How Russian MP became international persona non grata Chronicles of Zatulin

The Russian State Duma MP from the Sochi district, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Public Relations... Sounds, at first glance, weighty. Something like a retired Major-General of the Life Guards of the Nezhin Hussar Regiment, holder of the following orders: St. Vladimir of the fourth degree with swords and bow, St. Stanislaus with swords and bow, St. Stanislaus with swords without bow.

In the first case, the matter concerns a real person named Konstantin Zatulin, whereas in the second case, it's about a fictional character from the film "Ne Goryuy!" (Don’t Grieve) named Prince Vamekh Vakhvari. I should note that, in terms of absurdity, they are truly kindred spirits. With one caveat—it's not yet known whether Zatulin apologized for his actions in the same way that Vakhvari was eventually forced to do.

However, there's still time ahead for him, including for honing his apology skills. Meanwhile, having honed his ability to sing the praises of the Karabakh junta, Zatulin has delivered yet another piece of nonsense. He congratulated Armenians who were illegally residing in the temporarily occupied territories of Azerbaijan on the "Independence Day" of the non-existent "Artsakh."

He referred to them as citizens of the "unrecognized but actually existing Nagorno-Karabakh Republic." Yes, the "Artsakh" project existed, but only in the fantasies of Armenian separatists and those willing to toast to this soap bubble, which predictably burst in the end. Konstantin Fedorovich described the outcome as a "great tragedy."

In reality, the true tragedy occurred earlier when 20% of Azerbaijan’s territory was under Armenian occupation. Now, with Azerbaijan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity fully restored after a 44-day war and a one-day anti-terrorist operation, the situation is improving. However, Konstantin, who had often been paraded as an "honoured guest" by the Karabakh junta at their various events, is left disheartened.

So much so that he decided to make a truly laughable statement. "I am recording this—whether you call it a message or a declaration—on August 30, the birthday of my old friend Bako Saakovich Saakyan," Zatulin declared. This echoed a literary character once again, this time the "great swindler" Ostap Bender, who used to write to millionaire Koreiko with the phrase "Mentally together."

As if, under a certain set of circumstances, Zatulin could come to Baku to visit one of the former leaders of the Karabakh junta, Bako Sahakyan, in the pre-trial detention centre. He could have brought him a parcel. But Zatulin is not allowed to enter our country because of his former participation in parties held in the temporarily occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

So, all Zatulin can send Saakyan is an air kiss and some words of encouragement. Perhaps Zatulin is verbally flattering Saakyan because he has no intention of visiting him in person, using the convenient excuse of being declared a persona non grata in Azerbaijan. And let’s note, Zatulin is unique in this regard—he's considered unwelcome not only in Azerbaijan but also in Armenia.

Here it makes sense to announce the whole list. So, on 23 May 2010, he participated in a circus performance called “elections” among the Karabakh separatists. Naturally, no one in the world recognised these “elections”. At the same time, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry included Zatulin in the list of persona non grata.

The Russian MP was not satisfied with this and in every possible way expanded the list of countries where he is banned from entering. In 2018, Estonia became a new such country.

But the real bans came after the start of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Zatulin was rightly recognised as one of the warmongers of this war and was not sparing in issuing “bans”. First he was included in the sanctions list of the European Union, then he was included in the sanctions list of Great Britain, after which he fell under the sanctions of Ukraine. Well, on 30 September 2022, Zatulin was placed on the US sanctions list.

He was subsequently added to the sanctions lists of Canada, Switzerland, Australia, Japan, and New Zealand. The "cherry on top" came with Armenia's decision in late October 2022, when both Zatulin and RT’s (Russia Today) Margarita Simonyan were banned from entering the country. Now, this "knight of the undesirable persona" in various countries is attempting to address Karabakh Armenians in general and Saakyan in particular. In doing so, he’s essentially revealing those who have been hosting and entertaining him all these years. It seems he's now working off his obligations, rather than dealing with the issues of his constituents in Sochi!