This transformation of the city is somewhat remarkable, and change has always been a constant here. It has had six names since its first mention in 1830 and four in just the last three decades.

As the crown jewel of the Caucasus and Central Asian Tsarist Empire, it was a perfect place for the arts to flourish – a multi-ethnic land of not only Azeris but also Russians, Persians, Armenians, Georgians, Jews and many other ethnicities.