Russia's Civic Chamber swiftly "breaks ties" with Karasev after offensive remarks about Azerbaijani president

The Civic Chamber of Russia has swiftly distanced itself from political scientist Vladimir Karasev following his offensive remarks about Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. 

The Chamber's press service confirmed that Karasev is not a member of the chamber, contradicting previous claims made by the political scientist, Caliber.Az reports.

In response to a written inquiry from Amin Mammadov, Chairman of the Public Council of Azerbaijan's Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, the Civic Chamber clarified that Karasev is not part of the Civic Chamber or the Coordination Council for the integration of new Russian Federation entities.

"Vladimir Karasev is not a member of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation," said a statement from the Civic Chamber. 

The comment was underscored by Secretary Lidiya Mikhieeva, who stated, "We consider the use of obscene language in any form of debate unacceptable and urge participants in public discussions to refrain from personal insults directed at anyone."

However, this disavowal raises questions, as Karasev had previously identified himself as a member of the Civic Chamber in his now-deleted Telegram channel.

The inconsistency between his claims and the chamber's official stance has sparked speculation about how he was able to represent himself as a member, and why the Civic Chamber did not act earlier to correct the misinformation. Additionally, Russian media outlets had referred to Karasev as a member of the Civic Chamber, further complicating the situation.

The controversy was compounded by a statement from Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on January 9, who declined to comment on Karasev's remarks about President Aliyev. Peskov emphasized that Russia's foreign policy is determined by the head of state, without addressing the status of Karasev within the Civic Chamber. Does this imply that the Kremlin never questioned Karasev's status, or did they swiftly distance themselves from him after the fact?

By Khagan Isayev