Growing up Azerbaijani

For Maryam, growing up in Azerbaijan means watching her country change in real time.

Maryam: Youth4Truth's Azerbaijan Ambassador

From Baku, she has seen new infrastructure, international events, tourism, and reconstruction reshape the country around her. She is optimistic about that transformation, while also recognizing the challenges facing young people: unequal opportunities between regions, corruption, education, and the question of whether to build a future at home or abroad.

In this conversation, Maryam reflects on the Azerbaijan she knows beyond the headlines—and what her generation might mean for its future.

Beyond the Headlines

Q: When people hear “Azerbaijan,” what is one thing you wish they knew that isn’t necessarily covered by the headlines?

Maryam:

When people usually talk about Azerbaijan, they associate this country with either Formula One or war with Armenia. It’s not nature, it’s not tourism, it’s not infrastructure.

I think my country is very rich with its nature. We have very beautiful places all around the country to come and visit and explore.

Q: Does Azerbaijan receive a lot of tourism because of that?

Maryam:

For now, not yet.

But starting two or three years ago, there is one place developing in Baku called [Crescent]. It’s like building a city inside a city, with a lot of new infrastructure.

They’re planning a big stage and arena where they want to host major concerts. They’re also planning football stadiums and other developments.

I think after five or seven years, as a region, you will hear about it a lot.

Who Should Drive Development?

Q: Do you think the government should perhaps be focusing on other issues or using government resources to cover different challenges people face?

Maryam:

Crescent isn’t a governmental place. It’s business.

There is one businessman, and all the investments he has are from foreign countries. He uses some resources from the government, but the place isn’t built only on the governmental budget.

It’s very driven by the private sector.

Inequality Beyond Baku

Q: What do you think is the most important issue young people face?

Maryam:

I think it will be inequality.

I live in Baku, but we also have different regions all around the country that aren’t yet that developed.

The stereotype that we usually have is that people, women especially from those regions, aren’t having a great opportunity to study abroad or have good education.

The only goal they have in their life is to marry and have kids at 20 years at most. I hear a lot of stories from my friends about 14-year-old or 12-year-old girls being forced to marry older men.

It’s actually sad, but we are trying to fix it.

Q: Do you think that inequality is connected to Azerbaijan being a majority-Muslim country?

Maryam:

Definitely no.

Most people in Baku are Muslims as well, and we don’t face anything like this. I think it’s more of a regional stereotype because that part of the country isn’t developed as much. People there don’t see the things that we see. Their mindset isn’t developed as much as ours, I guess, maybe because of that.

Q: Do you personally experience inequality in Baku?

I don’t see any inequality in my city, in Baku.

I just hear some stories around the regions.

Oil and the Role of the State

Q: Azerbaijan is an oil-rich country. Do you think that wealth translates into opportunities for young people, or does it create more inequality?

Maryam:

Oil is a governmental resource. It’s under governmental control.

I don’t think citizens should be able to just build their business on oil because this isn’t really an accessible resource. This is something private that really relates only to a country.

It relates only to the government.

I don’t think it creates inequality. No one really tries to build a business in Azerbaijan based on oil because we know that this is a governmental resource, and governments know better than us what to use this resource for so the country can be in a better economic position.

Political Continuity

Q: Azerbaijan has had a very long period of political continuity under the Aliyev family. Do you think that continuity has benefited Azerbaijan?

Maryam:

Yes, definitely.

Heydar Aliyev, the father of our current president, was a wonderful person who contributed a lot to us. If you’re interested in our history, the name you’ll see the most is his name.

I guess his son is very similar to him because he tries everything he does for his country, and it is really visible. So in my opinion, this family has 100% benefited our country.

After the War

Q: After the end of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, has anything changed in the way young people think about Azerbaijan’s identity or future?

Maryam:

After this war, we became more patriotic. This war showed us that we are actually capable of more, that we can achieve something on a global level.

Taking back the lands that were under Armenian control for 30 years was very important.

Has that created new economic opportunities?

For now, the lands don’t bring more wealth.

Perhaps they take a lot of money from the economy because they’re investing a lot of money there in developing infrastructure.

They understand that these lands are very abundant with nature, and they want to bring a lot of tourists there. They’re improving the infrastructure, building hotels, rebuilding cities after the war, and rebuilding regions.

The Cost of Development

Maryam’s description of Karabakh captures one of the tensions running through her view of Azerbaijan.

She sees reconstruction as a major opportunity for tourism and long-term development. But she also recognizes that development itself requires enormous investment.

For her, the question isn’t simply whether Azerbaijan is developing.

It is what that development will eventually produce for the people living there.

If You Could Change One Thing

Q: If you could change one institution or policy to improve life for young people in Azerbaijan, what would it be?

Maryam:

I would decrease the corruption rate in my country.

Unfortunately, it is a bit high.

