KURDS IN AZERBAIJAN
By Ph.D Shamil Askerov
Translated from Turkish by Nizameddin Rzayev
Source: Kurdler Azerbaycanda
KurdishMedia, UK
9/18/2006
Samîl Esker Kosesi, PhD
The settlement of Kurds in Azerbaijan dates back to ancient times,
which is supported by numerous historical sources. Antique Greek
historians provide us with valuable information about the Kurds
living in modern-day Azerbaijan. The works published both in
Azerbaijan and abroad are also valuable sources of knowledge about
the Kurdish inhabitants of these lands. For example, the book titled
“Sources on the History of Azerbaijan” (pages 68-69) talks about the
heroic resistance of Balasican (Balasacan, Balasakan) Kurds against
the invading Caliph Armies headed by Salman Ibn Rebiyye during the
Islamic expansion (Sources on the History of Azerbaijan, Baku, 1989,
page 72). The same book describes Balasican as a province located
on the Mugan plains on the right-hand side shores of lower ends of
Kura River. The same source also mentions Sabalan and Seturdan Kurds
in Azerbaijan.
The fact that Terter river (Terter river taking its source from
Kelbajar mountains joins Kura River) was called the “Waters of Kurds”
in the14th century (during the time of Hurufi leaders-Neimi-Nesimi in
Azerbaijan) is another strong evidence of Kurds’ more ancient presence
in modern day Azerbaijan than is generally thought (Isa Huseynov,
“Meshher” novel, Baku, 1978, page 141)
Sheddadi dynasty
A Kurdish dynasty Sheddadis ruled large parts of modern day
Azerbaijan and Armenia from Dvin (951-971) and Ganja (971-1174) for
223 years. During this period, 20 Kurdish Kings between the reigns
of Muhammad Ibn Sheddad and Shehanshah ruled Azerbaijan.
Sheddadis were well-known for their massive construction and
engineering projects such as building roads, bridges, mosques
etc. After the Ganja earthquake they rebuilt Ganja as an even more
magnificent Sheddadi capital than before in a very short time.
Several historians talk about their policy of construction and justice
with great admiration. The 18 years’ rein of Kurdish King Abulesvar
Shavur in Ganja, famous for his far-sightedness, justice and wisdom
saw the completion of historic construction projects. One of the most
famous monuments built during Shavur’s reign are the still surviving
Ganja Doors conserved in the museums of Republic of Georgia.
Another famous construction masterpiece by Sheddadis was the Xudaferin
Bridge over Araks River which has also survived as a magnificent work
of craftsmanship and engineering until today. Xudaferin Bridge was
built during the reign of Sheddadi King Fezl (History of Azerbaijan,
Baku, 1994, page 283).
A classic Azerbaijani poet Getran Tebrizi in his hundreds of eulogies
(gita and madhiyyas) dedicated to Sheddadi Kings commended their
accomplishments and exalted them as the unrivaled leaders of the
region.
Tebrizi devoted more than 50 eulogies (medhiyye and gaside) to Shaddadi
Kings Ebdulhasan Eli Leshkeri and Ebdulxelil Jefer. Altogether, He
wrote more than 150 eulogies (gitas) about Sheddadi Kings. (Getran
Tebrizi, Divan, Azerbaijan Science Academy Press, Baku, 1967)
Deportation of 24 Kurdish tribes to Azerbaijan
Sharafname by Sheref Xan Bitlisi (Sharafname, Moscow, 1967, page 370,
in Russian) and other sources tell us that Shah Abbas I of Iran moved
16 or 24 Kurdish tribes to Azerbaijan to fortify the borders of Safavid
Empire. In the 19th century sources we find the traces of these 24
Kurdish tribes in Dereleyez (Dereleyez being part of Azerbaijan at that
time was later attached to Armenia and renamed as Azizbeyov). A book
published in St. Petersburg provides the following information about
them: After the rivalry between Kurdish bey Nebi bey and Karabakh xan,
the Shah of Iran called Nebi bey and invested him with the duty to
protect the borders of Eastern Dereleyez. The Kurds under the local
rule of Nebi bey moved from Karabakh to Dereleyez in 1813. At that
time there were 44 villages and 910 families in Dereleyez. Of these
families 663 were Kurdish, 247 were Armenian families.
