AZE.US
The hostility displayed by some members of Russia’s expert community toward Baku reflects their inability to accept Azerbaijan as a fully independent state pursuing its own national interests, political analyst Ruslan Aysin said.
Aysin, head of the Poistine project, made the remarks in an interview with the YouTube program Modern Conversation with Rasim Babayev.
Responding to Russian historian Yevgeny Spitsyn’s statements about Azerbaijan, Aysin argued that such criticism is rooted in an imperial worldview in which neighboring countries are expected to align their policies with Moscow.
“Through this Stalinist lens, he looks at Azerbaijan and sees a country behaving too autonomously and too independently, defending its own interests – and he does not like it,” Aysin said.
According to the analyst, proponents of this position recognize Russia’s right to defend its interests while denying other sovereign states the same right.
“Russia is entitled to pursue its interests, but when another internationally recognized sovereign state does the same, its behavior is suddenly considered wrong,” he said.
Aysin argued that Baku’s emphasis on sovereignty and international law particularly irritates Russian commentators who continue to view the former Soviet republics as part of Moscow’s exclusive sphere of influence.
Their reasoning, he said, effectively treats Russia’s actions as inherently legitimate while judging other countries according to whether their policies serve Moscow.
“Everything Russia does is presented as right, while everything others do is wrong simply because their policies are not designed to please Russia,” Aysin said.
AZE.US