Press Review 01/20/2017

Heydar Aliyev’s protest against the events of 20 January, the deepening economic crisis, and the export of capital out of the country are the themes of today's media.

The Azerbaijan newspaper in an article titled Day of Heroism and Pride recalls how 27 years ago Heydar Aliyev made a protest against the 20 January events in Baku, committed on the orders of the Kremlin.

The author recalls the events of that day briefly, with an emphasis on Heydar Aliyev’s activities. His successor Ilham Aliyev continues to hold sacred the memory of the victims of 20 January.

The website Azadliq.info writes that the decline in economic activity will lead to a deepening crisis. The expert Rovshan Agayev evaluates the possibility of switching to a liberal economy system. The most important elements of such a system are free enterprise, competitive banking sector, financial markets, and more.

Echo has published the results of a survey on the level of welfare of the population. 53% of the newspaper’s readers believe they have a poor family, 41% believe their family has moderate means, 3% said they are financially secure, and only 2% of the respondents indicated they are rich.

It's clear that the level of poverty in the country is not 5% as we are assured. The subsistence minimum in Azerbaijan for 2016 amounted to 136 manat. In comparison with 2015 it increased by only 5 manat, or 3.67%.

In 2017 it is proposed to increase the cost of living by 13.97%, or up to 155 manat.   –0----