Ruslan Kurbanov clearly showed that Solovyov’s program is a fool’s show in the interests of the City of London. Orientalist Ruslan Kurbanov - about the perpetrators of the terrorist attacks in Dagestan and the North Caucasus perspective of Russia Ruslan Kurbanov orientalist biography

“Are Muslims in Russia ready for the liberation of al-Aqsa? Will Moscow and Tel Aviv allow them to do this?” Under this title, the Onkavkaz resource published on July 23 an article authored by a certain Daniyala Isaeva. Apparently, behind this name is the founder and editor-in-chief of Onkavkaz. Ruslan Kurbanov, who in the mentioned material, abundantly pumped up with anti-Israeli emotions, gave a large-scale speech to one of his colleagues - the editor-in-chief of the Islamist resource “Truly” Ruslan Aisin.

“Another crime of the Zionist regime against the Muslims of Palestine and the whole world is unfolding, and most of progressive humanity condemns these actions,” Aisin said, in particular. - Unfortunately, protests are not yet visible in Russia. Because any political activity in our country, especially street activity, is under strict supervision of the authorities, who are afraid of any activity. We must say that Palestine is not just a holy place for Muslims, but also that it is a place that connects Russia with the Christian umbilical cord to the rest of the Christian world. Russia's only chance to break into the vanguard of this world is to become an ally of the Islamic street, Palestine, and Palestinian Christians. And fight together against the dominance of the Israeli lobby inside Russia.”

Based on what has been said, it can be assumed that Aisin reproaches the vast majority of Russian Muslims for working and praying five times a day at home, and not fighting with weapons in the ranks of the next intifada against Israel that is now brewing in Palestine. And at the same time, Aisin, following the template accepted among experts of this level, “drove” over the Russian authorities who “sold out to Israel,” noting in the spirit of the deceased Heydar Dzhemal tradition that Muslims in Russia suffer the same oppression in their homeland as their counterparts in Israel.

The lines outlined by Aisin boil down to one call: Russian believers need to fight in Palestine in order to then transfer the fire of the intifada to Russia and organize an Islamic revolution in their homeland similar to the “Arab Spring.” Colleague and “spiritual sister” Aisina, a journalist, responded in a similar spirit in her commentary for the material on Onkavkaz Nadezhda Kevorkova. In addition, the article on Onkavkaz successfully fits into the context of a similar call made by the President of Turkey on July 25 Recep Erdogan.

The provocative publication “Onkavkaz” is a typical example of the work of Ruslan Kurbanov, a well-known person in the media sphere. He is a regular on talk shows. Vladimir Solovyov and broadcasts on “Echo of Moscow”, where he acts as an expert on Islam and interethnic relations, owner of many regalia: researcher at the Institute of Oriental Studies (IA) of the Russian Academy of Sciences, vice-president of the Federal Lezgin National-Cultural Autonomy (FLNKA), etc. In communication the person is very nice. But there are also moments in his biography that conflict with his carefully formed public image.

Lezgin by nationality, Ruslan Kurbanov used to like to emphasize that he is connected with Dagestan only by his origin, he spent his whole life in Moscow and only visits the homeland of his ancestors as a guest. However, as his biography on the Ansar.Ru website testifies, a significant part life path Ruslana Kurbanova was connected specifically with Dagestan, where he was born and graduated from the local state university with a degree in " World economy" While still a very young man, in the mid-nineties Kurbanov organized a Salafi circle in his native Makhachkala, where he attracted young Lezgin intellectuals. The destruction of the Wahhabi enclaves in Dagestan in 1999 put an end to these experiments, but after the Salafi circle was “covered up” and its members “got under the law,” Kurbanov managed to get off with “a slight fright” - the criminal case brought against him was closed. According to one version, large family connections: allegedly, my uncle, a security official, helped.

One way or another, in the detailed and completely apologetic biographies of Kurbanov published on the Internet, this episode is silent. However, it is known that, in addition to his secular education at DSU, and then at graduate school at St. Petersburg State University, he received basic education in Islam in Syria, at the Abu Nur Institute in Damascus. Therefore, it is not surprising that when several years ago the expert community discussed the need to teach Russian youth Islam inside Russia so that they would not become imbued with jihadism abroad, Kurbanov opposed this idea. Without adding, however, that many of his fellow Syrian students ended very poorly, scattering throughout the jihadist underground in the North Caucasus and beyond, where they ended their days in clashes with the security forces.

