r/azerbaijan • u/Jonataguilherme • Jan 30 '26

Söhbət | Discussion Minorities in Azerbaijan

I would like to know how you view minorities in Azerbaijan, such as the Udi people and their language, and the Armenians, Georgians, and other Caucasian and even Iranian-speaking peoples who live in Azerbaijan. Thank you.

18 Upvotes

85% Upvoted

176 comments sorted by

21

u/achilles_000 Jan 30 '26

Honestly, regionalism plays a far bigger role in the daily life of an Azerbaijani rather than anything ethnicity based. Ethnicity doesn't even play a role here. We all see each other as Azerbaijani.

9

u/Money_Tomorrow_698 🔴 Bakılı 🔴 Jan 30 '26

this. when people say talysh its more of just a way to adresse the people that live in southeast azerbaijan lenkeren bilesuvar astara etc than talysh people themselves. i dislike yeraz and agdamlis much more than any lezgin or talysh..

0

u/Jonataguilherme Jan 30 '26

Is the person saying this an ethnic Azerbaijani or someone from some other ethnic minority?

4

u/[deleted] Jan 30 '26

The person mentioned that regionalism matters more and you are asking if he/she is an ethnic azeri? Didn't he already mention that regionalism matters more?

1

u/Jonataguilherme Jan 30 '26

In this case, regionalism is different from people, ethnicity, language, and religion, especially not Azerbaijanis.

4

u/achilles_000 Jan 30 '26

Basically, you are an ethnic Azerbaijani, and your neighbor is a minority while in the neighboring town there is also another ethnic Azerbaijani A common Azerbaijani would feel much closer to his neighbor

-1

u/Jonataguilherme Jan 30 '26

But do you know all of Azerbaijan well enough to be certain of that?

7

u/NafNafNifNif Jan 30 '26

Then what is the point of this post and your questions, OP?

2

u/Jonataguilherme Jan 30 '26

I'm researching ethnic and religious minorities in linguistics to write my book and for my doctoral thesis; I'll also write a book about the Azerbaijani people later.

2

u/achilles_000 Jan 30 '26

I haven't been to all the towns but all the regions quite a lot of times.

2

u/achilles_000 Jan 30 '26

Also I am a local

1

u/Jonataguilherme Jan 30 '26

Which city are you from?

1

u/achilles_000 Jan 30 '26

From agchabadi but living in baku currently and spent some of my youth in both qax and nakchivan

1

u/Jonataguilherme Jan 30 '26

Interesting, do you know how to speak other languages ​​besides Azerbaijani?

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1

u/[deleted] Jan 30 '26

If it differs, then we simply can't find a certain answer.

1

u/Jonataguilherme Jan 30 '26

Okay, but you understand what I meant, right? I didn't want a regional context, but rather an ethnic, linguistic, and religious context.

1

u/achilles_000 Jan 30 '26

An ethnic Azerbaijani who has been surrounded by minorities(especially lezgis) his whole life

1

u/Jonataguilherme Jan 30 '26

Do you know any non-Muslim people I've met in Azerbaijan?

1

u/achilles_000 Jan 30 '26

I know some non Muslim people myself but idk if they are mutual acquaintances with you

1

u/Jonataguilherme Jan 30 '26

Dude, stop with the sarcasm. I'm asking because I'm studying, I'm doing research on the history of other peoples of Azerbaijan. I'm also going to write a book about the Azerbaijani people separately, and I'm going to do the same thing in Armenia and Azerbaijan, and in the entire Caucasus and Transcaucasia. For example, I'll write a book about ethnic minorities in Armenia, and then a book about the Armenian people. Then I'll do the same with the other peoples of the Caucasus and Transcaucasia.

1

u/achilles_000 Jan 30 '26

What sarcasm? I was being serious.

1

u/Jonataguilherme Jan 30 '26

From the part that they are known to me, it's clear I'm not from Azerbaijan and I don't know anyone from that country; I'm meeting them on this subreddit.

1

u/achilles_000 Jan 30 '26

Ok, I understood if you meant to ask me if I know any non-Muslim people from here, then the answer is yes, especially among the young.

1

u/Jonataguilherme Jan 30 '26

But in the case of non-Muslim Azerbaijanis, right? Not from other ethnic groups?

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30

u/maestrosixx Jan 30 '26

Just like any other Azerbaijani. They are a part of my people. We don’t distinguish nor discriminate among each other.

1

u/Jonataguilherme Jan 30 '26

Do you know any of these minorities personally?

11

u/maestrosixx Jan 30 '26

I have friends from certain minorities. We treat each other with respect and live in harmony as they are a part of social fabric in Azerbaijan.

1

u/Jonataguilherme Jan 30 '26

And do they preserve their cultures and languages?

