AZERBAIJANIAN OFFICERS AND MILITARY FORMATIONS IN THE 2nd HALF OF THE 19TH – EARLY 20TH CENTURIES

Abstract

The Azerbaijanis, like other Muslim peoples of the Russian Empire, were exempted from universal military service - the authorities considered it risky to entrust weapons to Muslims and train them in military affairs. But at the same time, they actively encouraged representatives of the noble families of the national outskirts of the empire to serve in the Russian army, and Azerbaijan was no exception. Emperor Nicholas I played a special role in the implementation of this policy. Azerbaijanis served in the elite units of that time: cavalry, which carried out deep raids behind enemy lines or developed an offensive, and in artillery, the most technically complex branch of the military and requiring deep knowledge. Therefore, the article devotes a central place to clarifying the number, social composition, principles of recruitment of the evolution of Azerbaijani military formations, the attitude of the tsarist government and command towards them, as well as consideration of military-political events in which the population of Azerbaijan took part.