The government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and its capital - the town of Baku
The Government o f Azerbaijan
IMMEDIATELY after the proclamation of the Independent Republic of
Azerbaijan, the National Council formed its government comprising 12 ministers,
natives of the country who had studied in Universities and technical schools in Russia
and abroad. The first act of the Azerbaijanian Government (residing at Elizabethpol-
Gandja) was to rid the town of Baku and its environs of the bolsheviks who had taken
possession of this region in march, 1918.
Baku, the capital o f Azerbaijan
Baku, known all over the world for its petroleum wells, is the capital of
Azerbaijan.
This town was, even at the time of the Russian domination, not only the
economic center but also the intellectual, religious and political nucleus of the
Moslem society of the Caucasus.
All the organizations of any importance, such as benevolent societies,
institutions for public instruction, social and political, press organs, etc. were founded
and are still being established at Baku. It is likewise in that town that the best
intellectual forces of the country congregate, professors, doctors, lawyers,
journalists,
etc.
Of very ancient origin, Baku is an old Moslem town, and it has remained so
in spite of all the changes of fortune. The citadel of the town contains the palace and
tombs of the khans, the legendary “Tower of the Virgin” (Kiz Kalasi). All these
monuments, living witnesses of the history of the people, prove the antiquity of the
town.
Most of the land and houses of the town used to belong to the natives of the
region and the still do. They also own most of the petroleum fields situated in the
vicinity of Baku and work a large number of oil wells.
Yet it is not the material side which interests the native population most, but
rather the traditions and cultural and historical remembrances connected with the
country. Not far from Baku are some sacred tombs venerated by Moslem, notably that