Azerbaijan - Famous azerbaijanis

Heydar Aliyev has been acting president since June 1993. The poet Nizami Ganjavi (1141–1204) is celebrated for his Khamsa, a collection of five epic poems. Muhammed Fizuli (1438–1556) based his poems on traditional folktales, and his poetic versions provide the bases for many 20th century plays and operas. Satirical poet Sabir (1862–1911) was openly critical of the clergy at a time when their influence controlled much of society. Abul Hasan Bakhmanyar, an 11th century scientist, wrote respected books on mathematics and philosophy. Hasan Shirvani wrote a book on astronomy.

The composer Uzeyir Hajibeyov (1885–1948) wrote the first Azerbaijani opera, and also founded the Azerbaijani Symphonic Orchestra and composed Azerbaijan's National Anthem. Other famous composers from Azerbaijan include Gara Garayev (1918–82), Haji Khannmammadov (b.1918), Fikrat Amirov (1922–84), and Vasif Adigozal (b.1936). Vagif Mustafa Zadeh (1940–79) is considered the founder of the Azerbaijani music movement of the 1960s that mixed jazz with the traditional style known as mugam . His daughter, Aziza Mustafa Zadeh (b.1969), is a noted jazz pianist.

Prominent modern Azerbaijani scientists include Lofti Zadeh (b.1921), pioneer of the "fuzzy logic" concept, and Ali Javan (b. Iran, 1928), inventor of the gas laser.

Azerbaijan - Organizations

Important political associations in the Republic of Azerbaijan include the Helsinki Group, a human rights group, the National Democratic Movement, and Musavat (Equality). The Committee of Democracy and Human Rights in Azerbaijan, founded in 1993, is made up of both individuals and organizations focusing on promoting respect for human rights. The group publicizes human rights abuses and offers legal assistance to victims. The Red Crescent Society is also present.

A number of groups promote and protect civil rights and humanitarian needs for women and children. These include: the Association for the Defense of Rights of Azerbaijan Women, the Azerbaijan Women's Association, Azerbaijan Women's Intelligence Organization, Azerbaijani League for the Defense of the Rights of Children, and the Shout of Mothers Society.

There are over 20 youth organizations united and coordinated in part by the National Assembly of Youth Organizations of Azerbaijan (NAYORA), which was established in 1995. The Azerbaijan Union of the Democratic Youth (AUDY), established in 1994, is an independent group seeking to unite youth of all languages, religions, and nationalities into a single cause of patriotism for an independent and democratic Azerbaijan society. A scouting organization is also present as is an organization of the Special Olympics.

Azerbaijan - Media

Azerbaijan is connected to other former Soviet republics by landline or microwave, and to other countries through Moscow. In 1998, there were 1.4 million telephones in use. Service is said to be of poor quality and inadequate. In 1997, there were about 40,000 cellular phones in use nationwide.

In 2002 there were several newspapers, most of them published in Azerbaijani. Azerbaijan Ganjlari ( Youth of Azerbaijan ) had a circulation of 161,000 in 2002. Over 100 periodicals are published, more than half in Azerbaijani. As of 1999, there were 10 AM and 17 FM stations and two television stations. Domestic and Russian television programs are received locally, while Iranian television is received from an Intelsat satellite through a receive-only earth station. In 2000, there were 22 radios and 259 television sets for every 1,000 people. In 2001, 12,000 Internet subscribers were served by about two service providers.

The Constitution of Azerbaijan specifically outlaws press censorship; however, it is said that the government does not always respect freedom of the press in practice.

