Military parades in Azerbaijan

The first military parade in the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was held on May 28, 1919 in honor of the founding of the ADR. The parade was held in the area of the current Museum Centre. The parade coincided with the Republic Day holiday.

In 1970, the Azerbaijan SSR celebrated the golden jubilee (50th anniversary) of its founding. It was celebrated with a military parade of the 4th Army on Lenin Square in October of that year. The parade was planned for April, the month the republic was declared, but was postponed due to the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Vladimir Lenin which took place earlier that month. In attendance was the Minister of Defence, Marshal of the Soviet Union Andrei Grechko.[1]

The second parade was held on October 9, 1992 and was the first one held since the restoration of independence. It was held on Azadlig square in honor of the anniversary of the one year anniversary of the establishment of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces. It was the first and only Azerbaijani military parade to follow the Soviet era format which included the inspection by the defense minister and the three-fold Oorah by the troops. The parade was presided by President Abulfaz Elchibey and defense minister Rahim Gaziyev.[2]

The third military parade was held on June 26, 2008 as part of the armed forces 90th-anniversary celebrations. It was the first one held since 1992. This parade for the first time, included some Turkish parade elements during the ceremony, such as the use of guidons and the greeting Salam askerler which literally means Hello Soldiers in the English language. Around 4,500 military personnel, as well as dozens of various types of military equipment were displayed at the parade.[3]

The fourth military parade took place on June 26, 2011 in honor of the 20th anniversary of the restoration of the independence of Azerbaijan and the 93rd anniversary of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces. Nearly 6,000 troops were attended at the parade.[4]

The fifth military parade was held on June 26, 2013, on the occasion of the 95th anniversary of the Armed Forces.

On Independence Day in October 2017, a military parade was held through the capital of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic in honor of the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the first military unit. It also coincided with that 25th anniversary of the restoration of independence. The event was attended by the President of Nakhchivan Vasif Talibov and Azerbaijani Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov.[5][6]

The sixth military parade was held on June 26, 2018, in Azadlig Square on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Armed Forces. A Turkish Army formation (led by Captain Goja Arsoy), as well as a group of Turkish Air Force fighter jets took part in the parade.[7]

It celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Ottoman–Azerbaijani victory in the 1918 Battle of Baku. Being a joint celebration between Azerbaijan and Turkey, the massed bands of the Military Band Service of the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan performed the İstiklal Marşı and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan attended the military parade as the guest of honor as well as delivered a keynote address with President Aliyev. Alongside military personnel were troops of the Turkish Armed Forces who had participated in an armed forces parade earlier that year.[8]