Q: Where do you see corruption most?

Maryam:

Actually, if you talk from one perspective, it benefits you sometimes.

But from the other side, it takes a lot of opportunities from young and really smart souls just because someone’s son has money and is wealthy.

So nepotism is very much tied into the life of a young person.

Growing Up With Opportunity

Q: Do young people feel confident that they can succeed independently of their family connections?

Maryam:

There are some, but not everyone. At least not in my community at school.

I’ve seen how people act. There are some groups of students who are like, “I’m not going to study. This is not what I need.”

But there are some groups that are thriving. They want to do more and more.

They want to do something in life.

Education: Leave to Learn, Return to Build

Q: Do young people see their future in Azerbaijan, or do they look abroad?

Maryam:

If we talk about education, then definitely abroad.

Education in our country isn’t that good.

I wouldn’t really recommend somebody to come and study in my country. For now, at least.

Q: Where do young Azerbaijanis go?

Maryam:

Everywhere. If you ask somebody, they’re in Australia, China, Europe: everywhere.

Q: Would you come back?

Maryam:

I want to come back here after I finish my studies.

A Country in Transition

Q: Can you think of a story that captures what it feels like to grow up in Azerbaijan today?

Maryam:

I think I’m very lucky for growing up in Azerbaijan specifically in this period. Just from the time when I was born until now, we can see a big contrast.

The city, the country itself, is still developing.

I will be able to see the really big contrast between my age now and after 20 years.

So I would say my experience living here is diversification.

Every year there is something new, new events, new meetups, new everything that wants you to do more and more and more for your country.

Becoming More Global

Q: Do you see a lot of innovation coming to Azerbaijan?

Maryam:

Yes, definitely. I don’t know if you heard, but we hosted COP29.

And then the World Urban Forum this year.

Formula One as well.

They’re planning to do something again, so we’ll see.

Q: Is that international activity changing the country itself?

Maryam:

Of course.

A lot of infrastructure is being built and everything is being developed for people to feel comfortable.

Crescent is one of the great examples of infrastructure, mostly for the tourism sector.

The regions and the city, everything is developing right now.

Are Young People Part of That Development?

Q: Do you think young people are playing a big role in shaping that development and innovation?

Maryam:

Yes.

Youth, for instance, you creating this website and this platform, there are already young people starting from a very early age who want to achieve something.

We want to be in community with people who know more than us.

And it definitely helps the country as well.

When a country is rich with its young minds, then I think the country is rich in general.

Q: What Does Safety Feel Like?

Maryam:

Q: What else would you want people to understand about Azerbaijan?

I’d like to mention how safe our country is.

That’s one of the main reasons why I personally want to come back here after I finish my studies. It’s completely safe.

We can go for a walk with family at 12 a.m. and nothing happens. Even during summer, at 1 a.m., you can just walk around. People are still outside enjoying themselves.

So don’t worry.

“Reasonable Minds May Differ”

Near the end of our conversation, we returned to something we had encountered at Yale Young Global Scholars: the idea that reasonable minds may differ.

Q: Do you agree with that idea when it comes to law and justice?

Maryam:

I don’t fully agree with her.

I mean, the phrase itself, “reasonable minds may differ,” I totally agree with it.

But specifically in law, when you’re a judge, I think there should be something in front of you so you can judge based on real facts.

Based on a real policy, not because your minds differ.

Sometimes, as she mentioned, one case can go through seven levels and each level may give you a different sentence.

In these cases, I don’t think this should be applied to law at all.

If you are a murderer, you should pay for it.

I think that’s why constitutional law is so interesting. Laws need to be interpreted, but they also need to be based on something stable.

I think human morality is very fluid because it is tied to our ideas of justice.

People can differ.

At the same time, that’s where interpretation becomes important. Not every trial is the same, and not every law can be applied in exactly the same way.

One Message

Q: What message would you like young people around the world to take away from Azerbaijan?

Maryam:

It’s never late to start developing.

Looking Forward

Maryam’s Azerbaijan is not a finished story.

It is a country she sees changing around her: building infrastructure, attracting international attention, rebuilding after war, developing tourism, and investing in its regions.

But she also sees the contradictions.

Opportunities can depend on geography. Education can push young people abroad. Corruption can benefit individuals while limiting opportunities for others.

And yet, she remains optimistic.

She wants to study abroad.

She wants to return.

She wants to see what Azerbaijan looks like twenty years from now.

Most importantly, she believes young people have a role in determining what that future becomes.

“When a country is rich with its young minds, then I think the country is rich in general.”

That is perhaps the clearest idea running through Maryam’s story: development is not only something governments build.

It is something generations inherit, and eventually decide what to do with.

Youth4Truth speaks with young people around the world to understand how they experience the political, economic, and social systems shaping their lives: and what they believe should come next.