Rasim Musabekov: Russian "derzhimordas" and "liberals" are united in their dislike of Azerbaijan
Author: Milli Majlis deputy Rasim Musabekov
Source: R. Musabekov's page on Facebook
Russian "derzhimordas" and "liberals" are united in their dislike of Azerbaijan.
"The Russian authorities at every turn demonstrate their displeasure with Azerbaijan's independent policy through unfriendly actions of various kinds. First Russian television channels burst out with yet another batch of 'nightingale droppings,' followed by YouTube and Telegram bloggers. Then the leaders of Azerbaijani diaspora organizations are arrested and deported. Then, with the connivance of law enforcement agencies, feeble-minded activists of the National Bolshevik party drag their placards to the Azerbaijani Embassy in Moscow.
But the so-called liberal Russian politicians and economists do not stand aside either. The other day, a certain Shiryaev, who calls himself an economist, in an interview with Deutsche Welle put forward the theory that Armenia, having quarreled with Moscow, had been replaced by Azerbaijan in the secret re-export of Russian gold. He based his assumptions on a pitiful reference to the fact that Azerbaijan, with a production volume of 3 tons, sold 24 tons of gold on world markets. This individual did not take the trouble to find out, even at the level of a Google search, that the gold reserves in Azerbaijan's Oil Fund reached 200 tons at their peak and, during the period Shiryaev speaks about, decreased by almost 20 tons. That is, this gold from the reserves was sold. The President of Azerbaijan recently announced in his interview the operations with the gold of our Oil Fund, which brought Azerbaijan income of more than $10 billion.
I draw Shiryaev's attention to the fact that when Armenia was engaged in the re-export of Russian gold and diamonds, its trade balance with that country exceeded $16 billion, whereas today it has fallen several times over. Azerbaijan's trade balance with Russia in previous years showed insignificant growth, and over 6 months of 2026 it shrank by a third.
If Azerbaijan had carried out the re-export of 24 tons of Russian gold, this should have been reflected in the trade and payment balance with Russia by an increase of $10 billion or more, of which there is not the slightest trace. All this is obvious to me as a political scientist, so Shiryaev can hardly call himself an economist, let alone an objective analyst. Alas, when it comes to Azerbaijan, it is impossible to distinguish a Russian liberal from a derzhimorda."
