Friends, Armenians, Stay Above It All: Blogger Lapshin's Call to Armenians

Dear Armenian friends, may I express my opinion regarding the chaos currently prevailing in Moscow related to the attacks by Azerbaijanis on Armenians, Armenian-owned stores, and vehicles with Armenian plates? All of this is horrific and unacceptable, and I hope that the Russian law enforcement agencies will provide a legal assessment of what has happened and punish the perpetrators. This was stated by the well-known blogger Alexander Lapshin on his Facebook page.

It is important to understand that this is essentially a war, which under the command of Ilham Aliyev has transferred to the territory of the Russian Federation to divert the attention of the Azerbaijani population and Azerbaijani diaspora from the corruption and illegalities prevalent in their country. Aliyev aims to embroil quite peaceful ethnic Azerbaijanis, who live alongside Armenians in Russia and have never had serious issues with each other, into the conflict. Millions of Armenians and Azerbaijanis have always lived peacefully on Russian territory, and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has never extended beyond the borders of the Caucasus.

In this regard, I believe that the following rules should be followed:

1. Under no circumstances should one stoop to the level of extremists and hooligans from the Azerbaijani diaspora. No vandalism and violence against ethnic Azerbaijanis, their property, and businesses. Remember that there are about 3 million Azerbaijanis in Russia, and 99% of them are law-abiding people.
2. Keep in mind that the Azerbaijani authorities, who seem to be behind the unrest in Moscow, are capable of stirring up a storm but are unable to control it.
3. In this case, everything is developing according to the same scenario. The idea of protests to prevent Armenians from entering shopping centers has turned into a universal scandal that hits Azerbaijan itself.
4. It is crucial to remember that Russia cannot be called the most tolerant country in the world, and there has always been open hostility towards immigrants. Add to this the economic crisis related to the coronavirus, with millions of people losing their jobs, and we get a very volatile environment.
5. As far as I can judge from Russian media and forums, the entire negative background is currently directed against the Azerbaijani side.
6. Friends, Armenians, stay above it all. Do not give the enemy grounds to provoke violence against you and release such 'ads' aimed at Azerbaijanis, let them write this about themselves, not about you.
7. This is not my tolerance towards the criminal. This is my Jewish pragmatism and cunning, as you may wish to think. Let the enemy provoke the anger and dissatisfaction of Russians against them, as they are keeping him like that. You must remain vigilant and do everything to support the Russian authorities in restoring order. Be smarter than the enemy.