Georgia Opening the Way for Ethnic Azerbaijanis in That Country to De-Russianize Their Names

Paul Goble

            Staunton, May 20 – Non-Russians living outside their own republics are more likely to have Russianized their names than those living within them, and this situation has been changing more slowly than the situation of their co-ethnics at home because the host governments seldom show much interest in ending this vestige of Russian imperialism.

            Happily, the Georgian parliament is now considering a measure that will put in place procedures that will make it easier for the ethnic Azerbaijani population in Georgia to drop their Russianized names (euronewsgeorgia.com/2022/05/20/hvaridamibrune-sakartvelos-mokalakeebis-motxovnda-da-akhali-kanonproeqti and newcaucasus.com/news/21398-azerbajdzhanczy-gruzii-smogut-otkazatsya-ot-rusificzirovannyh-familij.html).

            The Azerbaijani civic organization Salam has been pushing for this change, but its earlier efforts, including a petition more than 27,000 people signed, fell short because of what Georgian officials said were technical problems and the fact that the ruling Georgian Dream Party was preparing its own draft law.

            That legislation is now before the parliament and is likely to pass given that it has the support of the government.