For much of the Western world, the former Soviet Republics in the Southern Caucasus and Central Asia region - countries that take up the huge expanse of territory between Europe and East Asia - are real unknowns.
Most of these countries have experienced independence only for a couple of decades, and despite boasting booming economies grounded in the exploitation of natural resources such as oil, thriving arts and cultural scenes, and climates and landscapes attractive to both tourists and holidaymakers - they still don’t register on the world map for a significant number of people.
Anyone who follows the Olympic Movement however will be aware of Azerbaijan and its athletes. The country has already bid for one Summer Games, in 2016, and is in the midst of a second bite of the cherry for 2020. And at the Games themselves, Azerbaijan has in recent times claimed superb medal hauls for a country of its size. At the 2008 Games for example, Azeri athletes brought home seven medals across three sports from the Land of the Dragon to the Land of Fire: judo (one gold, one bronze), wrestling (two silver, two bronze) and boxing (one bronze).
In fact, despite only having a population of just over nine million - Azerbaijan boasts world champions across a variety of sports that also includes chess, taekwondo and shooting in addition to the Olympic pursuits already mentioned. Azeri wrestlers Namig Abdullayev (freestyle) and Farid Mansurov (Greco-Roman) are two of the world’s most successful and chess player Teimour Radjabov became a grand master at the age of 14 (the second-youngest grandmaster in history at the time) and is currently ranked fifth in the world. That’s not to mention the Baku Fires, the boxing franchise currently unbeaten in this season’s World Series of Boxing, and women’s volleyball club Rabita Baku, the reigning world champions.
But ask your average person on the streets of New York or London and they’d probably tell you, guessing, that life in capital Baku was just like life in the other former Soviet Republics of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan or even possibly Afghanistan: cities of endless blocks of box-sized Russian flats, roads full of Ladas and men wielding Kalashnikovs on every street corner.
Perhaps I’m exaggerating but I’m sure you realise that couldn’t be further from the truth and people in international business and art and cultural circles are slowly and surely coming to realise that. In January, for instance, world-renowned auctioneer Simon de Pury hosted an exhibition at Howick Place in London entitled ‘Fly to Baku’ featuring a whole host of art from the country. De Pury was taken aback after a trip to Azerbaijan by how thriving its art scene was and felt obliged to educate the world - well London at least - on the jewels the country has to offer.
“My wife and I went to Baku in July where we visited several galleries and decided we should put on a show,” he said. “Everybody should go to Baku. That’s why I named the exhibition ‘Fly to Baku’. I think it’s a shame it’s not as well known.”
“Five years ago it was a lot more difficult to explain to people where Baku or Azerbaijan was,” Konul Nurullayeva, CEO of Baku’s bid to host the 2020 Olympic Games, told SportBusiness International. Nurullayeva heads the international relations department at Azerbaijan’s national Olympic committee (AzNOC) and is secretary general of several national sports federations.
“When I was abroad and I told people I was from Baku, capital of Azerbaijan - they would say: ‘Where is that? Turkey? On the Caspian Sea?’ Promotion of the country is very important to us, we have to demonstrate to the world what we are apart from being a post-Soviet country. Baku isn’t a city filled with Ladas…you’ll see the same type of cars on the street here as you would anywhere else in the world.”
So here is the truth. Situated on the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan is the largest, most populous and economically successful country in the South Caucasus region, primarily due to its wealthy economy founded on the exploitation of oil and natural gas reserves. In some quarters Azerbaijan is considered the birthplace of the oil industry; at the beginning of the 20th century the country was supplying almost half of the world’s oil and it is where oil dynasties the Rothschilds and Nobel brothers made their fortunes.
Culturally Azerbaijan belongs neither to Europe nor Asia, and with a series of ancient historical empires - Persian, Arab, Turkish and Russian - having come and gone across the centuries, the country has a deep and eclectic culture that is evident as soon as you touch down in Baku - a modern city rich in tradition, with world-class restaurants and new skyscrapers juxtaposed against a picturesque World Heritage-listed ancient core.
The Azeri economy is still emerging and is one of the fastest growing in the world today, experiencing between five and 35 per cent real GDP growth a year between 2006 and 2010. And it is sport that has started to benefit from government investment as it tries to improve the country’s pedigree in a variety of areas; it is hoped that, through sport, Azerbaijan can be rightfully recognised as a powerful member of the world community and that Baku will be seen as an appealing city to business and travellers and for rights-holders looking to host their international sports championships.
Indeed investment in sport is a part, albeit now a central part, of a wider transformation process for the country and its capital that will see, according to president Ilham Aliyev, $7.2 billion of investment from the state into the country’s transport, energy, telecommunications, agriculture and social sectors in 2012 alone.
For the full article see the latest edition of SportBusiness International published February 1.
