Azerbaijan - a brief history
Oil-rich Azerbaijan gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 amid political turmoil and against a backdrop of violence in the region of Nagorno- Karabakh.
It has been famed for its oil springs and natural gas sources since ancient times, when Zoroastrians, for whom fire is an important symbol, erected temples around burning gas vents in the ground.
In the 19th century this part of the Russian empire experienced an unprecedented oil boom which attracted international investment. By the beginning of the 20th century Azerbaijan was supplying almost half of the world’s oil.
In 1994, Azerbaijan signed an oil contract worth $7.4bn with a Western consortium. Since then Western companies have invested millions in the development of the country’s oil and gas reserves. However, the economy as a whole has not benefitted as much as it might have done.
Caspian oil is now flowing through a pipeline running from Baku through Georgia to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, providing western countries with ready access to a vast new source of supply. Environmental groups have protested that the cost of this benefit is unacceptable.
Azerbaijan has large gas reserves too.
Azerbaijan became a member of the Council of Europe in 2001.
As the Soviet Union collapsed, the predominantly Armenian population of the Nagorno-Karabakh region stated their intention to secede from Azerbaijan. War broke out. Backed by troops and resources from Armenia proper, the Armenians of Karabakh took control of the region and surrounding territory.
In 1994 a ceasefire was signed. About one-seventh of Azerbaijan’s territory remains occupied, while 800,000 refugees and internally displaced persons are scattered around the country.
Azerbaijan was in the media spotlight in June 2007 when Russian President Vladimir Putin offered the US the use of the Gabala radar station for missile defence as an alternative to using bases in Poland and the Czech Republic.
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I’m used to in the UK. However, after a series of interviews, I was lucky enough to find four very keen guys who had the attitude I was looking for. Training and development needed to occur quickly with the new ground staff so, whilst the winter weather did its worst, we
studied at work, at my hotel, had formal lectures via powerpoint, and carried out general practicals on site as best we could - from tractor driving and machinery safety, to reversing trailers, to the maintenance of machinery and equipment. Intense and frequent formal lectures covered all subjects from plant morphology to soil moisture deficits. We covered about a year’s worth of material (pitched at HNC level) in three months - it was an intensive time for the new recruits who, of course, all spoke good English. From October 2010 (when the first
three pitches were initially established) until January 2011, we had no fertiliser
or professional machinery at the club. This led to a steady decline in the quality of the training pitches due to the lack of post establishment maintenance. We then had nearly two full months of snow cover from January until the beginning of March 2011. This brought additional challenges when trying to keep the artificial surfaces in play and in top condition! By mid March, the natural pitches were ... well, a disaster! At the point of snow melt they were covered in pink snow mold, with at least 85% of the grass affected. All were straw like, yellow, patchy, thin and weak. We had a case of very poor establishment and, generally, they were atrocious to look at! Quite embarrassing for me really! Only artificial surfaces were used to train and play matches on at this time. But, thankfully, at the end of the month, we had the ‘majority’ of the equipment we needed to work effectively - though not everything - the weather changed for the better, the soil temperature ramped up quickly and we were able to start the recovery plan. All hands to the deck, we worked intensively on the pitches (they
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