Azerbaijan is a place.
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 . The modern Republic of Azerbaijan proclaimed its independence on 30 August 1991 , prior to the official dissolution of the USSR in December 1991 . The country is a member state of the Council of Europe , the OSCE and the NATO Partnership for Peace ( PfP ) program .