A typical example of this “career trajectory” is young Kurbanov’s friend and colleague from working on Dagestan television, a young Arabist Makhach (Yasin) Rasulov. Having changed his editorial office to a rookery in the “forest,” former journalist Rasulov committed 9 (!) terrorist attacks in Makhachkala from March to August 2005. The terrorist-journalist was eliminated on April 10, 2006 during a shootout with security forces on Engels Street in Makhachkala, where Rasulov barricaded himself in a residential building, using its inhabitants as a human shield. Such a “glorious” death was preceded by Rasulov’s lectures in the well-known mosque on Kotrova Street, where he taught parishioners “correct Islam.”

However, for Kurbanov, the terrorist Rasulov is not a killer of civilians, but “a Dagestan intellectual who has gone on the warpath” (quote from Kurbanov’s article “The Evolution of the Forest,” published in 2010 in Russian Journal). “Which “forest” is more beneficial to Russia itself or, more precisely, to the political elite of Russia? - Kurbanov wrote two weeks after the terrorist attack at the Park Kultury and Lubyanka stations of the Moscow metro. - “Les” as an emerging political competitor, but refraining from bloody attacks on civilians? Or “the forest”, like a bloody predator, delivering unexpected blows to the very heart of a huge power, but completely discredited as a political competitor?

At the same time, during the mourning for the victims of the terrorist attack in Moscow, Kurbanov spoke even more frankly on the Russia.Ru channel: “Young Muslims are joining the ranks of militants because they are modern world, V modern Russia“They cannot find an opportunity for themselves to realize themselves as a Muslim, while maintaining self-respect for themselves as a person who follows the religion of pure monotheism.” Kurbanov argues that young Caucasians are prevented from preserving Muslim and human honor by “corrupt regional authorities”, “rudely acting law enforcement agencies that do not distinguish between moderate and radical Muslims”, as well as “a mossy clergy that does not accept the renewal of its ranks.”

A little later, Ruslan Kurbanov will use a similar cliche to explain the genesis of the “Arab Spring”, civil war in Syria and the birth of the Daesh (ISIS) organization banned in the Russian Federation. “Muslim youth are looking for new channels of self-realization. And, faced with the fact that there is no place for her in this world, be it in authoritarian Muslim countries in the Middle East or be it in the cynical post-modern societies of Europe, which protect the rights of dogs and sexual minorities, but do not protect the rights of religious minorities, she naturally , chooses the path of armed resistance,” Kurbanov said in 2015 on Russian Public Television.

Of course, such an interpretation has a right to exist, but Kurbanov further admits that Daesh is nurtured by the Americans, and militants in general Al Baghdadi the guys are not very peaceful. And this already suggests a logical conclusion: wouldn’t it be better for Russia to meet Daesh halfway? For example, break with Bashar al-Assad and Israel. And at the same time, curtail the persecution of jihadists inside Russia, giving the “forest people” a ticket to secular and spiritual power. According to available data, it is precisely these thoughts that Kurbanov, in particular, likes to share within the framework of the FLNKA with younger colleagues in the Lezgin autonomy. With his talent as a born storyteller, Kurbanov says that he personally knew many famous Caucasian Wahhabis - Makhach Rasulov, Anzora Astemirova and others, and these terrorists are not such bad people as the federal media portray them at the instigation of the security forces.

At the same time, Kurbanov, not without success, plays on the prejudice inherent in Lezgins against the Sufi Muftiate of Dagestan, which has been headed by Avars for more than 20 years. No less cleverly, he exploits the friction between the Lezgins and the Azerbaijani authorities - just remember that Kurbanov worked in the press service of the Chairman of the Council of Muftis of Russia Ravil Gainutdin who has a difficult relationship with the head of the Muslims of Azerbaijan Allahshukur Pashazade. True, in Dagestan, Kurbanov’s zeal for the fate of the Lezgin people, divided by the Russian-Azerbaijani border, is far from unequivocally assessed - for example, his PR on the problems of his compatriots was ridiculed four years ago in the article “Penguin of the Lezgin Revival,” where Kurbanov was directly called a militant Wahhabi.

