Azerbaijan is officially known as the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan ( [ æzərbaɪˈʒɑːn ] ; Azərbaycan ) , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan ( Azərbaycan Respublikası ) , is a country in the South Caucasus region , situated at the crossroads of Southwest Asia and Southeastern Europe . Azerbaijan ( [ æzərbaɪˈdʒɑːn ] ; Азәрбајҹан Azərbaycan ) , officially the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic ( Azerbaijan SSR ; Азәрбајҹан Совет Сосиалист Республикасы , Azərbaycan Sovet Sosialist Respublikası , [ Азербайджанская Советская Социалистическая Республика [ АзССР ] , link = no ] , Azerbajdžanskaja Sovetskaja Socialističeskaja Respublika [ AzSSR ] ) and the Republic of Azerbaijan ( Azərbaycan Respublikası , Азәрбајҹан Республикасы ) , also referred to as Soviet Azerbaijan was one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1920 to 1922 and 1936 to 1991 as an socialist state as well as 1991 to 1995 as an sovereign independent state located in the South Caucasus region , situated at the crossroads of Southwest Asia and Southeastern Europe .