The Republic of Azerbaijan is administratively divided into 66 districts and 11 cities subordinate to the Republic. The districts are further divided into municipalities. Additionally, seven districts and one city are located within the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Territorial and administrative units are formed according to the Law on the territorial structure and administrative-territorial division (No.892-IQ of June 13, 2000).
The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the central executive body responsible for implementing state cultural policy, manages the state cultural sphere locally through its regional cultural departments and the regional departments of the State Service for Protection, Development and Restoration of Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Local state institutions of culture and art, as well as monuments of history and culture, and several historical and cultural reserves, which are part of the Ministry of Culture’s system, are funded from the central or regional budgets of the ministry.
Local institutions of culture in the system of the Ministry of Culture act under their model regulations approved by the Decision of the Board of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan (No.6/1 of November 8, 2018), such as:
- The Model Regulations of History and Ethnography Museums;
- The Model Regulations on Centralized Library System;
- The Model Regulations of Children’s Schools of Music, Art and Painting;
- The Model Regulations of City (District) Cultural Centres;
- The Model Regulations of City (district) Heydar Aliyev centres;
- The Model Regulations of State Art Galleries operating in the Regions of the Republic; etc.
The Ministry of Culture and its subordinate bodies collaborate with city and district executive authorities and self-government bodies to implement the state cultural policy at the local level. Regulations on local executive authorities (No.648 of June 6, 2012) define the duties of the local executive power in the field of culture as follows:
- Implement the state policy in the field of culture in the relevant area;
- Make proposals on draft state programs for the development of culture and art and ensure the implementation of these programs in the appropriate location;
- Organise the protection of historical, cultural, and natural monuments and cultural heritage sites.
According to Law on the Status of Municipalities (No.698-IQ of July 2, 1999), municipalities may assist in developing cultural institutions and preserving historical and cultural monuments via local social protection and social development programs.
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