By Orkhan Sattarov, head of the European Bureau of Vestnik Kavkaza
Azerbaijan has hailed Russian President Vladimir Putin's criticism of Russian media structures for poor, in his opinion, coverage of the history of the European Games. 'How could it happen that Zhukov has sent me a letter now that no one wanted to cover the first European Games in Baku – it is an event in world sports, after all – in the mass media, not a single channel of ours?' the president asked at a session of the Sports Council. Then the Russian leader scolded media for the 'imperfection' of the system of information support in covering 'the key events in world sports.'
Watching the exuberant reaction of Azerbaijani users expressing sympathy with the Russian president, one may wonder that sometimes it takes very little to win the approval of ordinary people. Maybe Putin's phrase was not such a PR move, because the Russian leader shows sincere interest in the European Games. Otherwise, he would not plan to attend their opening in Baku on June 12.
But in light of Putin's call for such detailed coverage of a project so important for Baku's image, the critical attitude towards the sports event of Western journalists grows especially conspicuous. Just recently, German public television dedicated a 10-minute report to the European Games, whipping the country for the situation with human rights throughout it. Only Michael Vesper, the head of the German Olympic Committee, gave an unbiased view. In the near future, Berlin and Reporters Without Borders plan to hold another event aimed at discrediting the European Games and the Azerbaijani government. The main reporters there will be activists of Western funds, who will tell the public how tough it is to live in Azerbaijan.
In this context, the question is what is Europe trying to achieve by organizing such events? Improvement of human rights protection in Azerbaijan? A dialogue on human rights should be conducted with the government, not some ascetic activists whose influence on the situation is almost zero. One-sided coverage of the human rights situation in the country by media has no effect on the demeanor of official Baku in key issues. Moreover, it only creates a negative information background for contacts on the state level, where the human rights topic can be discussed among other issues.
An analytical article on Stratfor Global Intelligence has already mentioned disappointment of Azerbaijan's political elite with the squall of criticism storming over the country in Western media. In the end, it leads to further fall of the West's authority in the country, especially in light of the ineptitude and dual standards in solving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Simultaneously, Azerbaijan understands well that Moscow has a lot more tools to resolve any regional conflicts. Add to that the friendly information policy of Russia towards Azerbaijan during any events akin to the European Games and the strengthening commercial and economic ties between the countries, and it becomes clear that Europeans have very little to show the Kremlin in the struggle for influence in Azerbaijan. The refusal of President Ilham Aliyev to attend the Eastern Partnership summit in Riga has been indirect proof of that.
Indisputably, Azerbaijani energy projects are still intwined with the West, and business ties would hardly suffer from the developments in some negative media elements. Business is business, but there is a much more important thing in the long run: Europe risks to finally lose the hearts and minds of Azerbaijan to Russia. And information policy is important, if not the foremost, component of any such regional competition.
