A video from inside an Azerbaijani school shows students staging a mock capture of an “Armenian,” with a child forced to repeat the slogan “Karabakh is Azerbaijan” at fake gunpoint under the direction of a man in military uniform. The footage, shared by Azerbaijani journalist Javid Ahmedov, reveals a classroom transformed into a militarized setting where hostility toward Armenians is rehearsed rather than challenged.
The man in uniform directs the staged “detention,” with one student holding a prop and another pointing a fake gun at the boy’s head. Adults in military attire guide and participate in the exercise as the children act out seizing the student portraying an Armenian. The coordinated movements and imitation weapons turn the lesson into a drill, raising serious concerns about what students are being taught in this environment.
Ahmedov condemned the scene in a post on X, writing, “Look at this madness in an Azerbaijani school. This is how they brainwash young people. School has become a venue for propaganda, not for education. Students role-play capturing an Armenian and forcing him to say ‘Karabakh is Azerbaijan.’ What a shame for education.”
He added in a separate post, “If Armenophobia declines in Azerbaijan, the government loses its main propaganda tool. This narrative redirects public anger outward, allowing corruption and authoritarianism to operate unnoticed. Without it, the manipulation becomes obvious, and being a troll is simply shameful.”
The footage strengthens long standing concerns about Azerbaijan’s education system. Instead of encouraging critical thinking, schools like this appear to reinforce messages that promote animosity toward Armenians, normalizing hostility from an early age and shaping how children view Armenians before they can form independent judgments.
The scene reflects a broader pattern of anti Armenian messaging embedded in the country’s schools. Classrooms that should foster inquiry have become spaces where Armenophobia is normalized and passed to the next generation. Rather than confronting prejudice, the environment seems built to cultivate it, functioning as political indoctrination that conditions students to see Armenians as adversaries.
Observers note that this is not an isolated incident. The repeated exposure of children to staged scenes portraying Armenians as targets influences how they understand identity and reinforces a worldview shaped by hostility. These performances go far beyond a single exercise, becoming part of a larger system that molds attitudes over time.
Azerbaijani officials often speak about peace, but what occurs inside classrooms tells a different story. The contrast between public rhetoric and school practices raises questions about the sincerity of Baku’s messaging. Teaching children to rehearse domination over an “Armenian” undermines claims of reconciliation and signals that long term hostility continues to be encouraged.
Human rights observers and educators warn that normalizing scenes like this causes lasting damage, deepens mistrust, and undermines any basis for future reconciliation. Instead of learning about their region responsibly, students are pushed to view Armenians as adversaries, making genuine peace far more difficult to achieve.
