Editing Anti-Russian sentiment (section)

===South Caucasus===

====Armenia====
{{See also|Armenia–Russia relations}}

After [[Nicholas II of Russia|Nicholas II]] intensified [[russification]] policies and did not provide significant opposition to the [[Ottoman Empire]]'s [[Armenian genocide|massacres against Armenians]], anti-Russian sentiment among Armenian nationalist groups rose. After the Russian government confiscated Armenian Church lands in 1903, this led to attacks on Russian authorities and Armenians who cooperated with them by Armenians mobilised by the [[Armenian Revolutionary Federation|ARF]] party.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Batalden |first1=Stephen K.|last2=Batalden |first2=Sandra L.|title=The Newly Independent States of Eurasia: Handbook of Former Soviet Republics|date=1997|publisher=Oryx|location=Phoenix |isbn=9780897749404|edition=2nd|page=[https://archive.org/details/newlyindependent00bata/page/99 99] |url=https://archive.org/details/newlyindependent00bata/page/99}}</ref>

In July 1988, during the [[Karabakh movement]], the killing of an Armenian man and the injury of tens of others by the Soviet army in a violent [[Zvartnots Airport clash|clash at Zvartnots Airport]] near [[Yerevan]] sparked anti-Russian and anti-Soviet demonstrations.<ref>{{cite book |last=Cohen|first=Ariel|title=Russian Imperialism: Development and Crisis|year=1998|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=9780275964818 |page=135|quote=At his funeral, the Armenians erupted in anti-Russian and anti-Soviet demonstrations.}}</ref> In 2015, relations between Armenia and Russia were strained after the [[Gyumri massacre|massacre of an Armenian family of 7]] in [[Gyumri]] by a Russian serviceman, stationed at the [[Russian 102nd Military Base|Russian base]] there.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Nikoghosyan|first1=Alina|title=Shock and Questions: Gyumri mourns murders as it looks for reasons|url=http://armenianow.com/society/59747/murder_in_gyumri_valeri_permyakov_russian_military_base_in_armenia|work=[[ArmeniaNow]]|date=13 January 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150114002520/http://armenianow.com/society/59747/murder_in_gyumri_valeri_permyakov_russian_military_base_in_armenia |archive-date=14 January 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Grigoryan|first=Armen|title=Murder of Armenian Family by Russian Soldier Severely Strains Moscow–Yerevan Relations|url=http://www.jamestown.org/single/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=43410&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=7&cHash=7471107e49b64afa1921b452607700a4#.VLp_b9LF-WE|work=Eurasia Daily Monitor|publisher=[[The Jamestown Foundation]]|date=16 January 2015|location=Washington, DC}}</ref>

Relations between Armenia and Russia have worsened in recent years, due to Russia's refusal to help Armenia in the [[2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war]] and the [[September 2022 Armenia–Azerbaijan clashes]],<ref>{{cite news|title=Pashinyan refuses to sign CSTO declaration after bloc's failure to help Armenia |url=https://www.intellinews.com/pashinyan-refuses-to-sign-csto-declaration-after-bloc-s-failure-to-help-armenia-263492/ |work=[[bne IntelliNews]]|date=25 November 2022}}</ref> as well as due to statements perceived to be anti-Armenian made by figures close to Russian President Vladimir Putin.<ref>{{cite news|title=Russia Today, Sputnik head accuses Armenian gov't of being anti-Russian|url=https://jam-news.net/margarita-simonyan-russia-today-sputnik-accused-armenian-authorities-of-anti-russian-stance/ |work=JAM news|date=19 July 2020}}</ref> This has resulted in anti-Russian sentiment rising sharply in the country.<ref>{{cite news|title=Putin visits Armenia as anti-Russia sentiment blooms |url=https://eurasianet.org/putin-visits-armenia-as-anti-russia-sentiment-blooms |work=Eurasia|date=23 November 2022}}</ref>

====Azerbaijan====
{{See also|Azerbaijan–Russia relations|Black January}}
The 1990 [[Black January]] massacre prior to Azerbaijani independence and Russia's complicated role in the [[First Nagorno-Karabakh War]] between Azerbaijan and Armenia increased the negative perception of Russia.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ge.boell.org/en/2017/10/16/betwixt-and-between-reality-russian-soft-power-azerbaijan|title=Betwixt and between: the reality of Russian soft-power in Azerbaijan|website=Böll South Caucasus }}</ref> Under [[Abulfaz Elchibey]]'s presidency in 1992–93, relations between Russia and Azerbaijan were damaged due to his anti-Russian policies,<ref name="Svante">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ff2zOZYaZx0C&q=elchibey%20iran&pg=PA324|title=Small Nations and Great Powers: A Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict in the Caucasus|first=Svante|last=Cornell|date=2000|publisher=Taylor & Francis|access-date=29 September 2016|via=Google Books|isbn=9780203988879}}</ref> however under [[Ilham Aliyev]], relations instead improved.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://en.president.az/articles/25667|title=Official web-site of President of Azerbaijan Republic - NEWS» Receptions Ilham Aliyev received Deputy Chairman of Council of Federation of Russian Federal Assembly and chairman of People's Assembly of Dagestan|website=en.president.az |access-date=15 November 2017}}</ref>

