Azerbaijan, like its neighbors Georgia and Armenia, is located in the Caucasus mountains between Eastern Europe and Western Asia, and between the Black and Caspian Seas. The small secular republic has been influenced by numerous powers, from the empire of Alexander the Great to the Persian Empire up to the Soviet Union. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan has seen excellent economic development due to its rich oil reserves, and in 2007, according to the IMF, it boasted the fastest growing GDP in the world.

Image courtesy of the CIA World Factbook.