Sergei Markov: ‘’Azerbaijan has surpassed many countries in the post-Soviet space over 25 years’’

Azerbaijan celebrated the anniversary of its independence. On October 18th 1991, Azerbaijan's Supreme Council adopted the Constitutional Act on State Independence of the Republic of Azerbaijan from the USSR. A well-known Russian political scientist and director of the Institute of Political Studies, Sergei Markov, told Vestnik Kavkaza how Azerbaijan has lived these 25 years.

 - What kind of a country and what state has Azerbaijan become over the 25 years of independence?

 - Over these 25 years of independence, Azerbaijan has achieved outstanding success. The most important achievement is a stable growth of the standard of living and economy; moreover, the economic growth in Azerbaijan, perhaps, is the highest in the former Soviet space. Also during this time the oil and gas industry of the republic, inherited from the Soviet era, has been greatly developed. A system of oil and gas transportation to the different countries of the world has been built, including to Europe, thus ensuring a strong financial basis for the budget. A stable and very strong political system has been created, which allows making the right decisions in the field of economy and preventing any extremist manifestations in Azerbaijan. A strong army has been built, capable to implement the tasks for the liberation of Nagorno-Karabakh and the adjacent regions, which was demonstrated by a four-day war in April.

 Over 25 years, Azerbaijan has created a well-developed, effective system of bilateral relations with other countries, the policy of President Ilham Aliyev contributed greatly to this. At the same time we see that the image of Azerbaijan in the world has improved, a flow of tourists has grown significantly. A huge number of events is being held in Azerbaijan, such as the Baku Humanitarian Forum, the World Congress of MGIMO graduates, the 1st European Games. Next year Baku will host the Islamic Games. A very large number of events supports the image of advanced country. To a great extent it is a merit of Mehriban Aliyeva and the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, headed by her.

 Over the years, Baku has transformed. Baku is not just a capital, about one third of the population lives there, and another one-third regularly visits Baku. In fact, Baku is a half of Azerbaijan. Now the city is in excellent condition. Millions of people, both the residents and visitors can enjoy modernized areas for comfortable living and leisure. We have witnessed a real breakthrough in this area. Baku is a modern city; it is a kind of a museum of modern architecture in the open air, with magnificent buildings, embankment, shopping areas, and the beautifully reconstructed old town. An urban breakthrough that took place in Baku, should be considered a great achievement.

 -How has Azerbaijan’s foreign policy influenced its relations with Russia? And what are the results of the Russian-Azerbaijani relations today?

 - The current Russian-Azerbaijani relations are very good. The basis, in many ways, was laid by a visit of Vladimir Putin in August 2013, before the presidential elections in Azerbaijan, when the agreements on the military-technical cooperation and cooperation in the Caspian Sea were reached. The basis for a good relationship, on the one hand, is a significant presence of the Azerbaijani Diaspora in Russia, on the other hand, a significant development of the Russian culture and world in Azerbaijan. We can say that Azerbaijan is at the same time both in the Russian and Turkish worlds. This presence in the two worlds is a vivid manifestation of the main characteristic of Azerbaijan, I would call it ‘plasticity’. It is a very modern quality, because it is recognized as one of the main requirements for success in the modern world. The traditional ‘plasticity’ has allowed Azerbaijan to maintain the excellent relations with both Russia and Turkey during a hard Russian-Turkish conflict. Note that the elections in Azerbaijan are recognized both in Russia and in the Western countries, which rarely occurs in the former Soviet Union at the same time: usually either we or they criticize the country, but now everyone seeks friendship with Azerbaijan.

 Of course, the basis of the Russian-Azerbaijani relations is in our common past, the contribution that Russia made in the development of Azerbaijan in the old days. Suffice to compare the people of the republic with the Azerbaijanis living in Iran - you will see the difference. A favorable relationship with Russia contributed to the Europeanization and civilizational, cultural, and economic development of Azerbaijan. At the same time, Azerbaijan has always been an integral part of the great Russian Empire and later the Soviet Union and it made a great contribution to their history. I recall that, according to the opinion of many experts, if Heydar Aliyev had remained in the Council of Ministers, it would have been possible to preserve the USSR.

 - How has the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict affected the development of Azerbaijan?

 - Of course, the conflict has had a negative impact. The result is up to a million of refugees, a constant need to spend resources to create a powerful army, a loss of the vast territory, and colossal effort and time spent by the republic's leadership in search for a diplomatic solution to the conflict. Nagorno-Karabakh conflict still is a key unsolved problem in Azerbaijan. This year, there were actual conditions for its temporary resolution on the basis of the so-called ‘Kazan Formula’, but now everything is in a standstill, and it is unclear what will happen next.

 - Who do you think has made the greatest contribution to the current state of Azerbaijan?

 - The greatest contribution has been made by Heydar Aliyev, who can be considered the founding father of the modern Azerbaijani statehood. Also, the roles of the modern Azerbaijani President, Ilham Aliyev, and his spouse Mehriban Aliyeva are important too: Ilham Aliyev guarantees effective governance in Azerbaijan, and Mehriban Aliyeva creates a very attractive image of the republic for the foreign countries. No wonder, that there are even fan clubs of Mehriban Aliyeva in Russia, Turkey, and other countries.

 - What do you think are the prospects for the development and life in Azerbaijan in the future?

 - It is reasonable to expect that Azerbaijan will continue to flourish. We can expect a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the development of high-tech industries outside of the oil and gas sector, and tighter integration into the regional economic associations are ahead.