Azerbaijan holds snap presidential elections on Wednesday boycotted by the opposition and expected to extend the autocratic rule of President Ilham Aliyev into fifth consecutive term.
Here are five points about the Caucasus nation known for its black gold, caviar, and dynastic rule.
For decades Azerbaijan has been ruled with an iron fist by a family which, critics say, has crushed the opposition and used their power to amass a fortune.
President Ilham Aliyev, who succeeded his father Heydar in 2003, is riding a wave of popularity after ending three decades of Armenian separatist control in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Cementing his family’s grip, he has appointed his wife as first vice president — after awarding her the country’s highest honour, the Order of Heydar Aliyev.
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The abundance of naturally occurring fires from the energy-rich nation’s huge underground gas deposits means many Azerbaijanis call it “The Land of Fire”.
The expression is rooted in Zoroastrianism, a fire-worshipping religion that dominated the territory of modern-day Azerbaijan before it adopted Shia Islam.
The pentagonal castle-like Baku Temple of Fire had an altar with eternal fire that was fed by underground gas rising to the surface and lit up due to contact with oxygen.
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A red flame features at the centrepiece of Azerbaijan’s state emblem.
As a Caspian Sea country, Azerbaijan has a long tradition of producing black caviar, the roe of beluga sturgeon, which sells for thousands of euros per kilogram.
Due to overfishing, the sturgeon species is on the brink of extinction and production of wild caviar has been drastically restricted.
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The emergence of sturgeon farms worldwide has reshaped the caviar market, depriving Azerbaijan of its status as a dominant player.
Azerbaijan is infamous for resorting to “caviar diplomacy,” a corruption scandal detailed in an investigation by several media outlets in 2017.
The report revealed how Baku offered caviar and other luxurious gifts to ensure the favour of Western officials.
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A complex art form blending traditional Azerbaijani musical improvisation and classical poetry, Mugham reflects different periods of Azerbaijan’s history and its contacts with other Turkic peoples, as well as Persians, Armenians, and Georgians.
Cultivated by members of the Sufi orders and by performers of religious dramas, the genre features a male or female singer accompanied by musicians playing traditional instruments, such as a long-neck lute, a four-string spiked fiddle, and a large tambourine.
A short selection of Azerbaijani Mugham was included on the Voyager Golden Record attached to the Voyager spacecraft in 1977 to represent world music.
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Azerbaijan’s national animal — the Karabakh horse — is a mountain-steppe racing and riding breed noted for its speed, intelligence and red-golden colour.
Thanks to their suppleness, the Karabakhs are ideal mounts for Azerbaijan’s national sport, chovgan, a polo-like horse-riding game played on a flat, grassy field by two competing teams.
One of the world’s oldest, the breed currently numbers below 1,000 and is threatened with extinction.
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Read More: Caviar, Oil, Dynasty: Five Things To Know About Azerbaijan