But Ruslan Vyacheslavovich does not isolate himself in the Caucasus and the Middle East. Five years ago, he gave his vision to the sensational terrorist attack in Kazan - the murder of a theologian Valiully Yakupova and the explosion of the car of the Mufti of Tatarstan Ildusa Fayzova- in a comment to the deputy editor-in-chief of the Regnum news agency Konstantin Kazenin. Quite predictably, Kurbanov laid the blame for the tragedy on “officials and security forces” who “do not want and do not know how to establish normal interaction, work for the future, work with youth and Islamic leaders.” At the same time, Kurbanov said: “Tatarstan risks taking the path of Dagestan in 1999 - but even there, in the end, the leaders of the Muslim community sat down at the negotiating table. But how much blood was shed before this happened! Does Tatarstan need to follow the same path? Behind this cunning passage there is a message: Fayzov and Yakupov suffered because they did not negotiate with the Tatarstan Wahhabis, but conflicted with them. Consequently, the victims of the terrorist attack are themselves to blame for what happened. In other comments on the Kazan events of July 2012, Kurbanov reduced the terrorist attack in Kazan to the financial component, which was, in fact, equivalent to the formulation: only they themselves are to blame for what happened to Fayzov and Yakupov. However, here too, Ruslan Kurbanov’s constructions caused a rebuff: a number of Kazan experts openly said that behind every speech of this expert one should see the promotion of the interests of extremists.

Najmudin Aliyev, especially for

, RSFSR, USSR) - Russian social and political figure, political scientist, journalist, expert on issues of the North Caucasus and Islam, specialist in training personal and professional growth workers public organizations and media. Director of the Altair Foundation for the Support of Humanitarian Initiatives, senior researcher.

Biography

Born in 1976 in the village. Kurakh, Kurakhsky district (modern Russia). He graduated from Dagestan State University with a degree in World Economy and defended his dissertation in political science at St. Petersburg State University.

Taught a course on how to adapt them to returning home for more effective and correct spiritual education for Russian students in Syria. He also worked as an expert, lecturer, and teacher in the USA and Great Britain.

Supervises the work of the Altair Foundation for Support of Humanitarian Initiatives. In 2011, Ruslan founded the School of Muslim Journalism in Moscow.

He improved his qualifications at the Russian Academy of Civil Service with a specialty in “Security of Interfaith and Interethnic Relations.”

In 2014, Ruslan Kurbanov was nominated for a competition to select members of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation from all-Russian public associations and other non-profit organizations. 5 hours before the end of the online voting, the leaders at that time, Ruslan Kurbanov (about 30 thousand votes) and Aliy Totorkulov (about 40 thousand votes), were removed from the elections. The official reason for removing candidates from the finish line of the race is “cheating of votes by bots.” Kurbanov was nominated in the direction of “Development of the information society, media and mass communications» .

Participates as an expert on the Middle East in television programs on Russian television.

Until October 2015, he served as Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Russian Congress of the Peoples of the Caucasus.

Ruslana Kurbanov is one of the leaders of the Expert Council under the Council of Muftis of Russia, as well as a member of the working group on interfaith relations under the Moscow Government. Editor of the politics department of the Smysl magazine. Representative of the public wing of the Council of Muftis of Russia, chief editor of the portal “Caucasian Politics”, chief researcher at the Center for the Study of Central Asia, the Caucasus and the Ural-Volga Region.

