Country: Azerbaijan

Group: Kurds

Date Finalized: 11/5/2021

Team: Mason McNeel (lead), Deneb Bobadilla, Johanna McCombs

Content Warning: forced relocation

Approximate Time Period: 1937, 1992

The Kurds are an ethnic group that originate from a region in the middle east that includes Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Armenia (BBC, 2019). In 1937, Soviets forcibly moved Kurds from Azerbaijan to other parts of the Soviet Union (McDowall, 1977). Until 1992, most Kurds living in Azerbaijan occupied areas around Nagorno-Karabakh (Civic Education Lecturers Association [CELA], 2017). Azerbaijan and Armenia each claim control over the Nagorno-Karabakh area which has resulted in a longstanding conflict between the two countries (Minority Rights Group, 2015). During the first Nagorno-Karbakh conflicts, beginning in 1992, many Kurds were expelled from the Kalbajar region, and an additional two thousand left specifically to avoid military enlistment (Minority Rights Group 2021; McDowall, 1997). In the same year, Kurdish refugees attempted to create an autonomous region in Azerbaijan (McDowall, 1997). The domestic policies of Elchibei contributed to the failure of the autonomous region, extradition, and refugee status of the Kurdish people (Minority Rights Group, 2021; Veliev, 2001). The Kurdish people are now scattered throughout Azerbaijan which contributes to an artificially small population represented in the census (Minorities Rights Group, 2021). Currently, most Kurds occupy the western part of Azerbaijan in the Lower Caucasus Mountains, specifically in the Lachin and Kelbadjar districts (McDowall, 1997).

The Kurdish people of Azerbaijan are victims of forced migration at various points during the 20th century.  The data quality is rated as a 2/3 because of the use of few credible sources to verify the information presented.

Sources

  1. Minority Rights Group. 2015. Armenians. (2015, June 19). Minority Rights Group. https://minorityrights.org/minorities/armenians/
  2. Civic Education Lecturers Association. (2017). Civic education and practices of democracy in post soviet countries.
  3. McDowall, D. (1997). The Kurds. Minority Rights Group.
  4. Minority Rights Group. 2021. Kurds. Minority Rights Group. (2021, February 5). Retrieved September 14, 2021, from https://minorityrights.org/minorities/kurds/.
  5. Mamedov, A. (2000). ASPECTS OF THE CONTEMPORARY ETHNIC SITUATION IN AZERBAIJAN. CA&C Press AB Publishing House.
  6. Veliev, A. (2001). KURDS IN AZERBAIJAN: A THREAT OR A GAME THAT POWER PLAYS? CA&C Press AB Publishing House.
  7. BBC News. 2019. Who are the Kurds? (2019, October 15). BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-29702440