CONTEMPORARY EURASIA IX ( 2 )
years , five presidents succeeded one another in Azerbaijan . Two of these presidents kept the office for more than one year , while the others were interim presidents . Additionally , in line with various social , economic , and political problems , the war in Karabakh exacerbated the internal problems further . The most critical developments in Karabakh took place in 1991-1993 , becoming the reason for the resignation of Azerbaijani presidents . The first steps toward the peace process by the presidents of Russia and Kazakhstan in Zheleznovodsk in 1991 . This part mostly covers the presidency of Ayaz Mutalibov and Abulfaz Elchibey , as two of them kept their power for more than one year . At the same time , Yaqub Mammadov , Isa Gambar , and again Ayaz Mutalibov were interim presidents , lasting from a few days to several months .
On September 8 , 1991 , Ayaz Mutalibov was elected the president of the Republic of Azerbaijan . It is worth mentioning that Mutalibov came to power due to Operation Ring in order to deport the Armenian population from Karabakh . After this operation , the accusations against Mutalibov for being behind this operation increased his ratings as the Azerbaijani public started to treat Mutalibov as the “ savior of their nation .” 41 However , he was famous for his Russia-centric foreign policy , which made the opposition led by the Popular Front of Azerbaijan ( APF ) voice its concern over this stance , claiming that Mutalibov wanted to get Azerbaijan back into the Russian empire , thus destroying its sovereignty . 42
The game of power in Azerbaijan made Karabakh a trump card in the hands of both the authorities and the opposition . 43 For this reason , the APF tried to seize every single failure of Mutalibov to make him resign as was in the case of Operation Ring and CIS membership . Besides , the internal situation of the country was not favorable as well . After independence , the state institutions of the country did not properly function . It did not have a standing army even though it was at war . Besides , Mutalibov treated Karabakh as a bargain and exclaimed that “ Karabakh was a Soviet , not Azerbaijani problem .” 44 The shortsightedness of this approach was unveiled when Azerbaijan was confronted by the new Armenian army while not having its own . This demonstrates how shallowly Mutalibov treated Karabakh and the problems surrounding it . All these , coupled with Khojali events of
41 Rasim Agaev & Zardusht Alizade , Azerbaydzhan . Konets Vtoroy Respubliki ( Moscow : Granitsa , 2006 ), 570 . 42 Ibid , 646 . 43 Ibid , 647 . 44 Broers , Armenia and Azerbaijan , 110 .
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