“Azerbaijan is one of the few countries in the world for which the theme of multiculturalism is really an element of state policy, rather than state propaganda,” Russian historian, political analyst Oleg Kuznetsov said in an interview with AZERTAC.
“In today's world, there are many examples of how the philosophy of multiculturalism is treated differently. For example, the main idea of multiculturalism in Western Europe is the nullification of the individual, the creation of an individual from an average person, who is forced to impose some artificial values or rules of behavior. Multiculturalism in Azerbaijan is an unconditionally natural thing with a main idea to maximize the opportunity so that a person can achieve self-actualization. And this is the main difference between the Azerbaijani and European models of multiculturalism.”
Kuznetsov pointed out that the theme of multiculturalism in Azerbaijan is not a formality: “Every year Azerbaijan hosts a large number of events related to the idea, promotion of the values of multiculturalism.”
"It is praiseworthy that there are several research centers, including the Center at the Azerbaijan University of Languages, where the ideas of multiculturalism are not only studied, but also open a huge theoretical basis for the Azerbaijani model of multiculturalism to be understandable and accessible all over the world. This is very positive, because it creates some kind of intellectual alternative to the same Western ideology, propaganda. It also gives an opportunity to the Azerbaijani society to develop according to its own internal laws and take into account its own national interests," Kuznetsov said.
Baku, March 23, 2018
AZERTAC