Something has gone wrong in Russia again. Again, because we are talking about an empire that lives by a centuries-old calendar, but is surprised every time it gets hit in the teeth. This time, from Azerbaijan.
On the night of 27 June, the FSB conducted a forceful operation against the so-called Azerbaijani “OPG” in Yekaterinburg. Officially, the investigation into the case has been ongoing since 2001, when Putin was just sitting in the chair. According to unofficial information, it was a demonstration massacre to remind the Azerbaijani community in Russia who was “the boss” here. As a result, two people died, and another one from the Safarov family died later. A total of thirteen people were detained. According to the good old Chekist tradition, with torture, violence, and disregard for human life.
It was the moment when Azerbaijanis remembered: Russia is not a brother. Russia is a jailer. Russia is always about death, humiliation, blackmail and coercion. While the Kremlin propagandists were telling tales about the “fight against organized crime”, concerts in Baku were being disrupted one after another: Basta, Agutin, other performers of the imperial stage. Russian performances were under the knife. The state reaction was swift: the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry summoned the temporary charge d’affaires of Russia and expressed a sharp protest. This is no longer a cultural cooling-off period – this is a diplomatic warning.
At the same time, journalist Afgan Mukhtarli declared live: the Russian embassy in Baku should be burned down. And although the official authorities, of course, will not support such calls, the degree of sentiment in society is obvious. The anger is real. The indignation is justified. Russia once again believed in its myth of power, and received a slap in the face from reality.
This story did not appear in a vacuum. Azerbaijan has long kept its distance from Russian cultural expansion. Back in 2019, the country’s government made a loud statement: Azerbaijanis should not call their children Russian names. Then the terminology commission under the Cabinet of Ministers directly said: “Peter, Pavel, or Tatyana are not for us.” It was not just a matter of names. It was a statement about identity. About freedom from the colonial legacy. About protecting the language – and therefore the nation.
What has happened now is a logical continuation of this line. And it is important to understand this not only as a bilateral diplomatic conflict, but as a manifestation of something bigger. This is a crack in the imperial lie about the “brotherly nation” who are supposedly always with Russia. This is another brick that is being removed from the foundation of the Kremlin’s model of the world — a world where everyone must fear, be silent, tolerate and obey.
For years, Russia has been hiding behind the fight against “bandits” to mask its colonial tyranny. But when people die in your home at the hands of security forces from another country, this is no longer “fighting crime,” this is aggression. This is direct intervention. This is the imperial punitive machine in action.
And here it is important that we, Ukrainians, notice every such episode. Because the anti-imperial bloc of nations will not build itself. It is cemented by solidarity. Sometimes quiet. Sometimes loud, like the cancellation of all Russian concerts in the capital. Sometimes, just burning and sincere rage, as in the words of Mukhtarla. Every manifestation of resistance to the empire must be supported.
Because if today they came to the Safarovs, tomorrow they will come to others. To the Kyrgyz, to the Armenians, to the Kazakhs, to us. They have already come. So, let’s not forget the main thing: the empire does not change. It only retreats when it is afraid. And that is why it must be kept in fear – until its last day.
Daniel Kozachok