The same source also deals with 9 Kurdish tribes of the famous 24s
which were Haci Shamli, Shadimanli, Gechovchu, Kulikanli, Hesenanli,
Bozlu, Ferixkanli, Pusyan and Milli (Statistics of Nakhchevan Region)
Orientalists Shopen in his work ” The historic situation of Armenian
province during its annexation to Russian Empire” published in
1852 identified and studied the following 22 Shiite Kurdish tribes
deported to Karabakh by Shah Abbas I: Karachorlu, Hesenanli, Kulikanli,
Shadimanli, Milli, Sheylanli, Tehmezli, Eliyanli, Bergushad, Babali,
Kulluxchu, Gelovchu, Ferixkanli, Sisyanli, Terterli, Haci Samli,
Sultanli, Gulukhanli, Bozlu, Elikyanli, Kolani, Pusyanli
Also, a well-known Azerbaijani historian Alekberov did an extensive
research on the mentioned Kurdish tribes.( A. Alekberov “Esseys on the
study of Kurdish culture” in Russian, Baku 1936, page 40-62) All the
mentioned tribes used to live in Kelbajar, Lachin, Gubadlu, Zengilan
and Cebrayil until the occupation of Red Kurdistan by Armenian troops.
Another source
Memmedhesen Velili (Baharli), in his Russian-language book “Azerbaijan:
geographical-natural, ethnographic and economic research” published
in 1921 and later translated into Azeri in 1993, did a brief research
on the Kurds of Azerbaijan. Baharli concluded that 20 thousand Kurds
lived in Azerbaijan in 1917.
The researcher has left us some very useful and detailed information
about the Kurdish tribes in Azerbaijan. The author writes “One of
the most influential chiefs of Shahseven tribe-Kurd bey had three
sons who branched out into three generations.
Poladbeyli generation, Demirbeyli generation, and Guzelbeyli
generation. Presently, there exist Poladbeyli and Demirbeyli
generations in Azerbaijan.
Other brunches that sprang out from the tribe of Kurd bey are Xelifeli,
Buduglu, Muradli, Zergerli, and Malli (page 44)
Baharli claims that one of the most assimilated nations in Azerbaijan
are the Kurds. According to him, Pusyan Kurds and Gorus Kurds migrated
into Azerbaijan from Nothern Kurdistan and Hamadan, Iran while all
the other Kurds are the indigenous inhabitants of Azerbaijan.
Baharli notes that most of the mentioned Kurds have undergone
linguistic assimilation and forgotten their native Kurdish. Only older
members of these communities could speak Kurdish. He provides us the
following information about some Kurdish villages of Nakhchevan: “The
ancestors of the people in Kilit village of Nakhchevan were exiled by
Nadir Shah after their rebellion. They spoke their native Kurdish until
the end of the 19th century but they mostly speak Azerbaijani/Turkish
now” The author establishes that the indigenous Kurdish communities
are concentrated in the following provinces of Azerbaijan.
Guba province: GaraKurdu and Garacali villages Javad province:
Garalar(4 villages), Garacalilar, Bouyk Gorus, Jir Gorus villages
Shamakhi province: Kurd, Garali, Gorushcheperli villages Goychay
province: Jir Kurd, Kurd Shaban, Kurdkarabakhli, Kurdmashi, Kurd,
Garachalli, Garaca, Gorusaga, Goruskend villages Lenkeran province:
Bergushad, Kurabbasli, Kurdler, Boyukgarali, Kichikgarali villages
Agdash province: Kurdler Zengezur province: Garalar, Garachalli,
Sisyan, Kurdhaci, Gazikurdarli, Kurdeli, Kurdgala Gazakh province:
Garalar Jebrayil province: Kurdmahmudlu, Kurd Mahrizli, Kurdchapik,
Kurdefendiler Jevanshir province: Bergushad, Kurdbaragi, Gazi Kurdeli,
Kurdler, Kurdbirdeamanyan; Gence province: Sefikurd Shusha province:
Kurdgaradagli, Kurdler Sherur-Dereleyez province: : Pesyan (Pusyan)
(page.
