Two provinces of NW Iran, Eastern Azerbaijan
(capital Tabriz), population (1986)
4,114,000, and Western Azerbaijan (capital
Orumiyeh), population 1,972,000.  Azeris in 
Iran as in the USSR, are Muslim (Shi'ite) 
ethnic Turks, descendants of followers of the
Khans from the Mongol Empire. There are about
5 million in Azerbaijan, and 3 million
distributed in the rest of the country, where
they form a strong middle class. In 1946, 
with Soviet backing, they briefly established
their own republic. Denied autonomy under the
Shah, they rose 1979-80 against the supremacy
of Ayatollah Khomeini and were forcibly 
repressed, although a degree of autonomy was
promised. Since 1988 there has been a growth
in Azer nationalism, spearheaded by the local
Azerbaijani Popular Front and fanned by the
dispute with neighbouring Christian Armenia
over Nagorno-Karabakh  and Nakhichevan.  This
dispute, which reawakened centuries-old
enmities, flared into a war from Dec 1989
which prompted Azer calls for secession from
the USSR and led in Jan 1990 to the despatch
of Soviet troops to Baku in an attempt to
restore order.

Subject by: Russell Webb