Azerbaijan's Triumph: A Comprehensive Overview

Azerbaijan has been winning in several areas, from military conflicts to music competitions. In 2020, Azerbaijan's military made significant gains against Armenia in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, reversing their losses from the 1990s conflict. Azerbaijan's superior technology, such as drones, and financial investments in their military have contributed to their success. On a lighter note, Azerbaijan won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2011 with the song Running Scared by Ell and Nikki, marking their first victory since joining the competition in 2008.

Azerbaijan's military gains against Armenia

Territorial Advances

Azerbaijan has made substantial territorial gains during the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War in 2020 and subsequent clashes. Here are some key territorial advancements:

• Azerbaijan recaptured a significant portion of territory south of Stepanakert and along the Iranian border.
• Azerbaijan seized control of several strategic areas, including Jabrayil, Hadrut, and Fizuli, advancing towards the Hakari River Valley.
• During the 2020 conflict, Azerbaijan captured one-third of Nagorno-Karabakh, mostly in the southern region.
• In total, Azerbaijan regained control of approximately 73% of the disputed territory, including land within Nagorno-Karabakh.
• In the aftermath of the 2020 war, Azerbaijan continued to exert control over Nagorno-Karabakh, blocking access to the region and causing a humanitarian crisis.

Military Capabilities and Tactics

Azerbaijan's military capabilities and tactics played a crucial role in their gains against Armenia:

• Azerbaijan's military spending and modernisation: Over the years, Azerbaijan invested heavily in its military, utilising revenue from energy exports. This allowed them to acquire advanced weapons and technology from countries like Israel, Russia, and Turkey.
• Superior weaponry and drones: Azerbaijan's military had superior tanks, armoured personnel carriers, and infantry fighting vehicles, and a large fleet of modern drones from Turkey and Israel. In contrast, Armenia's drones were less advanced.
• Effective use of drones: Azerbaijan made devastating use of drones for reconnaissance and precision strikes, which played a crucial role in locating and destroying Armenian positions, isolating their forces, and causing significant losses.
• Artillery and missile strikes: Azerbaijan also employed long-range heavy artillery and missile strikes against Armenian targets, inflicting heavy casualties and damaging critical infrastructure.
• Mercenary utilisation: There are reports of Azerbaijan employing mercenaries, possibly including Syrian fighters, to minimise their own troop casualties during offensives.

Strategic Advantages

Some additional factors that contributed to Azerbaijan's military gains include:

• Turkish support: Turkey provided military support, including experts, mercenaries, and F-16 fighter jets, which significantly enhanced Azerbaijan's capabilities and changed the geopolitical balance in the region.
• Armenian unpreparedness: Armenian forces were unprepared for the extent of Azerbaijan's drone capabilities and struggled to adapt their tactics, resulting in significant losses.
• Superior motivation and will to fight: Analysts suggest that Azerbaijan's strong national will to fight and determination to reclaim territories played a crucial role in their military gains.

In summary, Azerbaijan's military gains against Armenia were facilitated by superior weaponry, effective tactics, territorial advancements, and strategic advantages, ultimately leading to a shift in the balance of power in the region.

Azerbaijan's Eurovision Song Contest win

Azerbaijan has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 16 times since its debut in 2008. The country has had a string of successful results, qualifying for the final every year until 2018, when they failed to qualify with the song "X My Heart", performed by Aisel. Azerbaijan has placed in the top ten six times, consecutively between 2008 and 2013.

Azerbaijan's first Eurovision win came in 2011, with the song "Running Scared", performed by Ell and Nikki. Interestingly, with their entry receiving only 5.26 points per voting country, Azerbaijan holds the record for the lowest average score for a winning song under the 12-points voting system. Ell and Nikki's win was commemorated with a special postage stamp issued by Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan's debut at Eurovision in 2008 proved successful, with the song "Day After Day", performed by Elnur and Samir, placing 8th with 132 points. In 2009, Azerbaijan improved on this debut, coming third and receiving 207 points with "Always" by Aysel and Arash. This was followed by a fifth-place finish in 2010, a win in 2011, and two consecutive top-five results in 2012 and 2013.

Since their win, Azerbaijan has failed to reach the top ten on several occasions, coming 12th in 2015, 17th in 2016, 14th in 2017, 20th in 2021, and 16th in 2022. In 2018, Azerbaijan failed to qualify for the final, and in 2023 and 2024, they did not advance from the semi-finals.

Azerbaijan's participation in the Eurovision Song Contest has sparked a series of successes and has become a matter of national pride. The country spent 160 million euros on hosting the contest in 2012, building a new arena for the event. This remains the largest amount spent by any host country in the contest's history.