56-57)
Despite its usefulness, Baharli’s research sufferers from serious
shortcomings and does not report other well-known historical knowledge
about the Kurds of Azerbaijan. For instance, in his book, the author
has failed to give us any information about the 24 Kurdish tribes
deported to Azerbaijan by Shah Abbas I in the 16th century, and made
no mention of either their names or their settlement areas. The book
also omits two sizable Kurdish villages -Bakhchakurd and Balakurd in
Gence province (modern-day Goranboy district).
1926 Census
The results of population census conducted in 1926 were published two
years later in the book “The population of Caucasus” in Tiflis. At
the time one of total 13 provinces present in Azerbaijan was called
Red Kurdistan. According to the census, Kurds made up 72.3 percent
of 51,426 people residing in 480 settlements of Red Kurdistan, the
other 26.7 percent being Azeri Turks. The census established the
size of Kurdish population in Azerbaijan altogether at 41,193 persons
(21.280 men, 19.913 women), Besides 67 Kurdish residents of foreign
origin were also entered in the census figures.
Pyotr Lerx about Kurds
A Russian ambassador to Iran and kurdologist P. Lerx in his research
“Studies on the Kurds of Iran and their forefathers Haldeys” also
talks about Kurds in Azerbaijan. The book is a very useful source
of knowledge about Garachorlu, Hesenanli, Kulikanli, Shadimanli,
Haci Samli, Tehmezli, Xanazekli, Cavadli, Ferixkanli, Sultanli,
Milli, Bozlu, Bayandurlu and other Kurdish tribes (page 88) in
Azerbaijan. Lerx alos notes that these tribes had undergone serious
linguistic assimlation to the degree that only the members of old
generation could speak their native Kurdish
All of the above-mentioned Kurdish tribes cited by Lerx were living
in Red Kurdistan until its fall to Armenian Armies (1991-1993). There
were 22 Ferixkanli, 12 Hesenanli, 3 Haci Shamli, 3 Milli, and several
Xanazekli villages in Kelbajar.
M.A Skibitski about Kurds
The map prepared by M.A Skibitski about Kurds of Azerbaijan is another
important source of information relevant to concerned topic. (“Karabakh
map at the end of 19th century”, “Azerbaijan newspaper”, Baku, May 5,
1990 N.1)
According to M.A Skibitski, in the 19th century Kurds mostly lived in
Karabakh; the plateaus and canyons of Jevanshir province (Geza) crossed
by Terter and Tutgu rivers; the canyons and plateaus of Zengezur
province (Geza) crossed by Bergushad and Hekeri (Hakkari) Rivers; and
Jebrayil province; The author estimated that in only Karabakh there
were 3,500 Kurdish families, 18,603 Kurds and 67 Kurdish villages in
1893. During the same time, there were 3408 Armenian families and
47 Armenian villages in Karabakh. As is evident, Kurds had 22 more
villages and 102 more families than Armenians in Karabakh in 1893.
Settlements outside the boundaries of Red Kurdistan bearing the names
with the root “Kurd”
Despite the policy of the communist regime to rename the settlements
bearing the root “Kurd” in Azerbaijan over the 70 years, there
are still the following villages and towns possessing this root in
different districts of Azerbaijan Republic, all of them beyond the
boundaries of Red Kurdistan excluding Lachin and Gubadly districts
listed below.
Agdam district: two villages named Kurdler (Kurds) Agjabedi district:
Kurdler Berde district: Kurdborachi and Kurdler Gubadli district:
Kurdmahluzlu and Kurdler Guba district: Kurdarkh Zakatala district:
Kurdemir Goranboy district: Bakhchakurd, Balakurd, Sefikurd; Goychay
district: Jir Kurd, Kurdshaban, Kurd, Kurdemir Imishli district:
Kurdmahmudlu Ismayilli district: Kurdvan, Kurdmashi, Kurdeldarbeyli
Lachin district: Kurdhaci Lerik district: Kurdeser Masalli district:
Kurdebazli Oguz district: Kurd Fizuli district: Kurdler, Kurdmahmudlu
Xankendi district: Kurdler Sherur district: Kurdkend, Kurdchullu
Baku: Kurdexani (Kurdekhani) town Kurdemir district: Kurdemir town
(Administrative-territorial divisions of Azerbaijan Republic, Baku,
1961).
