Samur At the time of Sadval's establishment in 1990, a more moderate Lezgin organization known as Samur was founded in Azerbaijan. This group was founded with the aim of obtaining greater
cultural autonomy for the Lezgin citizens of Azerbaijan. Although initially more moderate than Sadval, Samur radicalized due to negligence by the Azerbaijani government. By October 1992, after the proclamation of an independent state by the Congress of the Lezgins, the Azerbaijani and Russian Lezgins in Dagestan realized that their views on the Lezgin movement differed greatly.
Sadval The movement The Sadval movement's Lezgin activists sought to address the perceived discrimination and marginalization of their community in Azerbaijan. They argued that without the unification of the Lezgins in Dagestan and Azerbaijan, the Lezgins were unable to maximize their cultural, political, and socio-economic potential. Members of the organization viewed the newly created state border between Russia and Azerbaijan (as a result of the
dissolution of the Soviet Union) a deliberate division of the Lezgin's ethnic territories. For the Lezgin community in Azerbaijan, this process was instigated due to a number of grievances, including the lack of representation in the government and the suppression of their
language and culture. In response, Sadval was formed to advocate the rights of their community and eventually promote the development of a distinct Lezgin national identity outside Azerbaijan. The Lezgins of Azerbaijan were deemed more radical than those in Dagestan, and did not shy from threatening Azerbaijan with violence. The radical separatist movement of Lezgins was unable to gain a large following, as during Soviet hegemony over Azerbaijan the Lezgin and Azeri communities had converged. Nevertheless, as a result of Sadval's efforts, as of 1994, the Lezgins were allowed special representatives in the Azerbaijani National Parliament. Sadval held direct territorial claims towards Azerbaijan. On one hand, as a result of the ongoing
First Nagorno-Karabakh War, the Sadval threat to the Azerbaijani state and nation was overestimated. On the other hand, the claims of separatist groups in Azerbaijan (such as Sadval) questioned the territorial pillars of Azerbaijani nationhood—the very same pillars that had been focal for the foundation of
Soviet Azerbaijani identity. Krista A. Goff explains that some scholars do note that Sadval's claims to territory, in tandem with the movement of the
Talysh people (see also
Talysh-Mughan Autonomous Republic) in the southern part of Azerbaijan, contributed to the shift from
ethnic nationalism to
territorial nationalism in Azerbaijan.
Formal organization The Sadval Organization, formally created in 1991, has played a significant role in promoting an autonomous, federalist state of Russia for the Russian and Azerbaijani Lezgin minority. This proposed state would be created by the adjustment of the borders between Russia and Azerbaijan, so that a Lezgin autonomous region could be established. The organization has ties to Russia, and Azerbaijan has accused Russia of being the main factor behind the founding of the group. In 1994, Azerbaijan accused Sadval of orchestrating the
1994 Baku Metro bombings. Subsequently, Sadval was labeled a terrorist organization and accused of cooperating with Armenian secret intelligence units. Members of Sadval were arrested, and handed lengthy prison terms and death sentences. Sadval was banned afterward in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan views Russia as the main factor behind Sadval, because Sadval is officially registered in Russia (which Azerbaijan views as tacit support). According to Jeffrey Mankoff, Russian intelligence supported Sadval in the early 1990s and the Sadval Organization was responsible for the 1994 metro bombings. However, Russia has never officially supported Sadval, doubtlessly due to itself having been affected by Lezgin separatist activity in Dagestan. In 1996, at a congress in
Makhachkala, the organization officially abandoned its territorial aspersions. Sadval became quite dormant by the late 1990s. It declined in the 2000s due to efforts of the Azerbaijani law enforcement and lessened Russian interest in the group. Russia reinvigorated its ties to Sadval when its relations with Azerbaijan soured around the 2008
Russo-Georgian War. In 2012, Sadval organized conferences in Russia, and supported a number of Internet portals and newspapers, which forwarded its original ideas of the 1990s. The leader of Sadval,
Nazim Hajiyev, was killed in 2016. == Political activism ==