AZE.US
Azerbaijani journalist Azer Hasrat has called for the complete abolition of Russian-language education in Azerbaijan, claiming that schools operating in the Russian sector are engaged in “brainwashing.”
Hasrat, an honored journalist and a member of the board of the Azerbaijan Press Council, made the remarks in response to filmmaker Ayaz Salayev, who had said he was ready to resist any attempt to close Russian-language schools.
“Come and face me, Ayaz Salayev. Personally, I will do everything I can to ensure that education in Russian is completely discontinued in Azerbaijan. I have no intention of taking even one step back on this issue,” Hasrat told Musavat.com.
He described Russian as the language of an aggressive empire and argued that it had been imposed on Azerbaijan by force rather than accepted voluntarily.
“This language did not come to us through love or free choice. It was imposed by force. Along with it, they also tried to impose the culture of its speakers, or rather, their so-called culture. Unfortunately, they succeeded to some extent. The emergence of people like Ayaz Salayev is itself a result of that policy of occupation and aggression,” Hasrat said.
He accused defenders of Russian-language education of becoming detached from their national roots and prioritizing a foreign culture over their own.
“How far must a person become separated from their roots to oppose their own nation and defend another one, whether Russian, English or anyone else? Salayev says he is ready to stand against those who want to close Russian schools. Let him stand against me,” Hasrat said.
According to Hasrat, Russian-language schools funded by the Azerbaijani state should not exist.
“No one should tell me that these schools merely teach a language and culture. We are not against learning foreign languages, including Russian. But when a child receives all of their education in Russian for 11 years, that is no longer language learning. That is brainwashing,” he said.
Hasrat also argued that many students educated in the Russian sector continue speaking Russian at home, in public and among friends, while rarely using Azerbaijani, the country’s official language.
“Is that not a threat? Is that not a break from national roots? That is precisely why we believe Russian schools in Azerbaijan should be abolished. Independent Azerbaijan has one state language, Azerbaijani. Schools should operate in that language,” he said.
He rejected arguments linking the Russian language to the literary and cultural legacy of figures such as Chingiz Aitmatov and Rustam Ibrahimbeyov.
“If people wrote and created in Russian when that language dominated under the empire, it does not mean that we must continue along the same path. They lived under imperial rule and used that language because of the circumstances. Today, we have no obligation to serve either the empire or the Russians. It is time for Ayaz Salayev to understand that,” Hasrat said.
The remarks are the latest in a series of sharp statements by Hasrat on language, culture and national identity.
He previously criticized those who, in his words, continue to “cling to the Russian language, Russian schools and so-called Russian culture.”
Hasrat also claimed that alcohol was being used as an instrument of Russian cultural influence, referring to anti-alcohol campaigns in Dagestan and Chechnya.
“Alcohol is Moscow’s weapon,” he said at the time.
He argued that young people and men in those regions had been deliberately encouraged to drink, distancing them from their traditions and cultural values.
Hasrat has also sparked controversy with comments about religion. In an earlier appearance on the Bax Da program, he described Islam as a historic disaster for Turkic peoples, claiming that it weakened national unity and contributed to internal divisions.
“Islam is the most terrible disaster to have happened to the Turkic people,” he said.
The statement triggered strong criticism, including insults and threats, according to Hasrat. He later said that some messages came from fake accounts and that certain users, claiming to be from Turkey, had effectively called for violence against him.
Hasrat said he was not seriously concerned and described Azerbaijan as a stable and secure country. He also said the threats would not force him to change his position.
Salayev, meanwhile, has said he is prepared to personally defend Russian-language schools.
“If someone raises the issue of closing the Russian sector again, I am immediately ready to fight. As long as I am alive, if they try to dismantle or close Russian schools, I am ready to stand in their way,” the filmmaker said on the Yazılan və yozulan program.
The exchange has turned the debate over Russian-language education into an open confrontation between two prominent figures in Azerbaijan’s public and cultural life.
The dispute now extends far beyond the language of instruction, touching on relations with Russia, historical memory, state language policy, national identity and the right of parents to choose the language in which their children are educated.
AZE.US