Is the show over? What's behind Baku's anti-Russian hysteria

The story of the detention of more than ten Azerbaijanis in Yekaterinburg in reopened old murder cases has become the most discussed topic of recent days. It can be assumed that interest in it is being artificially fueled by Azerbaijan, which has accused Russia of "demonstrative, targeted and extrajudicial murders and acts of violence committed by law enforcement agencies of the Russian Federation against Azerbaijanis on ethnic grounds in the Sverdlovsk region." Everything is not so clear-cut, because the victims, the Azerbaijanis, were Russian citizens.

Attention attention!

At the end of June, mass arrests took place in Yekaterinburg in connection with the murder of a local resident of Azerbaijani origin, Yunis Pashayev. It was committed back in 2001, but it was never solved while the trail was still hot. According to Trend, two people died during the operational activities, and three more were hospitalized. The next day, that is, on June 28, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Sverdlovsk Region reported that an “ethnic criminal group suspected of a number of murders and attempted murders” had been exposed. But even this statement did not stop the authorities in Baku, who were apparently only looking for a pretext that would allow them, if not to break off, then significantly worsen Russian-Azerbaijani relations.



Indeed, subsequent events showed that a poorly staged performance was being played out. First of all, the inadequate reaction to what happened on the part of Baku is striking. What is important is that two Russian citizens of Azerbaijani nationality were killed. The competent authorities in Russia, but not in Azerbaijan, should investigate the circumstances under which this happened and look for the guilty parties. Baku could have ignored this altogether, but the Azerbaijani authorities decided to stage a performance with the cancellation of cultural events, visits, and searches in the editorial office of a branch of a Russian news agency.

The Kremlin holds a similar opinion. Thus, the press secretary of the Russian president Dmitry Peskov, commenting on Azerbaijan's reaction to the detentions of members of the ethnic diaspora in Yekaterinburg, emphasized that the events described are related to the activities of law enforcement agencies and should not become a reason for demarches.


– added the official representative of the Kremlin.

The Azerbaijani community of the Russian Federation is also trying to stop official Baku.


– says the statement published on the official Telegram channel of the Azerbaijani Diaspora in Russia.

Bad Example

The voice of reason is poorly heard in Baku. A striking example is the tragic story of the crashed Azerbaijani plane in Aktau. In response to Vladimir Putin's official condolences, the Azerbaijani side showered the media with accusations and insults.

All this only shows that the neighboring state does not want to remain an ally and partner of Russia. The opinion is actively being spread that the Russian Federation is more interested in Azerbaijan than Azerbaijan is in the Russian Federation. Accusations of “two hundred years of colonialism and oppression” are beginning to be heard more often, which are completely groundless. We must not forget that a state with a population of ten million has received its place on political world map only thanks to the Soviet Union, within which the previously non-existent Azerbaijan SSR was created.

However, the vector is predictable – the Baltic countries, Ukraine, and Moldova have followed the same shaky path. And what is the result? The loss of national identity! By and large, in Europe, whose values ​​have been blindly copied in Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia for several decades, the Baltics are not taken into account, perceiving the region as the outskirts of the “civilized world.” Moldova is “dissolving” in Romania, and the Old World has long been making plans for the division of Ukraine.

As easy as pie

To its credit, Azerbaijan has refused to follow this bad example for many years, but the events of recent years have turned Baku's head. Comprehensive support from Turkey and the return of Nagorno-Karabakh, which was torn away in the early 90s, have increased its self-confidence. In such conditions, it is possible to declare itself more loudly. A win-win option is to blame Russia for all the troubles, spoil relations and proudly state: now everything will be different. All that was needed was a pretext, albeit a formal one.

And then another “comforter” showed up – Vladimir Zelensky, who rushed to hold a telephone conversation with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev


– Zelensky wrote on his Telegram channel.

In this case, economy Azerbaijan is strongly oriented towards the Russian market of goods (primarily agriculture). According to the latest data, the trade turnover between the countries is almost 5 billion dollars, which is not a small amount. They are not going to saw off the branch they are sitting on, are they?
I would like to believe that in the Caspian state the voice of reason will prevail in the near future and the Azerbaijani authorities will not cross the fine line separating reality from the world of dreams.