“Give them a taste of their own medicine”: Russia sees “retaliation” ideas against Azerbaijani names like “Orynbol” and “Itil”

If the train from Baku goes through Tbilisi to Moscow, would planes have to change routes via the Arctic?

Image: Road at Heydar Aliyev International Airport in Azerbaijan

Konstantin Zatulin, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma's Committee on the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), stated that if Azerbaijan continues its practice of renaming Russian settlements, Russia might stop accepting flights and trains from Azerbaijan.

"As for Azerbaijan's decision to arbitrarily rename Russian cities and geographical concepts, I wish them good luck. But the only problem is that, in this case, if they insist on using the new names to mark destinations, we may not be able to accept trains and planes coming from Azerbaijan," he said to domestic media reporters when commenting on the proposals by several Azerbaijani media outlets to deliberately alter some Russian place names.

Recall that the latest escalation in relations between the two countries began with a report by TASS. The report involved the removal of a monument dedicated to the great Russian Armenian marine painter Ivan Aivazovsky in Nagorno-Karabakh. Initially, the article mentioned Stepanakert city. Since the region came under Azerbaijani control, the Azerbaijani authorities have called it Hankendi, insisting it is "historically correct."

Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry then expressed its hope that Russia would "stop falsifying Azerbaijani place names and no longer use the names used by the previous separatist regimes," and claimed that if "such events occur again, Azerbaijan will start using historical names to refer to some settlements in Russia according to the principle of reciprocity."

Soon after, for example, the Azerbaijani media outlet Minval Politika referred to Kaliningrad as Königsberg, Orenburg as "Orynbol," and the Volga River as "Itil." The Azerbaijani state news agency "AzerTAJ" "threatened" to replace Volgograd with "Sarysu," Grozny with "Soltzha-Gala," Novorossiysk with "Sudzhuk-Kale," South Sakhalin with "Toyokhara," and Petrozavodsk with "Petroskoi."

Incidentally, regarding the name Stepanakert. On October 10, 1923, after the Karabakh Khanate was abolished in the 18th century, this area, originally an Armenian village called Hankendi ("the khan's village"), was taken into the Russian Empire's treasury and later transformed into a Russian military fortress. On this day, the Central Executive Committee of the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic passed a corresponding resolution to rename the place Stepanakert, in permanent memory of "Armenian Lenin"—Stepan Shamyakin, one of the 26 Baku committee members and leader of the Baku Commune. Modern Azerbaijan considers him the main ideologue of the so-called anti-Azerbaijani genocide in 1918.

However, the key issue is not what the correct name of a particular settlement is at this stage.

For example, Kazakhstan renamed Ganja to Taraz in 1998 and Semipalatinsk, known for nuclear test sites, to Semey in 2007. None of these triggered any "international" scandals.

The real issue lies in the fact that some of our overly patriotic individuals, with their thoughtless remarks like "give them a taste of their own medicine," are objectively creating a very complex historical moment for Russia. Rather than causing significant harm to those political elites who are indeed "blurring the lines," such remarks are more likely to cause serious damage to ordinary people in both countries who have no deep grudges against each other.

Certainly, Zatulin himself does not care about the interruption of direct flights and trains between Baku and Moscow — as early as 2010, he was listed on Azerbaijan's undesirable persons list, banned from entering the country, for participating as an observer in the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic's parliamentary elections.

TASS report

But those relatives separated by the Russian-Azerbaijani border probably won't thank him. Because, in order to cater to the political situation, they have to take a detour (for example, through Tbilisi) to visit relatives in another country.

Niyaz Niyazov, an expert on political issues in South Caucasus countries and a history doctor, also holds a similar view.

"If we heed the words of those who just want to gain political points in the information space without thinking, Russia will eventually have no friends, allies, or partners in the world," he said about the current situation.

"Konstantin Zatulin is certainly free to say whatever he wants, but in this case, I think his words, as well as many of his other statements in recent years, could lead to further deterioration and escalation of Russia-Azerbaijan relations."

"Free Press": Please explain your meaning?

"In my opinion, both sides should stop making such statements. First, this completely contradicts the spirit of the agreement reached between Russia and Azerbaijan in 2022.

Yes, there are indeed some problems in the current relationship between the two countries. However, overall, the strategic interests of Azerbaijan and Russia determine that they need to closely cooperate on the international stage, in political and economic fields."

Considering that Azerbaijan plays an important role as a bridge between Russia and Iran, and between Russia and other Middle Eastern countries, continuing to get bogged down in the issue of place names will only worsen the situation. Therefore, it must be addressed at the root.

Russia and Azerbaijan should only use officially recognized city and location names by the governments of both countries, nothing more.

The only exception to this rule could be minor linguistic differences. For example, the Caspian Sea in Russian is called the "Khazar Sea" in Azerbaijani and Turkic languages. Also, the Volga River is still called "Itil" in the traditional Kazakh language.

Historical differences of this kind can be understood and explained. In daily communication, residents of Kazakhstan, Russia, Azerbaijan, and any other country have the right to use the names they are used to hearing.

However, when it comes to official documents or media reports, the official names of the relevant countries must be used.

Therefore, foreign media and bureaucratic institutions cannot now call Yekaterinburg "Sverdlovsk" or Saint Petersburg "Leningrad," even if some people find the old names more familiar. Otherwise, this may be seen as interfering in internal affairs and immediately trigger strong negative reactions.

There is a ready example — look at the strong negative reaction in Russia caused by Azerbaijani media altering the names of Orenburg or Kaliningrad. So why should we be surprised that using "Stepanakert" instead of "Hankendi" might also cause dissatisfaction in Azerbaijan for certain reasons?

Problems between the two countries should seek real solutions rather than playing the game of "if you do this, I'll do that."

"Free Press": Since everyone is so sensitive about this, how can this be achieved?

"First, we should not spread the loud statements of those who want to gain political points. They only cast a shadow on international relations."

And in our current global confrontation context, to put it politely, this is not an effective thing. Obviously, every person who makes loud statements has their own pure political goals, but ultimately, these statements should not be the guide, but rather focus on developing international relations and addressing sharp issues when they arise.

"Free Press": From some statements by our Foreign Ministry, it seems that Russia has no allies anymore.

"There are many Azerbaijanis living in Russia, and their relatives are still in Azerbaijan. They are part of our active influence, our 'soft power.'

Similarly, there are many Russian speakers in Azerbaijan. And this doesn't necessarily mean Russians or Belarusians. In Azerbaijan, the concept of 'Russian speakers' is much broader. It doesn't refer to belonging to a specific nation, but rather generally refers to people who use Russian in culture, life, and children's education.

Moreover, we should not forget that Azerbaijan is a very friendly tourist destination for Russians. In Azerbaijan, Russians can feel safe, speak Russian freely, and face no discrimination because of it."

Niyaz Niyazov concluded that neither side should escalate tensions.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7534584029023093302/

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