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October 18 1991· State day

Independence Restoration Day

On 18 October 1991 the Constitutional Act on the State Independence of the Republic of Azerbaijan was adopted.

Azerbaijan — Independence Restoration Day
Süni intellektlə yaradılmış illüstrasiya · Turkic Atlas

On 18 October 1991 a session of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Azerbaijan unanimously adopted the Constitutional Act on the State Independence of the Republic of Azerbaijan, declaring Azerbaijan the successor of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic of 1918–1920.

In a nationwide referendum on 29 December 1991 the people voted overwhelmingly for independence. Türkiye became the first country to recognise it, on 9 November 1991, and Azerbaijan joined the United Nations in 1992.

The holiday

Under a law adopted in 2021, 18 October is celebrated as Restoration of Independence Day and is a public holiday. It symbolises state independence, sovereignty and peace in the country; in Baku the Flame Towers and other landmarks are lit up in the colours of the tricolour.

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