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Notes

An excerpt characterizing Kurbanov, Ruslan Vyacheslavovich

While the father was explaining to his son, an equally important explanation was taking place between the mother and daughter. Natasha ran to her mother excitedly.
- Mom!... Mom!... he did it to me...
- What did you do?
- I did, I proposed. Mother! Mother! - she shouted. The Countess could not believe her ears. Denisov proposed. To whom? This tiny girl Natasha, who had recently been playing with dolls and was now taking lessons.
- Natasha, that’s complete nonsense! – she said, still hoping that it was a joke.
- Well, that's nonsense! “I’m telling you the truth,” Natasha said angrily. – I came to ask what to do, and you tell me: “nonsense”...
The Countess shrugged.
“If it’s true that Monsieur Denisov proposed to you, then tell him that he’s a fool, that’s all.”
“No, he’s not a fool,” Natasha said offendedly and seriously.
- Well, what do you want? You are all in love these days. Well, you’re in love, so marry him! – the countess said, laughing angrily. - With God blessing!
- No, mom, I’m not in love with him, I must not be in love with him.
- Well, tell him so.
- Mom, are you angry? You’re not angry, my dear, what’s my fault?
- No, what about it, my friend? If you want, I’ll go and tell him,” said the countess, smiling.
- No, I’ll do it myself, just teach me. Everything is easy for you,” she added, responding to her smile. - If only you could see how he told me this! After all, I know that he didn’t mean to say this, but he said it by accident.
- Well, you still have to refuse.
- No, don't. I feel so sorry for him! He is so cute.
- Well, then accept the offer. “And then it’s time to get married,” the mother said angrily and mockingly.
- No, mom, I feel so sorry for him. I don't know how I'll say it.
“You don’t have anything to say, I’ll say it myself,” said the countess, indignant that they dared to look at this little Natasha as if she were big.
“No, no way, I myself, and you listen at the door,” and Natasha ran through the living room into the hall, where Denisov was sitting on the same chair, by the clavichord, covering his face with his hands. He jumped up at the sound of her light steps.
“Natalie,” he said, approaching her with quick steps, “decide my fate.” It's in your hands!
- Vasily Dmitrich, I feel so sorry for you!... No, but you are so nice... but don’t... this... otherwise I will always love you.
Denisov bent over her hand, and she heard strange sounds, incomprehensible to her. She kissed his black, matted, curly head. At this time, the hasty noise of the countess's dress was heard. She approached them.
“Vasily Dmitrich, I thank you for the honor,” said the countess in an embarrassed voice, but which seemed stern to Denisov, “but my daughter is so young, and I thought that you, as a friend of my son, would turn to me first.” In this case, you would not put me in the need of refusal.
“Athena,” Denisov said with downcast eyes and a guilty look, he wanted to say something else and faltered.
Natasha could not calmly see him so pitiful. She began to sob loudly.
“Countess, I am guilty before you,” Denisov continued in a broken voice, “but know that I adore your daughter and your entire family so much that I would give two lives...” He looked at the countess and, noticing her stern face... “Well, goodbye, Athena,” he said, kissed her hand and, without looking at Natasha, walked out of the room with quick, decisive steps.

The next day, Rostov saw off Denisov, who did not want to stay in Moscow for another day. Denisov was seen off at the gypsies by all his Moscow friends, and he did not remember how they put him in the sleigh and how they took him to the first three stations.
After Denisov’s departure, Rostov, waiting for the money that the old count could not suddenly collect, spent another two weeks in Moscow, without leaving the house, and mainly in the young ladies’ room.
Sonya was more tender and devoted to him than before. She seemed to want to show him that his loss was a feat for which she now loves him even more; but Nikolai now considered himself unworthy of her.
He filled the girls' albums with poems and notes, and without saying goodbye to any of his acquaintances, finally sending all 43 thousand and receiving Dolokhov's signature, he left at the end of November to catch up with the regiment, which was already in Poland.

After his explanation with his wife, Pierre went to St. Petersburg. In Torzhok there were no horses at the station, or the caretaker did not want them. Pierre had to wait. Without undressing, he lay down on a leather sofa in front of a round table, put his big feet in warm boots on this table and thought.
– Will you order the suitcases to be brought in? Make the bed, would you like some tea? – asked the valet.
Pierre did not answer because he did not hear or see anything. He began to think at the last station and continued to think about the same thing - about something so important that he did not pay any attention to what was happening around him. Not only was he not interested in the fact that he would arrive in St. Petersburg later or earlier, or whether he would or would not have a place to rest at this station, but it was still in comparison with the thoughts that occupied him now whether he would stay for a few days. hours or a lifetime at this station.
The caretaker, the caretaker, the valet, the woman with Torzhkov sewing came into the room, offering their services. Pierre, without changing his position with his legs raised, looked at them through his glasses, and did not understand what they could need and how they could all live without resolving the questions that occupied him. And he was preoccupied with the same questions from the very day he returned from Sokolniki after the duel and spent the first, painful, sleepless night; only now, in the solitude of the journey, did they take possession of him with special power. No matter what he started to think about, he returned to the same questions that he could not solve, and could not stop asking himself. It was as if the main screw on which his whole life was held had turned in his head. The screw did not go in further, did not go out, but spun, not grabbing anything, still on the same groove, and it was impossible to stop turning it.

