Opposition figure Gulu Mammadli stated that the arrest of Ali Karimli, leader of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), was expected, but the reasons go beyond simple criticism of the authorities. According to Mammadli, Karimli's publications in major Western media have increased his political significance and visibility abroad, which has caused concern among the Azerbaijani authorities.
To assess payment discipline in a regional context, the RIA Novosti agency conducted a study and compiled a rating of constituent entities of the Russian Federation by the share of overdue debt of the population based on data from the Central Bank. Ingushetia turned out to be an outsider in the rating. In the republic, 11.8% of loans are overdue.
At the end of the list were other subjects of the North Caucasian Federal District: Chechnya - on the 82nd line (share of overdue debt - 6.2%), Karachay-Cherkessia - on the 83rd (6.3%), North Ossetia - on the 84th ( 7%). Kabardino-Balkaria ranks 77th (4.7%), Dagestan – 80th (5.2%). Thus, the North Caucasus remained the anti-leader in the country in terms of the share of overdue loans. At the same time, retail lending is relatively poorly developed here and wages are low.
The leader of the rating was Sevastopol with an overdue debt indicator of 1.8%. This is followed by St. Petersburg (2.2%), Nenets Autonomous Okrug (2.3%), Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug (2.3%) and Chukotka Autonomous Okrug (2.4%).