NAKHCHIVAN - Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic / Naxçıvan Muxtar Respublikası

The Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic (Azerbaijani: Naxçıvan Muxtar Respublikası, is a landlocked exclave of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The region covers 5,500 km² (2,100 sq mi) with a population of 414,900, bordering Armenia (border 221 km [137 mi]) to the east and north, Iran (border 179 km [111 mi]) to the south and west, and Turkey (border 8 km [5.0 mi]) to the northwest.

The area that is now Nakhchivan became part of the Safavid dynasty of Iran in the 16th century. In 1828, after the last Russo-Persian War and the Treaty of Turkmenchay, the Nakhchivan Khanate passed from Iranian into Imperial Russian possession. After the 1917 February Revolution, Nakhchivan and its surrounding region were under the authority of the Special Transcaucasian Committee of the Russian Provisional Government and subsequently of the short-lived Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic. When the TDFR was dissolved in May 1918, Nakhchivan, Nagorno-Karabakh, Zangezur (today the Armenian province of Syunik), and Qazakh were heavily contested between the newly formed and short-lived states of the First Republic of Armenia and the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR). 

In June 1918, the region came under Ottoman occupation. Under the terms of the Armistice of Mudros, the Ottomans agreed to pull their troops out of the Transcaucasus to make way for British occupation at the close of the First World War. In July 1920, the Bolsheviks occupied the region and on July 28, declared the Nakhchivan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic with "close ties" to the Azerbaijan SSR, beginning seventy years of Soviet rule. In January 1990 Nakhchivan declared independence from the USSR to protest against the suppression of the national movement in Azerbaijan, and became the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic within the newly independent Republic of Azerbaijan a year later.

The Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic is an autonomous area of Azerbaijan, governed by its own elected legislature. The region continues to suffer from the effects of the Armenia-Azerbaijan War, and its Karki exclave has been under Armenian occupation ever since. The administrative capital city is Nakhchivan. Vasif Talibov has been the leader since 1995. Nakhchivan is a semi-desert region that is separated from the main portion of Azerbaijan by Armenia. The Zangezur Mountains make up its border with Armenia while the Aras River defines its border with Iran. The Araz reservoir located on that river supplies water for agricultural needs and the hydroelectric dam generates power for both Azerbaijan and Iran.

Nakhchivan is extremely arid and mountainous. Its highest peak is Mount Kapudzhukh 3,904 m (12,808 ft) and its most distinctive is Ilandag (Snake Mountain) 2,415 m (7,923 ft), which is visible from Nakhchivan City. According to legend, the cleft in its summit was formed by the keel of Noah's Ark as the floodwaters abated. Qazangödağ 3,829 m (12,562 ft) is another major peak.

Naxchivan Post is a separate postal company under Azermarka. Issuance of stamps and philatelic materials are under Azermarka, only the postal services run by Naxchivan post. Even though the Autonomous Republic is situating outside Azerbaijan, they do  not have separate stamps or country codes, but there are stamps issued with the name of Nakhchivan, you can see them on the above envelopes.