MAKHACHKALA (Realist English). There are a lot of influential people in Azerbaijan who hate the culture of Avars and Lezgins. This was stated in an interview with the Realist Information Agency by Timur Aitberov, candidate of Historical Sciences, Caucasus researcher, expert in Eastern and Dagestan languages.
“The origins of the Azerbaijani mass hatred of the Avar language, Avar culture and Avar identity lie in our unwillingness to turn into Azeri Turks and at the same time (which is important) into persons of the lowest socio-political category,” the historian explained. According to historians, pan-Turkists are determined to destroy all Dagestanis through their Turkization. ” Already Mirjafar Bagirov* was thinking about this, but Anastas Mikoyan** and Lavrenty Beria*** prevented him. These groups in Azerbaijan, who can be described as Bagirov’s ideological heirs, dream and plan to appropriate Dagestanis’ real estate after Turkification of Dagestan and turn Dagestanis into slaves who will work for them,” he added.
Aitberov informed about the meeting of the head of Dagestan Ramazan Abdulatipov with the Dagestani intelligentsia, which took place several years ago.
“A representative of the Azerbaijani parliament spoke at it. Speaking with deep feeling, he then thanked Dagestan for erecting of the monument to Aziz Aliyev**** and for naming of a Derbent street after Heydar Aliyev*****, for the flourishing of the Azerbaijani language in Dagestan, for the existence of the Azerbaijani theater and newspapers, which are financed from the budget by the Dagestan authorities. And we are sitting and waiting: now this parliamentarian will say, at least for show, that something would also be done in Azerbaijan for Avars and Lezgins. However, he didn’t say a word about it.
There was the President of Dagestan, his entourage and our intelligentsia’s crème de la crème. At that time, those who were able to think not only about bribes, but also about something sublime, came to a clear opinion: our Dagestani patriots are right when they say that Azerbaijani parliamentarians are entirely pan-Turkist nationalists who are possessed by the idea of their Turkic greatness,” the Caucasus researcher stressed.
* A Soviet and Azerbaijani party and statesman. After becoming the head of the state security agencies of Azerbaijan, he later served as People’s Commissar of Internal Affairs and Chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars of the Azerbaijan SSR, First Secretary of the Baku City Committee of the Communist Party of the Azerbaijan SSR, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Azerbaijan SSR, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Azerbaijan SSR, candidate for the Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPSU, deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.
** A revolutionary, statesman and party leader of the USSR. A member of the party since 1915, a member of the Central Committee since 1923, from 1935 to 1966 – a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU.
*** A Soviet statesman and party leader, Commissar General of State Security, Marshal of the Soviet Union, Hero of Socialist Labor, deprived of these titles in 1953.
**** A Soviet and Azerbaijani statesman and party leader, diplomat. People’s Commissar of Health of the Azerbaijan SSR (1939-1941), Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Azerbaijan SSR (1941-1944), First Secretary of the Dagestan Regional Committee of the CPSU (1942-1948). Grandfather of Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev.
***** A Soviet and Azerbaijani statesman, party and political figure. President of Azerbaijan from 1993 to 2003. Two times Hero of Socialist Labor. In Soviet times, since 1944, he served in state security agencies, consistently held the positions of Chairman of the KGB of the Azerbaijan SSR, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the CP of the Azerbaijan SSR, member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU, First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, Major General.