The murder of an employee of the press service of the President of Dagestan, Garun Kurbanov, during a major economic forum, which authorities in both Makhachkala and Moscow call key to the development prospects of Dagestan, forces experts to reflect on the policy of the federal center in the North Caucasus.

A senior researcher at the Moscow Institute of Oriental Studies answered Radio Liberty's questions Ruslan Kurbanov:

– The situation in Dagestan is complex when compared with the other republics of the Caucasus. And it will not be possible to stabilize it by any economic forums or large economic investment projects that are being implemented today by the government of Dagestan, the apparatus of the North Caucasian Federal District or the government of Russia. In order to solve the problems in Dagestan, completely different methods are needed. The authorities, after a series of monstrous mistakes they made in the republic, also made a completely incorrect diagnosis of the state society had fallen into. By creating problems, making an incorrect diagnosis and using the wrong treatment methods, the situation cannot be corrected. First, the authorities need to admit their own mistakes.

– What mistakes are you talking about?

– The most important thing is that Dagestan is not only the most multinational region of the Caucasus and Russia. But each nationality has its own experience political life and political history. Some of the peoples of Dagestan lived under the rule of khans and princes, some lived as free republics, not recognizing anyone’s authority. Therefore, among the militants today we have a large number of people from precisely those areas where the power of the khans never extended, where people are accustomed to solving their problems themselves.

There has never been one dominant version of Islam in Dagestan. At the time of the October Revolution, there were at least four different versions of Islam - Sufism, Salafia, the school of Shafi'i jurists and Islamic reformism. All four versions of Islam were traditional for the republic. But after the crash Soviet Union the authorities relied on only one of the directions of Islam and gave the opportunity to followers of this version of Islam to accuse all other groups and communities of extremism and radicalism. Moreover, the bet was placed on a very specific, narrow version. The fact is that each people of Dagestan has its own understanding of Sufism and its leader. In this extremely complex society, in no case could it be possible to give state support to only one community, and in no case could the state enter into religious and theological discussions and, with the full weight of the law enforcement system, throw itself into this very subtle, specific theological dispute. In fact, punitive measures were taken against anyone who did not agree with the position of the official religious authorities.

– Does this mean that in order to try to change the situation in Dagestan, it is necessary to carry out a more differentiated and more subtle policy, with different tools?

– The authorities must completely withdraw from the field of theological discussion. It must stop telling believers which version of Islam is traditional for Dagestan and which is not. The authorities themselves must now contribute to ensuring that the theological discussion takes place within a legal framework. Since she has made a mess of things, now we need to find the courage to create optimal conditions under which the religious and political discussion could move from the plane of conflict to the plane of negotiation and discussion. This is the first and main step that the government must take.

– Do you think the new North Caucasian authorities – the office of Plenipotentiary Representative Alexander Khloponin – understand the depth of the tasks facing them?

– Alexander Khloponin is a completely new person in the region who thinks in completely different categories. He is a manager, manager. For him, only topics related to investing and profitable management of some assets have real meaning. But when it comes to subtle religious matters - establishing relations between different ethnic groups, searching for different models of national reconciliation, then for him these are phrases from a completely different area. This is a person who did not have time to fully understand the complex ethnopolitical situation in the Caucasus, the role of Islam, and the complex history of the Caucasus itself. Attempts to simply flood the Caucasus with financial injections cannot lead to a solution to the complex tangle of problems in the region.

