Azernews.Az

The detention of Russian equipment on the way to Iran's Bushehr nuclear plant by Azerbaijan's customs and border officials several weeks ago and its release after a month-long halt has infuriated Moscow and prompted it to put to use its levers of pressure on the neighboring country.
Russia normally attempts to put a strain on Azerbaijan, which has seceded from its sphere of influence, from three directions - using ethnic Armenians in the western part of the country, Talyshes in the south and Lezgins in the north. In 1992-1993, Moscow's resorting to all these three levers nearly caused a split in Azerbaijan and jeopardized its statehood, but the swift and far-sighted policy of the nationwide leader, former president Heydar Aliyev who came to power allowed to avert this threat.
To teach disobedient Azerbaijan a lesson, Russia has lately been trying to bring back into the game the "Lezgin trump" aiming to annex northern Azerbaijani territory. For this purpose, a symposium entitled "Caucasus Albania and Legzin nations: historical-cultural heritage and modernity" - where the fate of the Khrakhoba and Uryanoba villages located 50 km away from the Russian border was raised - was held in the Russian capital on Wednesday and Thursday.
The land occupying 300 hectares was temporarily granted as pasture areas to Daghestan, Russia's administrative area, on a decision of the Soviet Union's ruling body, the Council of Ministers, in 1954. In 1984, the government of the Azerbaijan Republic which was then part of the USSR extended the validity of the document until 2004. Villagers say that although the paper has expired, there are no documents stipulating the return of the areas to Baku by Moscow or Azerbaijan's officially regaining these areas. 230 people currently reside in the villages. The inhabitants are ethnic Lezgins who arrived from Daghestan in the 1950s. They are citizens of the neighboring country and hold Russian passports. The residents are seeking their residential areas to be recognized as Russia's enclave.
Villagers claim there are ample grounds for the areas to be granted to Russia. They indicated that the Russian Federation's Constitution is valid there, while local residents vote in elections held in Russia, and youngsters undergo military service in the neighboring country. Moreover, most of the local population has close relatives in Daghestan.
Lezgins' efforts have raised eyebrows in Baku. The Azerbaijani government says the settlement of Russian citizens in the region is unlawful and local residents should undergo temporarily registration in Azerbaijan. It has suggested that residents of Khrakhoba and Uryanoba must either be naturalized or receive the status of migrants.
"If Khrakhoba and Uryanoba residents apply for Azerbaijani citizenship, Baku is ready to review their appeals," the Foreign Ministry spokesman Khazar Ibrahim told a news conference.
Ibrahim said the issue was currently not under discussion between Baku and Moscow. "This is not an issue of international law, but Azerbaijan's internal administration matter. Settlement in the villages is illegal, and we will prevent it."
The symposium held in Moscow was organized by the Russian Foreign Ministry, State Duma (parliament) and the Institute of Linguistics. One of its main organizers was the head of the Lezgins National Cultural Autonomy Federacy Arif Karimov who is accused by the Azerbaijani government of ties to Russian and Armenian secret services as well as setting up an illegal armed group.
Azerbaijan refused to attend the symposium during which literature leveling territorial claims against the country was distributed. A booklet entitled "Present-day problems of Lezgins and Lezgin-speaking nations" was published based on the materials of the same-name roundtable. In the book, chairman of the Lezgin National Council, Prof. Abdurahimov openly stated that the Lezgin people "were split up with the use of force in the 1920s and subjected to genocide".
Azerbaijani historians say the conference is a continuation of a gathering held in Yerevan on September 5, 2007. Yagub Mahmudov, who heads the Institute of History at the National Academy of Sciences, said its conduct has sparked condemnation amidst scholars. Mahmudov said holding it at the Russian Academy of Statehood by itself aimed to undermine Russian-Azeri relations. "This is a step that is not in line with the friendship ties [between the two countries]. As a historian, I object to this," he said.
He said conducting such events would ultimately damage Russia's own interests and territorial integrity.
"The nations claiming that they belong to ancient Caucasus Albania could move to secede from Russia and announce their independence," he said, stressing that the territories settled by Tatars, Bashkirs and Turkic nations were occupied by Russia in the 17-18th centuries.
Mahmudov added that after comprehensively studying all materials used at the Moscow conference, Azerbaijani historians would forward a statement of protest to the Russian government.
An Azerbaijani lawmaker accused Russia of 'igniting separatism'. Jamil Hasanli told a parliamentary session on Friday that some circles in Russia were trying to present the event held at one of the country's most influential educational institutions "not as a political, but a scientific event" to divert attention from Moscow's endeavors to pressure Azerbaijan.
