In May 1965, RFE/RL’s Azerbaijani Service broadcast a performance of the Azerbaijani national anthem to mark the 47th anniversary of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan (1918-1920).
The anthem was performed by a group of Azerbaijanis living in Europe. Among them were numerous dissidents who had fought the Bolsheviks in defense of the independent republic.
Radio Azadliq, as the Azerbaijani Service is known locally, aired the anthem together with an accompanying anniversary program to help listeners understand that a Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan had existed before the Soviet occupation. By playing the anthem, Radio Azadliq helped keep the memory of an independent Azerbaijan alive.
The anthem was restored as the anthem of the newly independent Azerbaijani state in 1992. An excerpt from it reads:
Azerbaijan! Azerbaijan!
Cherished land of valiant sons,
We are ready to give our heart and life for you.
All of us can give our blood for you.
Live happily with your three-colored banner.
Live happily with your three-colored banner.