–Boundary_(ID_BaXq6UjrN+U1qzVk/v/7p g)–

HOUSE TEAMS VOW TO UNEARTH ARTURS’ SAGA
By Benard Onyari
Kenya Times, Kenya
19 Sept 06
PARLIAMENTARY committees investigating the conduct of the two
Armenian brothers have vowed to pursue the probe vigorously as soon
as Parliament reconvenes next month.
The chairman of the committee on Security and Justice Ramadhan Kajembe
said his team was committed to unearthing the truth on the saga.
“One thing Kenyans should be assured of is that we are committed
to give them answers to the questions over the so-called Armenian
brothers. Our quest will commence immediately Parliament reopens,”
he said.
Speaking yesterday, Kajembe however noted that the committees had no
powers to compel individuals to appear before it.
The Armenian brothers have been at the centre of controversy since
their presence in the country came to the limelight in March following
a revelation by Lang’ata MP Raila Odinga.
However, the duo spiritedly defended themselves at various press
conferences, arguing that they were genuine businessmen keen on
investing in real estates and manufacturing among others.
The two committees’, Legal Affairs and Administration of Justice
led by Paul Muite and Kajembe, kicked off their investigations after
the two Armenians caused a stir at the Jomo Kenyatta International
Airport, Nairobi.
The two are alleged to have resisted attempts to have their visitors’
luggage checked by customs officers.
Following the airport security scare, the Armenians snatched the
luggage and after a gun stand-off with security officials, sped off
with the police in hot pursuit.
The brothers are also suspected to have had a hand in the March 2
raid at a media house where computers were carted away, newspapers
burnt and a transmission unit vandalised.
However, following the airport gun drama, the said brothers were
briefly held before they were hurriedly deported.
The conduct of the Armenians then led to the parallel investigations
one led by the former Police Commissioner Shedrack Kiruki and another
by the joint parliamentary watchdogs.
The Kiruki Commission appointed by the President, which has so far
completed its probe and handed over its report, has been termed as
a cover-up in different quarters.
Muite, the Kabete legislator, is on record saying that his team
believed there were influential officials “high up in Government”
who protected the two foreigners.
Among those who have been summoned by the committees are Narc activist,
Mary Wambui and daughter Winfred Wambui, interdicted CID boss Joseph
Kamau and the Commissioner of Police, Hussein Ali.

AZERI FOREIGN MINISTRY TO VERIFY VISIT OF IRANIAN DELEGATION TO NAGORNO-KARABAKH
Author: A.Ismaylova
Trend
Today 19.09.2006
The foreign ministry of Azerbaijan will verify the information
about the visit of the representatives of Iranian Republic to
Nagorno-Karabakh, the Head of the Press and Information Policy
Department of the Ministry Tahir Tagizade told Trend.
Tagizade stressed that it is not for the first time that Armenian mass
media disseminate information not corresponding with reality. According
to the information of Azerbaijani side, no official person, including
Armenia, has visited Nagorno-Karabakh. “I think that no-one is going to
take such a step, but it needs to verify it, and the official position
of Baku will be asserted depending on from what it is confirmed,”
Tagizade emphasized.
According to the information of APKA news agency, the Iranian
delegation visited Nagorno-Karabakh where a forum was held in Khankendi
with the participation of businessmen and industrialists. During
the forum, discussions were held on the import of fuel and relevant
equipments from Iran. In addition, it was decided to organize the
exhibition of Iranian commodities in Nagorno-Karabakh in the future.