"In reality, new sources of separatism are being sought at that symposium in order to acquire levers of influence on Azerbaijan, which is already beginning to implement oil contracts. We have to firmly state our position on the issue," the MP said.
The Azerbaijani embassy in Russia has launched a scrutiny into the conduct of the symposium. The Foreign Ministry spokesman Khazar Ibrahim said that Baku would take adequate steps if any action taken against Azerbaijan's territorial integrity is revealed.
Each resident of the Khrakhoba and Uryanoba villages has his own history which dates back to 1954. The local population denies that these areas were granted to the Russian republic of Daghestan, claiming that the land was presented to them as a gift by the Russian Czar many decades ago.
Resident Abdullah Abdullayev's passport indicates the Khrakhoba village where he resides as an administrative area of Daghestan's Gasimkand district. Local residents allege that although the villages are located in Azerbaijan, the land actually belongs to Daghestan, which is indicated in their passports. In other words, they consider the region as Russia's enclave.
Jeyhun Zahirov, head of the Khachmaz district police department in charge of registration and personal identification documents, says all Uryanoba residents have already been temporarily registered in the district. In Khrakhoba, however, problems remain, as only 11 residents have undergone the procedure.
Khrakhoba resident Baghdagul Asvarova said she did not want to sign any document "until the status of the village was determined".
Some villagers, who are facing the dilemma of making a choice between the two countries, are reluctant to be part of a country that is smaller than its giant northern neighbor many times, while others believe that should Russia and Azerbaijan reach agreement, they would have no choice but to receive Azerbaijani citizenship or leave the country. One of the elders in the village, Abdullah Abdullayev, says local residents are enjoying a plethora of advantages by being Russian citizens and are wary they would be deprived of their rights if they become naturalized in Azerbaijan.
"Where are you from?" Abdullayev was asked. "Russia, we are Daghestanis," was the reply. "Do you want to be part of Russia or Azerbaijan?" "Russia. This is not Azerbaijani territory, but that of Russia, Czarist Russia. Praise be to Lenin, he granted you a state, and made Baku a capital…"
Khrakhoba residents maintain that their wishes will not be taken into account once Russia and Azerbaijan reach agreement. "Some will stay, while others will leave. May Azerbaijan compensate the value of our property so that we can go…"
Most of the cars in the village have Russian license plates. Occasionally one may come across Azerbaijani plates, which belong to vehicle owners who were temporarily registered in Khachmaz.
In contrast to Khrakhoba, many in the Uryanoba village are willing to receive Azerbaijani citizenship. Khalid Misirkhanov says: "Although we are Russian citizens, we live on this water and air. If our registration problem is solved, we would be proud to be Azerbaijani citizens. We can't go to Daghestan every time to get allowances, child support or something else. It's hard to commute, so, everything is bound with Azerbaijan. That's why we want this issue to be solved soon."
Misirkhanov's statement enables a conclusion that the disadvantages of holding Russian citizenship and living in Khachmaz outweigh the benefits. "Russian citizenship is of no use to us," he said.
As for the village's status, he said this entirely depended on a decision to be passed by the two countries. "Sitting onboard the ship and fighting the captain is unwise. I consider this neighter Russia's territory nor its enclave. An enclave is an absolutely different concept. I know for certain that this land was once leased to Daghestan as pastures. Our considering these areas Russia's land is ridiculous, it is an integral part of Azerbaijan."
Mugeddes Mehdiyev, former Khachmaz mayor and employee of the Human Rights Resource Center's Guba- Khachmaz division, said the issue was being misconstrued.
"We are talking here not about determining the status of the two villages between the two countries but that of the people living there. The villages were once leased to Daghestan, and now that the lease has expired, the residents' status must be determined.
"The sooner this will be done, the better. With the delays in solving the problem, separatists on the other edge of the border could gain greater chances to use this for their ends."
Under Azerbaijan's Law on Migration, foreign nationals arriving in the country are required to be registered within three days. They must leave upon the expiry of their visas, otherwise, immigration authorities deport the violators. For this reason, residents of the Khrakhoba and Uryanoba villages cannot stay in Azerbaijan in the capacity of Russian citizens given that the term of the lease of this land has long run out. For their stay to be permitted, either Russia should grant these people the status of emigrants or they should receive Azerbaijani citizenship. Otherwise, the residents of both villages could face deportation.