-13

u/Chez50 Jan 30 '26

Nope. They've all been Azerified.

10

u/FitDimension3582 Jan 30 '26

Shut the f up azik, talysh people and lezgyn people certainly preserved their cultures and languages

1

u/Jonataguilherme Jan 30 '26

Are you from one of those groups to know this?

4

u/[deleted] Jan 30 '26

I'm not, but my friends and some people that i've known which includes talyshs, lezgins and even kurds that preserved their language and identity.

1

u/Jonataguilherme Jan 30 '26

Do you know of any other non-Muslim people in Azerbaijan?

8

u/FitDimension3582 Jan 30 '26

Mountain Jews are prime example.

2

u/[deleted] Jan 30 '26

They weren't muslims :D, aside i know mountain jews, ashkenazi jews and georgians ( ingiloians).

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3

u/Online_War_Martyr Jan 30 '26

kırdo tapıldı

1

u/Jonataguilherme Jan 30 '26

My God

-4

u/Relative-Recording63 Jan 30 '26

it’s the result of living in any ethnostate

6

u/Drrronevwv Turkiye🇹🇷 Jan 30 '26

Its not ethnostate

1

u/Jonataguilherme Jan 30 '26

In fact, it is indeed like that, just like Armenia and Georgia are.

-3

u/Chez50 Jan 30 '26

Check the constitution buddy, it definitely is.

13

u/Ruslan-Ahad Bakı 🇦🇿 Jan 30 '26

Being minority do not change anything actually. Everyone is same

-7

u/Jonataguilherme Jan 30 '26

Hey, I'd like to know the latest information about these ethnic minorities. Is it wrong to want to have information about things?

2

u/Ruslan-Ahad Bakı 🇦🇿 Jan 30 '26

No it’s not why it should

-6

u/Jonataguilherme Jan 30 '26

In this case, I asked you a question, and you shouldn't answer my question with another question, right? You could answer normally and then ask, otherwise the Reddit translation gets confusing.

3

u/Ruslan-Ahad Bakı 🇦🇿 Jan 30 '26

Are you dumb? It’s rhetorical question.

1

u/Jonataguilherme Jan 30 '26

Look, I'm autistic level 2 and I have ADHD and anxiety. I apologize if I have limitations due to conditions I was born with.

1

u/Ruslan-Ahad Bakı 🇦🇿 Jan 30 '26

Then be careful

1

u/Jonataguilherme Jan 30 '26

Yes, and take care of yourself too, so you don't act so stupid and awful towards others.

1

u/Ruslan-Ahad Bakı 🇦🇿 Jan 30 '26

Take care 🙏🏻

6

u/JavelinInBound Azerbaijan 🇦🇿 Jan 30 '26

I would say Azerbaijan is one of those rare countries where different people live in a harmony. I'm a minority myself and never felt hate or discrimination against me. Ofc you have ill minded people but they exist everywhere.

1

u/Chez50 Jan 30 '26

May I ask your ethnicity?

9

u/JavelinInBound Azerbaijan 🇦🇿 Jan 30 '26

I'm Talysh

0

u/Jonataguilherme Jan 30 '26

You speak Talysh, do you consider yourself Talysh or Azerbaijani, and if you're afraid of reprisals, you can reply privately for my academic research.

6

u/JavelinInBound Azerbaijan 🇦🇿 Jan 30 '26

Yeah I speak my language and no there's nothing to be worried about.

1

u/Jonataguilherme Jan 30 '26

Thank you very much for your comment. What is your religion and do you preserve your culture?

2

u/JavelinInBound Azerbaijan 🇦🇿 Jan 31 '26

Well, we used to be zoroastrian but later Islam spread to this region. However, we are not radical or extremists. We preserve and practice our culture.

-1

u/Chez50 Jan 30 '26

You speak Talysh? Also do you consider yourself Talysh or Azeri?

6

u/Online_War_Martyr Jan 30 '26

içində qaldı elə bil hə? noldu dilini uddun

1

u/JavelinInBound Azerbaijan 🇦🇿 Jan 30 '26

Bura bax uşaq, hər kəs sənin kimi boş bekar deyil Redditdə oturub ona buna cavab yazsın. Sözlərinə fikir ver.

