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I was on Armenian TV last night. They devoted 5 minutes of broadcast time to my visit to Azerbaijan. Here they are discussing my visit to Xinaliq. Earlier that day I visited the Quba Genocide Memorial Complex. I invite Armenian TV to devote another 5 minutes to that visit.
The story of the massacres that occurred in Quba and other cities in Azerbaijan in 1918 is one that I did not know and which is very helpful to understanding the conflict today over Karabakh. Here’s an official web page on the complex. | https://heydar-aliyev-foundation.org/en/content/view/93/2808/The-Guba-Genocide-Memorial-Complex
The essence of the story is this. In 1918, the Bolsheviks feared losing the Caucuses, of which Azerbaijan is the greatest prize, due to its oil wealth. To help impose Moscow’s control over the area, the Bolshevik’s allied with Dashnaks, militant Armenian nationalists.
Controlling a large military force, the Dashnaks perpetrated unspeakable massacres of civilians around Azerbaijan and particularly in Quba, which is a living monument to the tolerance of of Azerbaijan’s Turkic-Muslim culture. Nothing demonstrates that tolerance better than this:
That’s me outside the Mountain Jews museum. In the Middle of Quba sits “the Red City,” a thriving Jewish town in the Caucuses. It’s been there forever. Look it up. When I say “forever,” I mean as close to forever as you get when talking about Jewish communities. It’s astounding.
“Approximately 3,000 Jews were murdered by Armenian Dashnaks in Quba. Their crime was simply siding with their Muslim brothers and sisters, and their homeland, Azerbaijan, a country that for centuries had protected Jewish people from harm and hatred.” https://jewishjournal.com/commentary/blogs/232579/unknown-story-
The Quba genocide is a very sorrowful chapter in history, but it is also one with strategic implications. Remember where Azerbaijan sits: between Russia and Iran. And it is oil rich. Moscow and Tehran fear nothing more than Turkic and Transcaucasian unity.
They ally with Armenians to bust up this unity and they try to use the ethnic diversity of these countries against them, fomenting inter-communal strife. Just look at what Iran and Russia have done to Syria and you will get a picture of the worst nightmare of President Aliyev.
One of the amazing things about Azerbaijan is that it remains tolerant and diverse despite being smashed between the hammer of Moscow & the anvil of Tehran. I don’t understand how it succeeded at this, but it did. A beautiful nation is rising here - and America should support it.