RA PRESIDENT: “ACHIEVEMENTS RECORDED IN ARTSAKH WILL NOT BE DENIED”
DeFacto Agency, Armenia
2006-09-18 15:27:00
Speaking at the opening of Armenia – Diaspora Third Forum September
18, RA President Robert Kocharyan underscored, “the efforts on Nagorno
Karabakh Republic’s international recognition must become Panarmenian
priority number one”. RA President regrets that an overall agreement
has not been signed, “however, we have the right to live freely and
we exercise our right successfully”.
Robert Kocharyan does not think it necessary to respond to Azerbaijan’s
permanent militarist statements, as “at war, in the case of a war
victory is achieved at the expense of an army’s battle efficiency
and a nation’s general spirit, not statements”.
Robert Kocharyan summed up the Armenian party’s stand: “the Nagorno
Karabakh Republic’s existence is an incontestable fact, its formation’s
legal grounds are invulnerable, the country’s economy is developing
stable and democratic amendments are being realized”.

TOUGH TIME FOR E.U. RELATIONS
By Deniz Ulke Aribogan
Turkish Press, MI
Published: 9/18/2006
AKSAM- Obviously one doesn’t see the same object if one is standing
at different angles. Our distance from that object, our angle
and direction determines in what way and how much we can see that
thing. The other element which affects our vision is the capacity
of our eyes. Our political vision is no different. Our angle, the
way we stand and the obstacles to our vision shape our stance on
political incidents.
Interestingly, when our eyes don’t see well, we use glasses or
contact lenses, but we have no doubt about the clarity of our
political vision. We sometimes have the harshest views about certain
issues that we can’t see. Maybe the more information we have and see
things from different angles, the harder it is for us to have a firm
opinion. However, it’s much easier to have a view before becoming
informed. What’s more, those who have a view talk the most. One can
feel the same situation in our country and other countries. In the
US, politics is talked, thought about and produced in Washington,
DC the most. Serious political discussions are held not only at
research institutions and universities, but also in restaurants,
shopping centers and taxis. The world’s information is compiled
there. Therefore, lobbies are very influential.
They’re trying to turn the results of research and the way they are
interpreted by politicians in their own favor. Particularly ethnic
lobbies are working very professionally and tcan have an impact on
many decisions.
However, Turkey is very weak on this. We’ve never managed to get
organized and do lobbying. The Greek, Armenian, Jewish, Arab and
Hispanic lobbies are very active. They have close contacts with
politicians.
However, nobody is working in the direction of Turkey’s political
strategy, except for a few Turkish researchers and some volunteers. We
have no sufficient channel to explain ourselves to the US, market our
vision in foreign politics and tell our problems about northern Iraq
and the terrorist PKK. These people don’t know us and know little
about us, but they know a lot about the issues which concern us. Up
to now the Jewish lobby has been able to close the asymmetry which
emerged through the Greek and Armenian lobbies and it also succeeded
in influencing the Congress on many issues. However, we don’t have
such a support following the visit of Hamas officials to Turkey.
What’s more, now the Jewish people have to turn back to issues which
concern them, because the lobbies think that Israel’s policies are
increasing the anger towards the US. In other words, they aren’t
as relaxed as they were in the past. They also have an interesting
stance about the terrorist PKK. They say that although nearly 3,000
US soldiers have died in Iraq, this news isn’t covered by newspapers
and that our nation is very insensitive about our own soldiers, and
so why should we be interested in yours? So they’re shortsighted in
terms of both time and place.
They also can’t see the consequences of an Armenian genocide
resolution. The Armenian diaspora turned this bill into a raison
d’etre, and it’s using all its power. The timing is also very
appropriate. It’s not allowing anybody to know about it, but it can
provide everybody with views in the US Congress. After it’s passed
by the US Congress, it would be no surprise if it creates a domino
effect and is adopted by other countries in short order. We should
hurry up now, before it’s too late.

FROZEN CONFLICTS HEAT UP AS RUSSIA, WEST FACE OFF
By Christian Lowe
Reuters AlertNet, UK
18 Sep 2006 12:46:56 GMT
MOSCOW, Sept 18 (Reuters) – The “frozen conflicts” of the former
Soviet Union are the front-line in Russia’s battle against creeping
Western influence in its backyard.
