Azerbaijan always occupied a special place among the republics of the USSR. Until the discovery of oil fields in the Western Siberia in the 60s of the 20th century, the republic was the main supplier of oil and oil products to the whole huge country. In some years, the share in fuel production reached 80%. And even after the development of Siberian deposits, the Azerbaijan SSR had a significant share in the oil production of the Soviet Union.
In the late 80s and early 90s, the republic faced great political and economic problems. The consequences of the collapse of the USSR were exacerbated by falling global oil prices. Nevertheless, by the end of the 90s, the political situation in Azerbaijan had stabilized, and the republic was able to derive significant benefits from high oil prices established in the mid-2000s. Part of the petrodollars was sent to the update of the infrastructure, which allowed the Azerbaijani business to gain competitiveness in the world market, and not only in the commodity sector.
For more details read our article "Lightning protection in Azerbaijan: complexities of the transition period".Related Articles:
