There is a long history of Poles in Azerbaijan (Polish: Polacy w Azerbejdżanie, Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan polyakları). Although the current Polish population of the Republic of Azerbaijan is lower than in former times, the number of people with Polish descent in the capital city Baku is around 2,000 and several thousand self-identified Poles live in Azerbaijan. Poles as an ethnic group have lived in Azerbaijan for centuries. The Russian Empire included Azerbaijan and parts of Poland during the 19th century, this was a significant cause of the Polish minority in Azerbaijan.