The scene of bitter fighting when the Soviet Union collapsed, these
conflicts settled down into an uneasy peace. But the fragile balance
could be upset as the West and its local allies grow more assertive,
alarming the Kremlin.
“Push is coming to shove right now,” said Andrew Kuchins, Director
of the Carnegie Endowment’s Russian and Eurasian Programe.
“The Russians do not want the U.S. and the West meddling in the
post-Soviet space … but they do not want things to come down to
a military conflict where the situation could really spin out of
control.”
The term “frozen conflicts” covers separatist disputes in ex-Soviet
Moldova, Georgia and Azerbaijan.
Moldova’s breakaway Dnestr region, and Georgia’s separatist entities
of Abkhazia and South Ossetia have a common factor: Russia supports
the separatists while the West backs the countries they are trying
to secede from.
A referendum on Sunday in which voters in Dnestr endorsed their
self-styled independence highlighted the fault lines. Western
institutions ignored it.
Moscow gave its tacit endorsement by sending vote observers.
But diplomats say the most immediate worry is South Ossetia. Georgian
troops — many of them equipped and trained by the United States —
have been fighting skirmishes with separatist forces — some of whom
hold Russian passports.
CLIENT STATELETS
Russia is unlikely to risk an international outcry by recognising
the independence of the ex-Soviet statelets, say analysts.
Instead, Moscow’s support for Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Dnestr
gives it a pressure point to use on Georgia and Moldova, said Simon
Saradzhyan, of the Moscow-based Centre for Eurasian Security Studies.
“Russia would benefit from keeping the status quo in all the frozen
conflicts as it gives Russia leverage over all sides,” he said.
Pursuing this “divide-and-rule” policy, the Kremlin has made the
breakaway regions, in effect, Russian protectorates. Russia has what
it calls peacekeeping forces in all three. Thousands of people in
Abkhazia and South Ossetia hold Russian passports.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said this month that Dnestr, South
Ossetia and Abkhazia are no different from Kosovo, which the West is
backing to gain independence from Serbia.
The link with Kosovo is probably posturing, but it signals to the
West that Putin is prepared to stand up for the ex-Soviet separatists,
say analysts.
WESTERN ENCROACHMENT
Azerbaijan’s “frozen conflict” with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh
is a different case because there is no clear rivalry between Russia
and the West.
But in Moldova and Georgia, the Kremlin sees the West encroaching
ever closer.
The European Union is taking on a bigger role because if, as expected,
Bulgaria and Romania join the bloc, Moldova will become the EU’s
neighbour and Georgia its near-neighbour across the Black Sea.
Also, Georgia and Moldova have in the past five years pulled sharply
out of Moscow’s orbit and speeded up efforts to join NATO and the EU.
Georgia’s President Mikhail Saakashvili has launched an aggressive —
though, he says, peaceful — drive to restore central rule over South
Ossetia and Abkhazia.
To the Kremlin, it looks as if the West is endorsing that
drive. U.S. Army Green Berets have trained units of Georgia’s
army. Many of the Georgian soldiers skirmishing around South Ossetia
are kitted out in NATO-style camouflage fatigues.
Georgia this year opened a NATO-standard military base at Senaki,
near Abkhazia. A second is planned near Gori, a short drive from
South Ossetia.
“I think (the Kremlin is) really concerned …
Saakashvili may make a pre-emptive strike in South Ossetia, that
things could erupt there,” said the Carnegie Endowment’s Kuchins.

WHY RUSSIA IS REALLY WEAK
Kavkaz Center, Turkey
19.09.2006
News stories about Russia these days follow a predictable theme. The
country is resurgent and strong, and the West must adjust to this
new reality.
But that story line is wrong. Russia is weak and getting weaker.
Take the conventional index of power-military might.
Yes, Moscow is testing advanced missiles systems and talks buoyantly
about countering a U.S. antiballistic-missile system with a
new generation of warheads that can evade interceptors. Yet
note the failure earlier this month of the highly touted Bulava
submarine-launched missile. The United States experiences such mishaps,
too, of course. But in Russia they are signs of something deeper. It’s
no secret that, for all Russia’s new oil wealth, its Army remains
poorly trained, malnourished and demoralized.
