The postage stamps and postal history of Azerbaijan closely follows the political history of Azerbaijan as it briefly obtained independence in 1918, lost it to the Soviet Union in 1920 and re-acquired it in 1991 after the fall of the Soviet Union.
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The first stamps of Azerbaijan were issued in 1919 by the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and consisted of a set of ten pictorial designs to 50r. There are two distinct printings, a 1919 printing on white paper with whitish gum and a 1920 printing on buff paper with yellow gum or no gum. The first printing is the scarcer and forgeries of it exist.[1]
On 27 April 1920 the Soviet army entered the capital Baku and the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR) was created. The first stamps of the ASSR were issued in 1921 and consisted of a set of 15 stamps showing local and political scenes including an oil well and a mosque. Further stamps were issued in 1921 for famine relief and overprints with local control inscriptions in 1922.[1]
On 12 March 1922, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia were federated as the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic (TSFSR). Azerbaijani stamps were overprinted first in Azeri currency, then Transcaucasian roubles. Overprinted Russian stamps were issued in 1923. From 1 October 1923 Azeri stamps were replaced completely by stamps of the Transcaucasian Federation which eventually became part of the Soviet Union and soviet stamps were used until 1991.[1]
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 1922 to mark its independence.
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