Azerbaijan - Libraries and museums

Azerbaijan has a National Library in Baku with 4.4 million volumes. There are 115 recognized museums in the country, 27 of which are art museums, and there are 20 theaters. The country also has 6,571 monuments and historic sights. The Ichari Shahar, or Old Town, in Baku has the Shirvanshah Palace, an architectural monument from the 15th and 16th centuries which has been restored and is now a museum. Other museums are the Museum of History of Azerbaijan (1920), which exhibits archeological, ethnographic, and other relics; the Rustam Mustfayev Azerbaijan State Arts Museum, displaying works of Azerbaijani, Russian and West European artists from the 15th– 19th centuries along with the works of modern Azerbaijani artists; the State Museum of Azerbaijani Carpets and Folk and Applied Art; and the Nizami State Museum of Azerbaijani Literature, depicting the stages of literary development. The Gobustan Museum features prehistoric dwellings and cave paintings over 10,000 years old. Baku, the capital, remains an important cultural and intellectual center in Transcaucasia.

Azerbaijan - Education

The educational system is extensive and illiteracy is practically unknown. In 1995, the adult illiteracy rate was estimated at 0.4% (males, 0.3%; females, 0.5%). The usual language of instruction is Azerbaijani, although Russian, Armenian, and Georgian are also offered by some schools. In 1997 primary schools enrolled 719,013 students in 4,454 schools, with 35,514 teachers. In the same year, secondary schools enrolled 819,625 students taught by approximately 85,000 teachers. In 1998, the pupil-teacher ratio at the primary level was reported as 19 to 1.

Russian is more commonly used at higher-level institutions, but this is slowly changing with a growing demand for the use of Azerbaijani. Education is free. As of 1999, public expenditure on education was estimated at 3.4% of GDP.

Azerbaijan's most important institutes of higher learning are the Azerbaijan Polytechnic Institute, located in Baku, with seven departments and an enrollment of 12,000 students; and the State University, also located at Baku and founded in 1919. It has an enrollment of over 15,000 students in 11 departments. Other institutions include the Medical University, Technological University, the Economic Institute, and the Oil and Chemistry Academy. In total, 15,929 teachers were employed and 115,116 students were enrolled in institutions of higher learning in 1997.

Baku is sometimes referred to as an "oil academy" because of its ongoing research in the areas of turbine drilling, cementation of oil wells, and the development of synthetic rubber from natural gas.

Azerbaijan - Housing

As of 1996, over 1.3 million people were living in houses that were considered to be structurally dilapidated and dangerous. About 66.5% of all housing is privately owned, with 96.5% of rural dwellings and 45.7% of urban dwellings under private ownership. About 67% of current dwellings were built within the period from 1981-1996. In 1996, there were about 60,000 refugees or other displaced persons living in tent communities. Another 300,000 were resideng in public, non-residential buildings. At least 5% of homeless families had been waiting for housing for 10 years or more. From 1991–1995, construction of new housing fell by nearly 50% due to poor economic conditions and the government estimated that a total of about 107,000 homes had been lost due to the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh.

Azerbaijan - Health

As part of the former Soviet Union, Azerbaijan has had to develop and maintain its own health care system and standards. As of 1999, there were an estimated 3.6 doctors and 9.7 hospital beds per 1,000 people. In 1999, the total expenditure on health was estimated at 1.8% of GDP.

Azerbaijan's infant mortality rate for 2000 was 13 per 1,000 live births and the total fertility rate was 2.0 per woman. In 1998 the maternal mortality rate was 43 per 100,000 live births. As of 1999, the country immunized an estimated 99% of one-year-old children against diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus and 99% against polio.

The overall death rate in 2002 was estimated at 10 per 1,000 inhabitants. Thousands of lives were lost between 1989 and 1992 when the country was at war with Armenia. Few cases of AIDS have been reported in the last few years. In 1996, two cases were reported; the total number of people living with AIDS/HIV was under 500 in 1999. Diphtheria, tuberculosis, hepatitis A, and diarrheal and acute respiratory infections have been serious public health problems. There have also been outbreaks of anthrax, botulism, cholera, tetanus, and malaria. Measles and tuberculosis still remain in this country despite a high incidence of vaccination for one-year-old children. In 1999, the incidence of tuberculosis was 62 per 100,000 people.