Azerbaijanis living in Russia are also suffering because of the war in Ukraine

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Question: What is the current political and social psychological situation in Russia? What do the citizens of Russia think about the war unleashed by the president of their country in Ukraine? Do they condemn the Russian authorities for the aggression against Ukraine or do they consider it justified?

Answer: The general situation in Russia is ambiguous. The people were divided into two camps. Those who are connected in one way or another with the state support the state, some treat what is happening with distrust. Others still do not fully understand what is happening. Tension is rising day by day in big cities. Many stores are in short supply. This is due to the unrest that has begun among the people. Thus, the depreciation of the ruble, as well as uncertainty about the future, force people to go to the shops. They buy everything necessary and unnecessary. And this leads to the devastation of supermarkets.

Regarding the situation between Russia and Ukraine among the population, it can be said that there is a diametrically opposed opinion. Some condemn, others support. Those who condemn less, they stand firm in their position. But, among those who support, there is distrust, a feeling of injustice.

Question: Because of the war unleashed against Ukraine, Western countries are applying political and economic sanctions to Russia. As a result of these sanctions, the ruble exchange rate is falling, and the inflation rate is rising. Naturally, this primarily affects the social situation of the population. How do citizens of Russia assess what is happening? Do they express dissatisfaction with the deteriorating social situation? Is discontent growing? Did people have protest, rebellious moods?

Answer: Yes, protests are growing in connection with what is happening. But dangerous rebellious moods are not so strong. Despite the fact that the opposition parties are trying to do something, there are no such thoughts yet. However, I think that if the conflict continues, the situation may change. Every day the economic situation worsens. But this only worries the lower and middle classes so far. The upper class prefers to remain silent.

Question: Based on your observations, who do the Russian people most blame for what happened? Russian power, Ukrainian or the West? And how do they justify it?

Answer: Opinions differ. Blame the West more. They justify this by bringing NATO closer to Russia's borders. Some attribute this to the actions taken by Russia, pointing to the absence of such talk during the Crimean conflict eight years ago. Many accuse Ukraine of being pro-Western.

Question: However, there are also protests in some regions of Russia because of the war that their country unleashed...

Answer: Yes, there were protests in several large cities, but they are not so strong.

Question: In your opinion, are those who justify the Russian authorities for what is happening victims of the authorities' propaganda? Russia has already banned social networks; the latest decisions have suspended the activities of several media bodies that are distinguished by objectivity. What are your observations?

Answer: Yes, there are “victims”, there are those who are “forced” (to justify - ed. note). There are also many who support (authorities - ed.) so as not to lose their jobs.

A ban on access to social networks was introduced. Many well-known political scientists, bloggers have ceased their activities. Maxim Shevchenko temporarily stopped his activities. Despite all this, many people are no longer willing to trust anyone or anything. Because most of the information on both sides is fake.

Here it is worth noting that our nation is not inferior to them (the Russians - ed.) in this regard. They spread so much false and baseless information that sometimes it becomes ridiculous. And in my opinion, broad discussions on this topic are needed.

Question: Azerbaijanis living in Russia are also suffering because of this war. And because of the depreciation of the Russian ruble, and because of the deterioration of the social situation, and because of the great difficulties in returning to Azerbaijan. What is the position of Azerbaijanis there, what do they think? Who do they blame for the situation they are in?

Answer: Yes, there are difficulties for us too. And most importantly, more difficult times have come for businessmen and entrepreneurs. For example, as you know, fruits and vegetables come to Russia from foreign countries. Fruits and vegetables are purchased in these countries, including Azerbaijan, for dollars. During the delivery of goods, the dollar exchange rate rises and this has a strong effect on the selling price. The ability of the buyer to buy fruit at such prices drops to zero. And the result of this is obvious - fruits lose weight, spoil, etc.

No less important is the problem of returning to Azerbaijan. If we recall the closure of the border in 2019, it becomes clear that it is impossible to prevent the influx of people. Our compatriots who have lost their jobs are returning to their homeland. And since air traffic is closed or the land route is cheaper, everyone is heading to Derbent. It should be taken into account that currently 4 million Azerbaijanis live in Russia and more than half of them are threatened with job loss. And if that happens, I don't even want to think about what will happen at the border. Because being directly involved in this process in 2019, I know perfectly well what can happen.

90% of Azerbaijanis living here think the same as you, but they do not express their opinion. On the one hand, many bans have been introduced, and on the other hand, due to the fact that during the 44-day Karabakh war, many Russian bloggers, political scientists, businessmen and ordinary people supported us, they cannot fully express their position and say what they are for the truth. However, there are those who support both sides, although there are very few of them.

In my opinion, it would be good if the Azerbaijani state took measures, regardless of how this conflict ends. Because there will be many people who will return home, whether they want to or not. Perhaps several million people will want to return.