Postage Stamps and Postal History of Azerbaijan - Republic of Azerbaijan

Republic of Azerbaijan

On 19 November 1990, the ASSR was renamed the Republic of Azerbaijan. It became an independent country on 18 August 1991 and its first stamp was issued on 26 March 1992 to mark its independence. Unlike most other ex-Soviet republics, Azerbaijan did not overprint Soviet stamps to meet their postal needs after independence. The national postal service Azərpoçt was founded in 1992, which was restructured in 1999 and which became the national postal operator in 2004. The national postage stamp company Azermarka began functioning in 1992 and is responsible for the production and sale of all Azerbaijani postage stamps. On 1 April 1993, Azerbaijan became a member of the Universal Postal Union. A variety of definitive and commemorative stamps have been produced depicting topical and local subjects. First day covers and postal stationery have also been issued. The first stamps depicting people were issued in 1993. The first person to be featured on a postage stamp after the dissolution of the Soviet Union was Heydar Aliyev, the third President of Azerbaijan. The first stamps to be issued in the new Azerbaijani currency, the manat, that was introduced to replace the Soviet ruble used for the previous issues since independence, appeared in October 1992, after the introduction of the new currency on 15 August 1992. The currency value of the stamps (in manats or in its monetary unit the qapiks) varies depending on the year of issue. In 1998, 19 sets of illegal postage stamps, were allegedly issued in Nakhchivan, which depict among others, Diana, Princess of Wales and the British pop group Spice Girls. Consequently, Azerbaijani officials have issued notices to the Universal Postal Union, notifying them about counterfeint stamps on popular thematic subjects issued in their name.