Anti-Armenian sentiment in Azerbaijan

Anti-Armenian sentiment is widespread in Azerbaijan. Observers and human rights bodies describe Armenians as the most vulnerable ethnic group in the country, noting widespread negative stereotyping in public discourse. Polling over the past decades has shown deep animosity toward Armenia, and the term "Armenian" (erməni) is widely used as an insult in everyday language and media.

Historical roots trace back to anti-Armenian sentiment in Turkey, pan-Turkism, the actions of Russian and Soviet authorities, and the higher economic and social status of Armenians compared to Azeris at the turn of the 20th century. Contemporary Armenophobia in Azerbaijan traces its roots to the Karabakh Movement, in which Armenians petitioned Soviet authorities to transfer the mostly Armenian-populated Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO) in Azerbaijan to Armenia. In response, anti-Armenian pogroms occurred in Sumgait, Kirovabad and Baku. From 1988 through 1992, an estimated 300,000–350,000 Armenians were either deported from or fled Azerbaijan under threat of violence — primarily from areas outside Nagorno-Karabakh, where the Armenian population was largely spared. The conflict eventually escalated into the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, in which Azerbaijan lost control over the territory to the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) Republic, further magnifying anti-Armenian sentiment.

Since its independence from the Soviet Union, the Azerbaijani government has institutionalized anti-Armenian attitudes through school curricula, state media, historical negationism, and the erasure or appropriation of Armenian cultural heritage. Government officials and prominent figures within Azerbaijan routinely engage in hate speech against Armenians, using dehumanizing language and promoting negative caricatures of Armenians. Human rights organizations and others have documented various anti-Armenian conduct within Azerbaijan including restrictions on Armenian identity and right of return, torture, extrajudicial killings, and sexual violence. State-sponsored symbols such as the military trophy park in Baku and postage stamps reinforce dehumanizing narratives.

Anti-Armenian sentiment is cited as a genocide risk factor and contributed to the forcible expulsion of all Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh). The Armenians that remain in Azerbaijan face a deeply marginalized existence, conceal their identities, and are sometimes described as "second-class citizens."