National Archive Department (Azerbaijan)

The National Archive Department of Azerbaijan Republic (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan Respublikasının Milli Arxiv İdarəsi) is a governmental agency within the Cabinet of Azerbaijan in charge of managing, maintaining, protecting and updating national archives of Azerbaijan Republic. The agency is headed by Atakhan Pashayev.

After occupation of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in 1920, Bolsheviks established the State Archives Fund under the People's Commissariat for Education which started its activities in 1921. In 1922, the management of the archives was passed to the Bureau of Central Executive Committee of Azerbaijan SSR. In 1925, similar archives department was created in Nakhchivan. Starting from 1928, regional chapters of the state archives department were created throughout the republic. In 1930, the Central Committee of the Communist Party established the Central Archives Department, which was made up of Central State October Revolution Archives and Central State Historical Archives. In 1938, the management of the archives was passed under jurisdiction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and in 1960 it was subordinated to the Cabinet of Ministers. In 1966, State Literature and Arts Archives of Azerbaijan SSR was created.

The National Archive Department was established on December 2, 2002 by the Presidential Decree No. 816 on the basis of an existing Main Archives Department of Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan Republic which had been in existence since March 11, 1994 in order to modernize the management and maintenance of national archives of Azerbaijan. Its statute was approved on September 27, 2003 by President Heydar Aliyev. The agency ensures implementation of state policies in relation to updating and maintaining national archives through its direct activities in collection and preservation of data and documents as well as through it reginal chapters and the national archives of Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan. The activities of the department are financed through funds allocated from the state budget of Azerbaijan Republic.

More information on the Wikipedia page

The website, in Azeri, is