Forced experts to start talking again about the fact that episodic outbreaks of violence and terrorist attacks in different regions of the North Caucasus indicate an increase in systemic problems in this region, which the Russian authorities are currently unable to cope with. At the request of Radio Liberty, the situation is analyzed by Ruslan Kurbanov, a senior researcher at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences:

- This terrorist attack fits completely into the pattern of events that are unfolding throughout the North Caucasus. Militants are increasing the number of attacks on government officials. The number of young people joining militants is growing. This is a very disturbing picture.

Some experts connect the terrorist attack with the process of reconciliation between representatives of various Muslim communities in Dagestan, but, in my opinion, these events are in no way connected. Action movies have their own logic. They have long ceased to focus on the political calendar, on political events. As soon as their resources allow them to do this, they immediately inflict painful blows on government officials and law enforcement agencies. We must now think about how to reverse the trend of growing sympathy among young people for militants.

- Is this, first of all, a political problem or a social one?

- It is difficult to single out any specific factor causing the radicalization of young people. Some experts focus on socio-economic reasons - unemployment, social insecurity, etc. Russian society and politic system turned out to be unprepared for the rapid invasion of the public, social and political field of the reviving and intensifying Islam. There is not yet any niche in Russian society in which followers of this form of Islam could feel comfortable and realize their social aspirations, perhaps even political goals. And while there is no such niche, radicalized youth will break this system in order to find a place in the sun in Russia.

It is clear that the system will never talk to those who have already committed murder and have placed themselves outside the law. But I’m talking about those people who have not yet joined the militants, but also believe that the system needs to be reformed so that this (Islamic - RS) political force finds its own niche. In Britain, which was trying to resolve the Irish conflict, it seemed intractable until the British government began to talk to the Irish separatists in the language of politics. Today in Dagestan, as well as throughout the Caucasus, we need to talk with those forces that have not yet taken the path of violence, that retain the desire for political dialogue. These forces still exist, and our state needs to use this chance.

- It seems to me that one of the aspects of the problem is that the North Caucasus issue today is not part of the public discussion in Russia, unlike the situation 15 years ago or the situation in the early 2000s, when this topic was actively discussed in the media. Now the situation has changed.

- I absolutely agree with you. What about the Caucasus? What model of existence should I find? How to use and unlock the potential of the Caucasus to strengthen Russian society? All these issues today have been pushed to the periphery of public and political discussion. The Caucasus is diligently marginalized by the political, informational, and intellectual elites of Russia. Why? Because today in Russia the trend towards gradual getting rid of the Caucasus has prevailed, that is, the 200-year-old demand for greater integration of the Caucasus into Russia is fading away. Before our eyes, a reverse demand is being born - for the Caucasus to be increasingly squeezed out of the Russian political, social and cultural field. This request is voiced by influential figures such as Zhirinovsky, Yurgens and Gontmakher, who, on the basis of INSOR (Institute modern development - RS) were preparing a report on the future development of Russia and have already recognized that the option of separating the Caucasus is quite acceptable for Russia.

The topic of the Caucasus in the public and intellectual information field is interpreted as follows: as long as we have the Caucasus, we will never be able to become Europe, for this we need to get rid of this ballast. Various options are proposed, which give rise to both nationalist projects for the separation of the Caucasus, and liberal ones for the transformation of the Caucasus into Russian Palestine. Boris Nemtsov, in particular, spoke about this, proposing to separate from the Caucasus with a wall.

- Maybe this is a natural, objective process?

- I think that certain forces are simply placing an order to promote just such an agenda.

- Somehow this sounds too conspiratorial - “certain forces”. Do they have names and surnames, these forces?

- These names are quite well known. Take any governor of the 90s or any owner of a large business in Russia - oil, metallurgy. For all of them, the pressing wave of Caucasians who were mastering business structures, the political elite, and the public field was a very strong competitor. I am convinced that the order for the marginalization of Caucasians, squeezing them out of all social, economic and other niches is associated with the fear that Caucasians will recapture spheres of influence.

Caucasians have already stopped being recruited into the army; at least in Dagestan and Chechnya, conscription for military service of children of non-Slavic nationality has been stopped. That is, this social elevator, through which Caucasian guys could reach some heights, is already closed. In Moscow, various departments, including government ones, are gradually squeezing out Caucasians from their positions - this is unofficial information, but it is being discussed in Caucasian communities. Each environment discusses its own version of the situation. And this is the most monstrous scenario for Russia, because it is already working towards its fragmentation. He is already working to weaken and disintegrate it.

