“Creating the Anti-USSR: An Expert on the Rise of Former Republics Against Russia”

Expert Mikhail Sheitelman wrote in his blog that Russia has stepped up pressure on Azerbaijan, threatening to remove President Aliyev from office. However, according to Sheitelman, the Russian authorities have their difficulties. They cannot even establish control over occupied Abkhazia, so it is too early for them to dream of a coup in Azerbaijan.

According to the expert, negotiations between Moscow and Baku to resolve the crisis are unlikely to succeed. “There is a deep distrust of the Azerbaijani population towards Russia, which is only growing, and even if the leaders of the two countries reach an agreement, this will not be able to extinguish the indignation of the Azerbaijanis,” he noted.

In addition, Armenia has joined the situation, where the speaker of the parliament recently called Russian TV presenters “mankurts.” In response, the Russian presenter Solovyov admitted his connection with this term, and the Armenian speaker published a video with a comment about “hell.”

Sheitelman emphasizes that the current events may be the beginning of the formation of an anti-Ukrainian bloc from the countries of the post-Soviet space. “Just as Putin calls Ukraine anti-Russian, so an anti-Soviet alliance is forming around us. Other countries of the former USSR are taking the path of resistance to Russian aggression,” he believes. Kazakhstan, Armenia, Moldova, and the Baltic countries will likely join this bloc sooner or later. Belarus will also join the resistance movement, especially after the declaration of a holy war against Lukashenko, initiated by Tikhanovsky.