Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (1918–1920)

On 28 May 1918 the Azerbaijani National Council adopted the Declaration of Independence in Tiflis. The government first sat in Ganja; on 15 September 1918, with the help of the Caucasus Islamic Army, Baku was liberated and became the capital.

Within a short time the republic created a parliament (opened 7 December 1918), an army, a flag, an anthem and a currency. Women were given the vote — a first in the Muslim world. Baku State University opened on 1 September 1919, and about a hundred young people were sent abroad to study.

On 27–28 April 1920 the Red Army entered Baku and the republic fell. Its flag and the idea of independence were revived in 1991, and 28 May is marked as Independence Day.