Under consecutive Persian, Ottoman, and Russian influences, Azerbaijan, one of the world's major oil producers in 1900, attained independence in 1918.

• 1920 Red Army invades. Soviet republic established.
• 1922 Incorporated in Transcaucasian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (TSFSR).
• 1930 Forced collectivization of agriculture.
• 1936 TSFSR disbanded; Azerbaijan a full union republic (ASSR).
• 1945 Attempted annexation of Azari region of Iran.
• 1985 Gorbachev tackles corruption in Communist Party of Azerbaijan.
• 1988 Nagorno Karabakh seeks unification with Armenia.
• 1990 Nagorno Karabakh attempts secession. Soviet troops move in.
• 1991 Independence.
• 1993 Heydar Aliyev president; reelected in 1998.
• 1994 Cease-fire in war with Armenia over Nagorno Karabakh.
• 1995, 2000 General elections. Noncommunist YAP in power.

From "The Financial Times World Desk Reference" © Dorling Kindersley 2004