Ruslan Kurbanov is an Azerbaijani football player of Russian origin who currently plays for the Gabala club. He is only 25 years old, so his career is still in its prime. Ruslan Kurbanov plays in the position of a deep striker, however, he can play both as a central forward and as a playmaker.

Carier start

Ruslan Kurbanov was born on September 12, 1991 in Stavropol into an Azerbaijani family. He started playing football in his hometown at an early age. Already at school he showed impressive results, and he was noticed by representatives of Dynamo Stavropol. In 1998, Ruslan Kurbanov joined the Dynamo football academy, and five years later he was tested in Rostov, where he was accepted. There he worked his way through the youth ranks before signing a professional contract with the club in 2008 and going on trial with a lower division club. Ruslan spent six months in Nika from Krasny Sulin - there he played nine matches, and then added 11 more matches for Taganrog, where he spent another six months. When he returned to his home club, it turned out that his results were not good enough, so he was sent to the reserve team. Naturally, this did not suit him, so after some time the footballer broke his contract with the club and decided to return to his historical homeland of Azerbaijan.

Transfer to Neftchi

In the winter of 2011, the 20-year-old striker signed a contract with Neftchi - from that moment on, Ruslan Kurbanov’s biography became a little more positive. Rostov's actions towards him left an unpleasant mark, but Ruslan gradually recovered from this. In his first six months at the new club, Kurbanov was only able to appear on the field seven times, so in the summer he was sent on loan to Sumgayit. There he spent a whole year, playing 16 matches and scoring two goals, and then another year, which turned out to be even more successful - 24 matches and six goals. When he returned to Neftchi, the management decided to send him out on loan again, so as not to force Ruslan to sit out his talent on the bench. The six months he spent in Sumgayit were no longer so successful - he entered the field 14 times, but did not score a single goal.

However, the biography of Ruslan Kurbanov is not so sad - when he returned to Neftchi, they began to give him playing time. In six months, he played 19 matches and scored four goals. Kurbanov started the next season at Neftchi, appearing on the field 16 times and scoring four more goals, but in the winter of 2015 he was sent on loan for another six months, this time to the Croatian Hajduk. There he appeared on the field only seven times, was not remembered at all, so he was returned to Neftchi in the summer. Season 2015/16 became the only full-time player of all time in the Azerbaijani club - Kurbanov was a first-team player and scored 18 goals in 39 matches. Naturally, such a performance could not fail to attract attention. Therefore, in the summer of 2016, after long negotiations, on the last day of the transfer window, Kurbanov was sold to Gabala for just over 50 thousand euros. Before this summer, he managed to play 7 more matches for Neftchi, scoring the last goal for the club.

Game for "Gabala"

Ruslan Kurbanov, whose biography was replenished with positive moments, began playing for the new club quite actively. This season he has already played in 27 matches, scoring seven goals and providing six assists. His contract with the club runs until 2018, however, if he continues to perform at such high level, the club can extend the contract in advance this summer. It is quite possible that Kurbanov will be able to have an even better season than the previous one, however, it took him some time to adapt, so the result is still far from last year.

Performances for the youth team

Ruslan Kurbanov, whose nationality is questionable among many football fans, plays for the Azerbaijani national team, although he was born in Russia. He was called up to the Azerbaijani youth team for the first time in September 2010 - and over the course of two years, the footballer played seven matches for it, without recording any effective actions.

Azerbaijan national team

As for the main national team, the striker first received a call-up there in September 2013 for a qualifying match against the Israeli national team, but sat on the bench for all 90 minutes. The next time he was called only a year and a half later, in March 2015. Then he started in the qualifying match against the Malta national team. Kurbanov scored his first assist in September of the same year in the return match against the Malta national team, and scored his first goal only in September 2016 in a match against the San Marino national team - this turned out to be the only goal in the match, so Ruslan brought his team victory and three points. In total, he has played 13 matches for the national team to date, scoring one goal and providing two assists. At the moment he is in the squad for the next matches of the national team.