• Azerbaijan in 1828-1914

    1828-1914

Azerbaijan in 1828-1914

Khanates were abolished in northern Azerbaijan, and a curfew was established. Russia's colonial regime in Azerbaijan has dissatisfied all sections of the population.

In order to gain support in the region, Russia pursued a policy of resettlement here, creating a Christian support.

Beginning in 1818, Germans were deported to Azerbaijan. The largest German colonies in Azerbaijan were Yelenendorf and Annenfeld.

After 1828, 40,000 Armenians were resettled in Iran and 84,000 from the Ottoman Empire to Azerbaijani lands.

Beginning in 1830, the Russian population began to be resettled in Azerbaijan.

Uprisings in Azerbaijan:

1830 - Tsar-Balakan uprising - leaders Sheikh Shaban and Hamzat bey.

1831 - Lankaran uprising - leader - Mir Hasan khan.

1837 - Guba uprising - leader - Haji Muhammad

1838 - Sheki uprising - leader - Meshadi Mammad

The uprisings in Azerbaijan forced the Russian tsarist government to carry out reforms in the country.

1840 - The commandant's office is abolished under the administrative-judicial reform. The region was divided into provinces, and they were divided into districts.

The "Armenian province" established in 1828-1840 was abolished. In 1844, the Caucasian Substitute was established. The viceroy was directly subordinate to the emperor and had great powers.

The land rights of the highest Muslim class were confirmed by a 1846 rescript. 1847 - The "Peasant Regulations" define the taxes and duties of the peasants. After the situation stabilized, Russia began to pursue an economic policy of appropriation in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan was to be a source of raw materials for the Russian economy, where only primary processing enterprises were to be established.

In the 30s and 60s of the XIX century, agriculture was developing. Silkworm breeding and marena (gold dye) production were developing rapidly. During this period, large cotton plantations were established.

The first manufactory in Azerbaijan was the silk manufactory established in 1829 in Khanabad village of Sheki. Gradually, factories and factories, ie capitalist enterprises, began to appear on the basis of manufactories.

The peasant reform of 1870 gave the peasants personal freedom, and set taxes and duties. The reform was bourgeois and led to an influx of labor into the cities. With the judicial reform of 1866, district courts and conciliation courts were established. In 1878, the city was reformed in Baku, and the city Duma was formed. It began to be applied in other cities only in the 90s.

After the reforms, capitalist relations manifested themselves in all spheres. In 1872, with the abolition of the obligation system in the oil industry, there was a rapid development of the oil industry. In 1873, the construction of oil refineries began in Absheron.

In 1884, the Congress of Oil Industry was organized. In 1897, the Baku-Batumi oil pipeline was built. The first enterprise producing finished products in Azerbaijan was opened in 1900 - HZ Tagiyev's weaving factory.

In 1883, the Baku-Tbilisi railway was built. In 1900, the Azerbaijani railway was merged with the Russian railway.

In the second half of the 19th century, conditions were created for the formation of a nation in Azerbaijan: there was a sustainable economic unity; language, territory, cultural unity existed. During this period, a bourgeois class emerged in Azerbaijan.

A group of workers was formed from the hired workers. Mirza Fatali Akhundov began to use the term "nation", and in 1883 the term "Azerbaijani nation" was used in the "Keshkul" newspaper.

The national intelligentsia acted in the following directions: to enlighten the people; to awaken national consciousness; to develop the national language.

In the early twentieth century, Baku was considered the oil center of the world. In 1901, the Baku oil industry ranked first in the world. However, Northern Azerbaijan remained a Russian colony.

As a result of the economic crisis of 1900-1903, the process of concentration of production accelerated. The vast majority of industrial enterprises were owned by entrepreneurs from Europe, the United States and Russia, with only Azerbaijani capital dominating the ginning and fishing industries.

In the early twentieth century, Russia continued its resettlement policy in Azerbaijan. The Russian population continued to be resettled in Azerbaijan. The government's policy of national and religious discrimination has caused discontent among the population.

Forms of workers' struggle - demonstrations and strikes. The strike of 1904 took on a general character, affecting 50,000 people, and the capitalists had to pay part of the demands of the workers. On December 30, 1904, a joint agreement was signed between workers and entrepreneurs - the first collective labor agreement in the history of Russia ("Mazut Constitution").

Gradually, the demands for social justice began to take on a national-liberal character. The years 1875-1905 are called the "national awakening period". 1905-1917 is the stage of formation and organization of the national liberation movement.

In 1905-1907, the First Russian Revolution took place in Russia, and the national liberation struggle intensified in Northern Azerbaijan. The smuggling movement is intensifying in the regions of Azerbaijan, and workers are holding demonstrations and strikes in the cities.

The petition (demand for Muslim rights) prepared by the Azerbaijani intelligentsia and bourgeoisie on April 15, 1905 is the first national program of the national liberation struggle in Azerbaijan.

To put an end to the struggle, the Russian authorities pursued a policy of genocide. Armenian Hnshak and Dashnaktsutyun parties were given the opportunity to arm themselves and create terrorist organizations. On February 6-10, 1905, Armenians in Baku first implemented a policy of genocide. Later, the same events took place in Shusha, Nakhchivan, Irevan, Jabrayil and Zangazur. Thanks to the organization of the Azerbaijanis, the formation of local groups, the activity of the national bourgeoisie, all national clashes resulted in defeat for the Armenians.

Beginning in 1905, Azerbaijani intellectuals became the most active force in the struggle for Muslim rights in Russia. Alimardan bey Topchubashov played a key role in the political organization "Union-Muslim". Azerbaijani intellectuals also played a key role in the congresses of Russian Muslims. Topchubashov was considered the leader of all Russian Muslims.

In 1902, Mammad Amin Rasulzadeh founded the Muslim Youth Organization. In 1904, Hummat, the first social-democratic organization in the Muslim East, was established in Baku. Founded in Ganja in 1905, the "Zeal" party for the first time demanded national autonomy for Azerbaijan.

In order to fight against the Armenian ideology, the "Difai" party was established in 1905, and the "Defense" party in 1907.

In the autumn of 1905, the first parliament (State Duma) was formed in Russia. 5 deputies from Azerbaijan were elected to the I Duma, A. Topchubashiov was elected chairman of the Muslim faction of the Duma. Azerbaijanis also played an active role in the subsequent State Dumas (II, III, IV State Dumas) in Russia.

As Iran became a semi-colony of Russia and Britain, a revolution took place here in 1905-1911. The leading role in the revolution was played by South Azerbaijani figures. In 1906, the "Tabriz Social-Democratic Organization" was established in Tabriz, and the Azerbaijan Provincial Assembly (local government) was organized. In 1907, the Iranian parliament was formed in Tehran, in which Azerbaijani deputies played a key role. However, in 1908, the Shah's regime dissolved the parliament, and most of the deputies were arrested. As a result, the Sattarkhan movement began in Tabriz in October 1908. Sattarkhan, who organized military units, cleared all of South Azerbaijan of Iranian troops. Only in 1911, with the help of Russian military forces, the Shah's regime suppressed the Sattarkhan movement.

Azerbaijan in the XVIII - XIX centuries

© National History Museum of Azerbaijan