Alcoholism, suicide and corruption are rife. Weaponry is aging and
newer models arrive at a trickle: India has bought more Russian tanks
since 2001 than the Russian Army.
Russia gets credit for economic growth-nearly 7 percent this year,
according to the IMF. But the boom has been propelled mainly by rising
energy prices.
What happens when-not if-oil and gas prices begin to retreat? New
investment in production capacity is insufficient to sustain current
levels of exports.
Meanwhile, economic reform has stalled, state control over strategic
economic industries has increased and foreign investment remains
low. Of the 8.1 billion in foreign investment worldwide in 2004, only
.6 billion went to Russia. Not surprisingly, Russia rates poorly in
globalization rankings. The 2005 Foreign Policy/A.T. Kearney survey
placed it 52nd in a list of 62 countries-a drop of five places
from 2004.
Russia’s human capital is being ravaged. The population is declining
by some 750,000 annually because of low birthrates and unusually high
death rates among males; it’s also aging rapidly and will therefore
become increasingly less productive.
Alcoholism remains pervasive, as does drug use. Russia has the highest
rate of tuberculosis in Europe. AIDS has yet to crest. Suicide is
one the rise. According to WHO data on 46 countries between 1998
and 2003, Russia, with 71 cases per 100,000 of the male population,
topped the list.
A nation’s power also rests on the strength of its institutions. Here,
too, Russia is growing weaker.
Putin’s authoritarianism has brought order to a once chaotic political
scene. But Parliament has been neutered. So have independent civic
organizations, political parties and media. The secret police,
military and security services-no friends of the rule of law-occupy
prominent political positions. Official corruption flourishes.
Abroad, Russia’s influence continues to ebb. Its closest
allies-Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan-are poor and politically
unstable.
Energy-rich Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan resent Russia’s grip on
their exports. Armenia, loyal but penurious, remains embroiled in the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with increasingly prosperous Azerbaijan. The
Kremlin’s meddling in Georgia has deepened Tblisi’s determination
to join NATO and strengthened anti-Russian sentiment. Belarus’s
dictatorial president envisions union with Russia, but his Soviet-style
political order repels many ordinary Russians.
On the wider global stage, Putin displays seeming strength and new
confidence. Russian support is key to the negotiations over Iran’s
nuclear program. Its Security Council veto gives it an important say
on various international issues, from Kosovo’s independence to the
United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon. Yet Putin’s rhetoric
increasingly strikes themes of Great Russia-imperial, nostalgic,
nationalistic. However much it resonates with a particular Russian
political class, that rhetoric can itself breed weakness.
You see this in the sharp rise of race-related hate crimes in Russia,
most recently the clash between Russian xenophobes and Chechens
in the north- western town of Kondopga, when a bar brawl triggered
huge rallies of ultranationalists demanding the expulsion of ethnic
minorities. Right-wing racism and Russia-for-Russians chauvinism augur
ill for a multiethnic, multiconfessional Russia, which has near 25
million Muslims.

RUSSIA SAYS 2006 PLAN ON GEORGIA PULLOUT ALMOST COMPLETE
RIA Novosti, Russia
19:16 | 18/ 09/ 2006
TBILISI, September 18 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s military said Monday
its plans for 2006 on withdrawing military hardware from bases in
Georgia will be completed Tuesday.
Under an agreement Russia and Georgia signed March 31, Russian troops
and hardware are to leave two Soviet-era bases in the southern city of
Akhalkalaki and Batumi in the west of Georgia by 2008. The withdrawal
is being monitored by a joint Georgian-Russian commission set up
under the March agreement.
“The 2006 plan for the withdrawal of Russian bases from Georgia can
be considered 100% implemented,” said Major General Andrei Popov,
commander of Russian troops in South Caucasus. “All the equipment
taken out from Georgia has been delivered to military units in Russia
and Armenia, and the last train loaded with equipment will leave the
Tsalka railroad station on September 19.”
Popov said after September 19, the 62nd base in Akhalkalaki, which
the Tsalka station services, will house only vehicles needed for the
base’s functioning until late 2007.