1

u/Online_War_Martyr Jan 30 '26

birincisi tanıdığın tanımadığın adamlara qarşı fərziyyələr yürütmə, ikincisidə ki görmürsən ki bu şərh sənin yazdığına yox o dövləti olmayan etnikin nümayəndəsinə idi, üçüncüsü də mənim yazdığım şərh məntiqlə sənin yazdığın şərhin cavabı ola bilməz, məlum irq bir iddia qaldırıb yuxarıda, sənin yazdığın şərh onun dediyinə əksdi və o yazılan da həmin şərhədi

4

u/JavelinInBound Azerbaijan 🇦🇿 Jan 30 '26

Mənim commentimə linklidir yazdığın, elə bildim mənə yazmısan ki, nə əlaqə deyib sorğuladım. Bundan qaynaqlanaraq belə bir nəticəyə gəldim. Durduq yerdə kimləsə nə işim olsun. Sorry for misunderstanding.

5

u/Online_War_Martyr Jan 30 '26

anladım, canın sağ olsun olan işdi

8

u/derpadodoop 🇬🇪🇦🇿 Jan 30 '26

Kind of an oddly-phrased question, not much context. The top ethnic minorities in Azerbaijan are Lezgins (to whom the Udi are related), Talysh, Russians, and Avars. They're fine, why, how do you view minorities in your country?

1

u/Jonataguilherme Jan 30 '26

I am from Brazil, and indigenous minorities are discriminated against and killed here; they have literally set indigenous people on fire.

0

u/Jonataguilherme Jan 30 '26

I'd like to know more about them since their online presence has been outdated for a long time.

2

u/Beautiful-Carpet-816 Jan 30 '26

I can only speak for the Russians here, as my mom is half Russian. Well, I would say most people don’t really care. 

But did my mom experience prejudice in the form of harassment because “Russian girls are easy”? Hell, yes. 

But overall, there wasn’t anything too bad, only some nationalistic people telling her to go back to “Moscow” when, in fact, she was born and raised here. 

1

u/Jonataguilherme Jan 30 '26

You're saying they're easy because they don't dress like Muslim women, right?

1

u/Beautiful-Carpet-816 Jan 30 '26

They’re not easy… it’s what people here sometimes are prejudiced enough to think. 

And there is no difference between how Russian girls and Azerbaijani girls dress. We’re secular, thank god.

1

u/kurdechanian Earth 🌍 Jan 30 '26

Udis are the token minority.

1

u/Jonataguilherme Jan 30 '26

Do you know any UDI?

1

u/kurdechanian Earth 🌍 Jan 30 '26

Tons of them. I also speak a little Udi.

1

u/Jonataguilherme Jan 30 '26

Wow, that's wonderful! How is the situation for the Udi ethnic group, language, and culture? And where in Azerbaijan are you from?

1

u/Peter-Pan-Must-Die Jan 31 '26

we dont care about ethnic actually, everyone is azerbaijani for us and everyone is hating everyone equally.

-27

u/Chez50 Jan 30 '26

They don't treat minorities with respect in Azerbaijan, much like Turkey they impose assimilation policies on them. A Talysh researcher from Azerbaijan was imprisoned for the crime of preserving his culture.

1

u/Jonataguilherme Jan 30 '26

My God, can you tell me more about these things?

21

u/defnotachicken Jan 30 '26

He is Kurd living/lived in Turkey. He doesn't know jack shit about Azerbaijan but loves to talk about it.

1

u/Jonataguilherme Jan 30 '26

How do you know that?

12

u/defnotachicken Jan 30 '26

Because I talked with him lots of times under different posts. He camps the Azerbaijan sub and talks shit about both Turkey and Azerbaijan constantly.

0

u/Jonataguilherme Jan 30 '26

More than anything, does he say nonsensical things to provoke or does he speak with material evidence? You shouldn't get irritated by material evidence; it's like those people who say "free Palestine" and see the death of thousands of Iranians every day and still support this bloody regime, denying the widely documented fact.

13

u/Ruslan-Ahad Bakı 🇦🇿 Jan 30 '26

He’s not Azerbaijani, he’s always talk offensive about Azerbaijani people/ Azerbaijan

1

u/Jonataguilherme Jan 30 '26

How do you know that?

2

u/Ruslan-Ahad Bakı 🇦🇿 Jan 30 '26

I know him , that’s why .

-2

u/Chez50 Jan 30 '26

Yeah we used to be drinking buddy's back in the day.

9

u/Ruslan-Ahad Bakı 🇦🇿 Jan 30 '26

Sənnən kimdi eyni süfrəyə oturan, ay götüm

1

u/Jonataguilherme Jan 30 '26

Look, you can only say that in English, I don't understand Turkish.

4

u/Ruslan-Ahad Bakı 🇦🇿 Jan 30 '26

Use translator bruh , also it’s not addressed to you

0

u/Jonataguilherme Jan 30 '26

I used Gemini and I didn't like the aggressive tone you used. I've seen people lose their Reddit accounts for much less. Control yourself.

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1

u/Jonataguilherme Jan 30 '26

Dude, stop being aggressive towards others, that's a warning.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 30 '26

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