Azerbaijan's war with Armenia in the 1990s

The roots of the conflict can be traced back to the Soviet era, when the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast was established within the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. As the Soviet Union began to disintegrate in the late 1980s, tensions between the two groups escalated, with the parliament of Nagorno-Karabakh voting in 1988 to unite with Armenia. This demand was repeatedly rejected by Azerbaijan, and the situation deteriorated into violent clashes between ethnic Armenians and Azerbaijanis. Pogroms were committed against both groups, with Armenians facing violence in Sumgait, Ganja, and Baku, and Azerbaijanis facing violence in Gugark and Stepanakert.

Full-scale fighting erupted in the late winter of 1992, with the Armenian side backed by the Republic of Armenia and the Azerbaijani side supported by the Republic of Azerbaijan. International mediation attempts failed to bring a resolution, and by the spring of 1993, Armenian forces had captured territory outside the enclave, threatening to draw in other countries in the region. The war resulted in approximately 30,000 casualties and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of refugees from both sides.

A Russian-brokered ceasefire, known as the Bishkek Protocol, was signed in 1994, bringing an end to the active conflict. The agreement left Nagorno-Karabakh de facto independent, with a self-proclaimed government, but still heavily reliant on Armenia for economic, political, and military support. The ceasefire held for two decades, with relative stability until the 2010s, when tensions escalated once again, leading to further clashes and ultimately the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War in 2020.

Azerbaijan's participation in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest

Azerbaijan has participated in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest four times, debuting in 2012, and also taking part in 2013, 2018, and 2021. The country has yet to host the event.

Azerbaijan's first appearance at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest was in 2012, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The country's public television channel, İctimai Television (İTV), selected Omar & Suada as their first entrants, with the song "Girls and Boys (Dünya Sənindir)". The song was initially performed entirely in English, which went against the rules stating that 75% of the track had to be in the native language of the country. İTV was given a two-day window by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to change the lyrics without disqualification. Azerbaijan finished in 11th place out of 12 entrants, with 49 points.

Azerbaijan participated for a second time in the 2013 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine. The entrant that year was 10-year-old Rustam Karimov, with the song "Me and My Guitar". Karimov finished in 7th place out of 12 entrants, with 66 points. This remains Azerbaijan's best placing in the competition to date.

In 2014, Azerbaijan did not appear on the list of participating countries, with İTV withdrawing from the contest for unspecified reasons. The broadcaster did not participate again until 2018.

Azerbaijan returned to the contest in 2018, held in Minsk, Belarus. The entrant that year was Fidan Huseynova, with the song "I Wanna Be Like You". Azerbaijan placed 16th out of 20 countries, with 47 points.

After the 2018 contest, Azerbaijan withdrew from the competition again, not returning until 2021. In the 2021 contest, held in Paris, France, Azerbaijan was represented by Sona Azizova, with the song "One of Those Days". Azizova achieved Azerbaijan's highest placing to date, coming 5th out of 19 entrants, with 151 points.

In 2022, Azerbaijan withdrew from the contest again, with reports suggesting that this was due to the host country being Armenia. However, it was later reported that the absence was not for political reasons, but due to a lack of requests from candidates in the 2022 edition of The Voice Kids Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan also did not participate in the 2023 contest.

Azerbaijan's military superiority over Armenia

Azerbaijan has a significantly larger population than Armenia, with over 10 million people compared to Armenia's roughly 3 million. This provides Azerbaijan with a bigger pool of potential military recruits and a larger available manpower. Azerbaijan also has a higher number of individuals reaching military age annually and a larger active military personnel.

Azerbaijan's defence budget far surpasses that of Armenia. In 2024, Azerbaijan's defence budget was $3.77 billion, while Armenia's was only $1.38 billion. This allowed Azerbaijan to invest more in military equipment, training, and personnel, giving them an advantage in terms of resources and preparedness.

Azerbaijan has amassed a fleet of advanced drones from Turkey and Israel, which played a crucial role in their military success. These drones were used for reconnaissance, strikes against Armenian air defences, and locating and destroying Armenian positions. Azerbaijan's effective use of drones, coupled with long-range heavy artillery and missile strikes, proved to be a decisive factor in the conflict.

Azerbaijan's military has superior tanks, armoured personnel carriers, and infantry fighting vehicles compared to Armenia. They also possess a quantitative advantage in artillery systems, particularly self-propelled guns and long-range multiple rocket launchers. Azerbaijan's extensive use of drones, in combination with their superior armour and artillery, allowed them to overwhelm Armenian positions and inflict heavy losses.

Azerbaijan has forged strong alliances with countries like Turkey, which provided military support and expertise during the conflict. Turkey's involvement included joint military exercises, intelligence sharing, and the supply of advanced weaponry. This alliance bolstered Azerbaijan's military capabilities and provided strategic advantages on the battlefield.

In summary, Azerbaijan's military superiority over Armenia can be attributed to its larger population, higher defence budget, advanced weaponry, and strategic alliances. The effective utilisation of these advantages allowed Azerbaijan to gain the upper hand in the conflict and achieve significant territorial gains.

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