Everything about Azeris In Russia totally explained
» This article is about Azeris in Russia. For Azeris in general, see the respective article.
Aside from the large Azeri community native to
Russia's
Dagestan Republic, the majority of Azeris in Russia are fairly recent immigrants. Azeris started settling in Russia (with the exception of Dagestan) around the late 19th century, but their migration became intensive after
World War II. It rapidly increased with the collapse of the
Soviet Union in
1991. According to the
2002 All-Russian Population Census, there are 621,840 Azeris residing in Russia, however the actual numbers are a lot higher due to recent migrations of guest workers from
Azerbaijan. The estimated total Azeri population of Russia might be reaching as many as 3,000,000 people, with more than one million of them living in
Moscow. The majority of them have come to Russia since
1991 from rural Azerbaijan,
Georgia and
Armenia. Today most provinces of Russia have more or less significant Azeri communities, the biggest ones, according to official numbers, residing in Dagestan, Moscow,
Khanty-Mansi,
Krasnoyarsk,
Rostov-on-the-Don,
Saratov,
Sverdlovsk,
Samara,
Stavropol, etc.
Dagestan
111,656 Azeris lived in the Dagestan Republic as of 2002, which makes them the region's seventh largest ethnic group. Most of them are natives of the city of
Derbent (once a part of
Persia) making up about ⅓ of its population, and the nearby towns and villages. The rest live in the cities of
Makhachkala,
Khasavyurt,
Buynaksk and
Kizlyar. Among cultural benefits, available to Dagestani Azeris, there are newspapers and magazines printed in the
Azeri language, public schools where Azeri is taught as a first language, and the Azeri State Dramatic Theatre in Derbent. Traditionally Azeris of Dagestan were engaged in carpet weaving, currying, jewellery- and copper utensils making. Starting from the 1920s, the industrialization era opened new career opportunities for Dagestanis.
While the majority of Dagestani Azeris descend from the native population of the region, a portion of them (mostly the city-dwellers) come from families, which immigrated to Dagestan from
Iran in the 19th century (they were even mistakenly registered as
Persians in the early Soviet censūs). These families were subject to deportation in the 1930s, as were all those who retained foreign citizenship while living in the USSR on a permanent basis. Azeris in Dagestan are mostly
Shia Muslims, however similarly to those of Azeris in
Azerbaijan, their religious beliefs are influenced by old pagan traditions.
For centuries Azeri has been the
lingua franca of Southern Dagestan. It managed to retain that status till nowadays, despite huge competition with
Russian in the past 50 years.
Rest of Russia
For the past decade, Azeris have played significant roles in developing the Russian economy. With many of them being involved in
entrepreneurship, many of them have been employed in major economical areas, such as trade and oil industry. Among Russia's 100 richest people ranked by the
Forbes in 2004, 3 ethnic Azeris were ranked 10, 66 and 74.
Azeris have established numerous cultural communities, the largest one being the
All-Russian Azeri Congress, which controls smaller communities throughout Russia. In addition, the Moscow Public Secondary School #157 is set up for students with keen interest in the Azeri language and culture.
Discrimination
Like many other people, who originated in the
Caucasus (commonly referred to as Caucasians (
кавказцы), despite the fact that the term has a different dominant meaning in
English), Azeris often face
Caucasophobia, which might result in severe discrimination and violence.
In
2006, 5 Azeris were reported killed and 45 were physically harassed by various nationalist groups, making Azeris the most widely targeted ethnic minority in Russia.
Famous Azeris of Russia
Russian-born Azeris:
Azeris born elsewhere:
Alexander Kazembek, 19th century Russian linguist and scholar
Huseyn Khan Nakhchivanski, Cavalry General and General-Adjutant of the Emperor of Russia
Vagit Alekperov, President of the leading Russian oil company LUKOIL
Rustam Ibragimbekov, screenwriter, Academy Award winner
Farman Salmanov, geologist who first discovered oil fields in Siberia
Kerim Kerimov, head of Soviet space program
Tahir Salahov, artist
Muslim Magomayev, singer
Gueidar Mamedaliev, 2004 Olympic champion (silver)Further Information
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