Analysts detect Chechen style in public apologies to Azerbaijanis

Activists of the movement "Vo Blago Obschego Naroda" (For the Good of the Common People, also known as V.B.O.N.), who force Russian residents to apologize publicly for their insulting remarks against Azerbaijanis, have taken the practice from the Chechen authorities, and there are no such trends in Azerbaijan, human rights defenders and journalists note.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the police started to check the V.B.O.N. movement for extremism after the videos had been posted on the Internet in which people were beaten and forced to apologize for their negative statements addressed to Azerbaijanis.

The V.B.O.N. movement has been operating since 2016, reports Vitaliy Boiko, a correspondent of the website "Readovka.ru". According to him, the V.B.O.N. movement posted on the Internet about a dozen apologies made in front of a video camera.

Aleksandr Verkhovsky, the director of the information and analytical centre "Sova", believes that members of the V.B.O.N. movement were inspired by the practice of apologies adopted in Chechnya.

Activists of the V.B.O.N. movement use methods "absolutely in the Ramzan Kadyrov's style," notes political analyst Stanislav Smagin.

There is no tradition of extremist manifestations in Azerbaijan, emphasizes Ilham Ismail, a former officer of the Ministry of National Security of Azerbaijan. According to him, "even in the chaotic 1990s," no extremist organizations or groups engaged in committing violence for the sake of an idea operate in Azerbaijan. Such activities are more typical for the Russian reality, the expert notes.