New car sales across Russia’s North Caucasus fell by 21% in July compared with the same month last year. The sharpest decline was recorded in Dagestan, where the new-car market nearly halved over the year.
Azerbaijani opposition politician Ali Karimli, leader of the Popular Front, criticized the country's authorities. He said that the incessant rise in prices for electricity, gas, water, transport, fuel, food and almost all services is leading the population to starvation.
Instead of measures to improve the economic situation of citizens, such as creating jobs or increasing salaries and pensions, the authorities, according to Karimli, are trying to suppress any discontent by expanding the powers of the internal troops. He called on the authorities not to remain silent, but to hear the voice of the people and solve existing problems.
Earlier, Karimli accused Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev of establishing "harsh authoritarianism." He spoke about the systematic persecution of the opposition and independent journalists. The oppositionist also emphasized that the authoritarian regime in Azerbaijan has no prospects, and called on the international community to actively support democratic reforms and resolve the refugee problem.