brought his troops to

. Gaziev was removed from his post later that month. In March, an offensive by Armenian forces in the Kalbajar region of Azerbaijan adjoining

Nagorno-Karabakh Nagorno-Karabakh (, ; ) is a region in Azerbaijan, covering the southeastern stretch of the Lesser Caucasus mountain range. Part of the greater region of Karabakh, it spans the area between Lower Karabakh and Syunik Province, Syunik. Its ter ...

lead to the occupation of

Kalbajar Kalbajar ( ; ) is a city and the capital of the Kalbajar District of Azerbaijan. Located in the Tartar Valley, it is away from the country's capital city Baku. Before the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, the city had a population of 7,246 people. I ...

, successful in part due to Huseynov's departure. The disastrous defeat placed pressure on the Elchibey administration, which responded by declaring a national State of Emergency.

Rebellion

On June 4, 1993, a contingent of troops sent by Elchibey's government to deal with Huseynov in Ganja were repelled. Following this affront, Huseynov's militia, armed with materiel left by the Russian 104th Airborne Division, began a "march on Baku" to confront the government. Immediately afterwards, dozens of Elchibey government officials resigned, and protests erupted demanding a change of government. Faced with strengthening opposition and looking for allies, Elchibey turned to

, former Azerbaijani

KGB The Committee for State Security (, ), abbreviated as KGB (, ; ) was the main security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991. It was the direct successor of preceding Soviet secret police agencies including the Cheka, Joint State Polit ...

head and chairman of the Nakhchivan Supreme Assembly. Backed by Elchibey, Aliyev mounted a successful bid to become

speaker of parliament The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hun ...

on June 15. On June 18, as Huseynov's militia neared the capital of

, Elchibey fled to his home in Nakhchivan. Order continued to deteriorate when an associate of Huseynov,

Talysh Talysh may refer to: *Talysh people, an ethnic group of Iran and Azerbaijan **Talysh language, the West Iranian language of these people ** Talysh, a historical region on the southwestern coast of the Caspian Sea, inhabited by the Talysh people *T ...

nationalist

Alikram Hummatov Alikram Hummatov or Ali Akram Hummatzade (also spelled as Alakram Hummatov, 28 October 1948 – 22 December 2022) was an Azerbaijani Talysh military commander and political activist. He was the president of the self-proclaimed Talysh-Mughan Aut ...

began another rebellion proclaiming an

autonomous republic An autonomous republic is a type of administrative division similar to a province or state. A significant number of autonomous republics can be found within the successor states of the Soviet Union, but the majority are located within Russia. Ma ...

in the

Lankaran Lankaran (, ) or Lánkon () 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 disti ...

region. In the absence of the elected president, on June 24, Speaker Aliyev was granted special powers by the parliament. The following day, Huseynov was appointed

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

, and the political situation began to stabilize. A referendum held on August 29 formally removed Elchibey from power, enabling Aliyev to be elected constitutional president in the elections held days later.

Aftermath

The tumult caused by the coup allowed Armenian forces to further capture the regions of Agdam, Fuzuli and Jabrail in the summer of 1993. Under the Aliyev government, Azerbaijani counteroffensives saw limited success in recapturing portions of the seized regions. As the conflict ground to a halt,

signed a ceasefire in May 1994, ending the war. In October 1994, relations soured between Aliyev and Huseynov, with the president accusing Huseynov of plotting a coup against Aliyev in league with OPON. Huseynov fled to

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, where he reunited with his former conspirator Rahim Gaziev. The two were later extradited and sentenced in Azerbaijan. Aliyev remained president, winning contested elections in 1998, until 2003 when power passed to his son

Ilham Aliyev Ilham Heydar Oghlu Aliyev (born 24 December 1961) is an Azerbaijani politician who has been the fourth president of Azerbaijan since 2003. He is also the leader of the New Azerbaijan Party since 2005. The son and second child of former Aze ...

. Deposed president

remained in Nakhchivan until his return to politics in 1997, later leaving the country for

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, where he died in 2000.

References

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Editing 1993 Azeri coup d'etat 1993 in Azerbaijan Conflicts in 1993 1990s coups d'état and coup attempts September 1993 in Asia

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

First Nagorno-Karabakh War Russian involvement in regime change

Context

Prelude

Rebellion

Aftermath

See also

References