CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VOLUME VII (1, 2) Contemporary-Eurasia-3new | Page 155

KRISTINE MARGARYAN
people also appeal to Salafi sm. 47 As the ways of recruitment to Salafi sm,
the research done by OSCE showed that parents themselves sometimes
send children to learn Islamic culture and religion as a counterweight to
the Western behavior and Western culture introduced by the TV.
Connections with terrorist networks as external infl uence
State sponsored terrorism during Nagorno-Karabakh confl ict
During the 1992-1994 war in Nagorno-Karabakh many Chechen and
Afghan terrorists were involved in military confrontation on Azerbaijan’s
side. Attempts were made by Azerbaijani authorities to recruit fi ghters
and mercenaries from other states, mainly Islamic ones, to involve them
in a war over Nagorno-Karabakh. 48 As of 1992, around 300 Chechen
fi ghters were noticed in a war. The fi rst transportation of Chechen fi ghters
in Baku took place in 1990s. Those fi ghters were paid 600-1000 Rubles
every month. 49 According to Hayk Demoyan, the main pushing force of
Chechens to Karabakh battlefi eld was the Islamic and Caucasian solidari-
ty sentiment, and the proximity of the insurgency region to Chechnya. On
the other hand, also noted by Demoyan, it is probable that recruitment of
foreign mercenaries was a matter of cooperation, based on which Azer-
baijan was to transfer weaponry to Chechnya. 50
After the war waged between Chechnya and Russia, many Chechen
fi ghters returned back. This time, Azerbaijan appealed to Afghan fi ghters.
Involvement of Afghan mujahedeen in the war over Nagorno-Karabakh
activated the spiral of terrorist organizations’ presence in Azerbaijan. A
claim of recruitment of Afghan mujahedeen was “in support of Muslim
Azerbaijan”. 51 Sources indicate diff erent number of Afghan fi ghters rang-
ing from 1500 to 3000. Azerbaijan was noted as a territory serving the
international mujahedeen, having connections with terrorist groups. 52
Presence of so-called “Arab veterans” had been noticed in the battlefi eld.
Being involved in a war and supported by Azerbaijani authorities, a num-
ber of terrorists and mercenaries took roots in the country, and created
their own networks. 53
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
Karagiannis, “Political Islam in the Former Soviet Union,” 50-53.
Hayk Demoyan, The Islamic Mercenaries in Karabakh War. , (Yerevan: 2004)
Ioannis Charalampidis, Sponsored to kil. Mercenaries and Terrorist Networks in Azerbaijan
l', (MIA Publishers, 2013) 4.
Demoyan, The Islamic Mercenaries in Karabakh War.
Ibid.
Charalampidis, ‘Sponsored to kill,’ 4.
Grigoryan, Islamic Radicalism in the Caucasus, 66.
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