====Georgia====
{{See also|Georgia–Russia relations|Russo-Georgian war|Russians in Georgia}}
[[File:F**k Putin sign in Georgia.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|Anti-Russian sign in Georgia]]

There has been increased animosity towards Russians in [[Tbilisi]] after the 2022 [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]], which has also been directed towards exiled Russians who recently fled their home country. It has included signs from businesses and posts from Airbnb hosts declaring “Russians not welcome”, anti-Russian graffiti found on many central streets, the famous [[Bassiani]] nightclub banning anyone with a Russian passport, and an [[online petition]] signed by thousands of locals demanding tougher immigration rules for Russians.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Inna Lazareva|date=3 April 2022|title=Russians in Tbilisi, Georgia, face public anger despite their anti-Putin activism|newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/04/03/ukraine-russia-georgia/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=8 March 2022|title=Georgia, a bleak new home for Russian exiles|url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220308-georgia-a-bleak-new-home-for-russian-exiles|website=[[France 24]], [[Agence France Presse]]|language=en}}</ref>

Accordingly, in March 2022 a strong majority of 84% of respondents to a Georgian poll said Russia is the enemy of Georgia,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://civil.ge/archives/478160 | title=87% of Georgians: Ukraine's War Ours Too | work=Civil Georgia |date=10 March 2022 |access-date=9 February 2024}}</ref> a sharp uptick compared with a decade earlier. According to a 2012 poll, 35% of Georgians perceived Russia as Georgia's biggest enemy.<ref name="css.ethz.ch">{{cite journal|editor=Kempe, Iris|url=http://www.css.ethz.ch/content/dam/ethz/special-interest/gess/cis/center-for-securities-studies/pdfs/CAD-51-52.pdf|title=The South Caucasus Between The EU And The Eurasian Union|journal=Caucasus Analytical Digest|issue=51–52|publisher=Forschungsstelle Osteuropa, Bremen and Center for Security Studies, Zürich|pages=20–21|date=17 June 2013|access-date=12 November 2016|issn=1867-9323}}</ref> Furthermore, in a February 2013 poll a majority of 63% said Russia is Georgia's biggest political and economic threat as opposed to 35% of those who looked at Russia as the most important partner for Georgia.<ref>{{cite web|title=Georgian National Study February 18 – 27, 2013|url=http://www.iri.org/sites/default/files/2013_May_16_Survey_of_Georgian_Public_Opinion_February_18-27_2013.pdf|publisher=[[International Republican Institute]], Baltic Surveys Ltd., The Gallup Organization, The Institute of Polling And Marketing|page=35 |date=February 2013|access-date=12 November 2016}}</ref> In November 2023, 11% preferred closer ties with Russia, while abandoning western ties, and 25% wanted to deepen ties with Russia.<ref>{{cite web |title=Results of October-November 2023 Public Opinion Polls in Georgia |pages=94–97 |work=NDI / CRRC Georgia |date=11 November 2023 |url=https://www.ndi.org/sites/default/files/NDI%20Georgia_GGF%20poll_October_2023_Eng_VF.pdf |access-date=9 February 2024}}</ref>

The root of the Georgian anti-Russian sentiment lies in the history of Russian colonialism of Transcaucasia. For Georgians, the country was twice occupied and annexed by Russia. First in 1801 under the Tsarist regime, and then, after a short interlude of independence of the [[Democratic Republic of Georgia]] (1918–1921), a 70-year period of forceful Soviet occupation.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/08/ruzzki-not-welcome-the-russian-exiles-getting-a-hostile-reception-in-georgia | title='Ruzzki not welcome': the Russian exiles getting a hostile reception in Georgia | work=The Guardian |date=8 August 2023 |access-date=9 February 2024}}</ref> This sentiment was further fed by the events of the 1990s, when Russia supported the independence of [[Abkhazia]] and [[South Ossetia]], two historically inalienable parts of Georgia, causing the [[Abkhaz–Georgian conflict]], the [[Georgian–Ossetian conflict]] and later the [[Russo-Georgian War|war with Russia]] in 2008.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/27/world/europe/27russia.html |title=Russia Backs Independence of Georgian Enclaves |first=Clifford J.|last=Levy|work=The New York Times |date=26 August 2008}}</ref> It was also followed by Georgian sympathy to the [[Chechens]] during the [[Chechen–Russian conflict]] of the 1990s.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/1100701.html |title=Caucasus: Georgians, Chechens Take Stand Against Russia Over Pankisi|newspaper=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|date=9 April 2008 |last1=Peuch |first1=Jean-Christophe}}</ref>