He gave credit to the authorities of Azerbaijan, whose relations with
neighboring Armenia have been tense since the collapse of the Soviet
Union, for allowing the transit of military cargo through the country.
“The withdrawal procedure was simplified after Azerbaijan allowed
transit through its territory, and we have worked in close contact
with the country’s railroad workers, border guards and the military.”
He said there had been no delays in or obstacles to the plan’s
implementation.
But he said it was only the first stage of the withdrawal, which will
continue until 2008. “I hope such issues as food support, movement of
vehicles about Georgia and mail deliveries will be solved as quickly
as issues related to the withdrawal.”
Popov said shipments of military equipment in 2007 would be similar
to this year’s. “A total of 400 cars with equipment have been sent to
Russia through Azerbaijan in 2006, and shipments will be approximately
the same in 2007.”
He said military hardware was to be withdrawn from the military base in
Batumi in 2007, and the base in Akhalkalaki must be closed by December
1, 2007. The staff of the 62nd base in Akhalkalaki would be transferred
to the 12th base in Batumi. “Georgia prohibits the deployment of new
servicemen, and the base in Batumi is 30% undermanned, which is why
we made the decision,” Popov said.
He said the situation in Batumi would be completely different from
that in Akhalkalaki because Georgian police had toughened requirements
for the movement of military vehicles.
“Batumi is a resort, and we hope issues on and the deadline for the
pullout from the Batumi base will be coordinated with the Georgian
side in advance in order to avoid incidents during the tourist season,
which usually starts in July,” Popov said.
The Russian government has earmarked 2.167 billion rubles ($81 million)
for the pullout from the bases.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AZERBAIJAN NOT DITCHING MINSK GROUP FORMAT IN KARABAKH TALKS – OFFICIAL
Interfax News Agency
Russia & CIS General Newswire
September 18, 2006 Monday 3:04 PM MSK
Azerbaijan has no plans to abandon the format of the OSCE Minsk
group in talks on the settlement in Nagorno Karabakh, Tair Tagizade,
head of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry’s information department,
has told Interfax.
“It remains a priority for us,” he said commenting on a statement by
Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian alleging that Azerbaijan
was withdrawing from negotiations in the OSCE framework and taking
it to the U.N. by having the issue of frozen conflicts in the former
Soviet Union included in the agenda of the current U.N. General
Assembly session.
“The process is not being withdrawn from the framework of OSCE because
Azerbaijan is not rejecting the format of the Minsk group,” he said.
He added that Armenian authorities were evading talks with Azerbaijan
on the settlement of the conflict.
Earlier Oskanian said he had no plans for a bilateral meeting with
his Azerbaijani colleague. He said the ministers were likely to have
more separate meetings with Minsk group cochairmen.
“The reluctance to meet as a rule is the last argument of someone
who has no arguments left,” Tagizade said.

TWO SUSPECTS IN SAMARA BRAWL PUT ON WANTED LIST
Nizhny Novgorod
Interfax News Agency
Russia & CIS General Newswire
September 17, 2006 Sunday 9:15 PM MSK
Two persons suspected of involvement in a fight between ethnic
Armenians and ethnic Russians in Volsk, the Saratov region, have been
placed on the federal wanted list.
They are Garnik Unanian, born in 1967, and Artur Mkhoian, born in 1981,
the local prosecutor’s office said in a press release.
“People from the Caucasus and visitors of Slavic appearance began
swearing at each other outside the Galaktika cafe on Komsomolskaya
Street in the town of Volsk at around 2:00 p.m. on September 10. The
men did not like each other and were drunk,” the release says.
“The quarrel erupted into a fight,” during which one of the men
sustained three lethal knife wounds, it says. Another three men of
Slavic appearance sought medical assistance later, it says.
“At the moment there are no grounds to assume that it was a hate
crime,” the release says.
Two people were killed and another six injured in a mass brawl that
broke out between local residents and natives of the Caucasus at a
restaurant in Kondopoga, Karelia, early on August 30. One person was
killed in a shootout at a Samara market on September 13.