Azerbaijan Under Pressure
Protests in Azerbaijan have been met with a heavy security response. In a nation that depends on oil to keep the economic wheels turning, the continued slump in crude prices, along with the recent drop in value of the national currency, is putting enormous pressure on ordinary people. In recent years President Ilham Aliyev has spent billions on glittering vanity projects, especially in the capital, Baku. But with a government known for corruption and brutality, many Azeris are unimpressed with state spending on the capital’s skyline and the “caviar diplomacy” that has earned the country several recent sporting and cultural events. As the protests continue to simmer, there’s concern that a perfect storm of discontent may be brewing.
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A man lies in a bathtub filled with crude oil during a health therapy session at Naftalan Health Center in Baku. The abundance of oil in Azerbaijan has kept its economic wheels turning since independence, but with little diversity in the economy the country is now facing an unprecedented crisis.
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A worker walks in front of the oil derricks on the Caspian Sea near Baku.
With no end in sight to the economic crisis President Aliyev has made a plea for citizens to "work more efficiently." But patience on the street for the big-spending regime is wearing thin.
With no end in sight to the economic crisis President Aliyev has made a plea for citizens to "work more efficiently." But patience on the street for the big-spending regime is wearing thin.
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A policeman detains an opposition activist in Baku in 2011. Police crackdowns have muted dissent in the past, but with recent protests springing up spontaneously in small towns throughout the country the current unrest may be the harbinger of troubled times to come.