On May 28, 1918 Azerbaijan declared independence from the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic, forming the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. This was the first sovereign republic in the history of the country, and the first ever democratic parliamentary republic in the Muslim world.
This year, Azerbaijan will be celebrating its Republic Day through various cultural events in a number of countries, including the United States, Switzerland, and Northern Cyprus.
In Northern Cyprus, the Azerbaijan Culture Center will hold “The Azerbaijani Night” on May 27, an event will be supported by the Azerbaijan Youth Initiatives Public Union, the Association of Turkish Cypriot Fighters and Near East University of Northern Cyprus. The programme will feature Azerbaijan performers, and will be aired by BRT state TV channel of the Northern Cyprus and Azerbaijan Public Television channel.
In Switzerland, the events celebrating the Republic Day of Azerbaijan, and Azerbaijan’s victory at the Eurovision-2011 song contest, will be held May 29 in Basel. The events in the United States will culminate with an Azerbaijani national flag raising ceremony in New York.