Azerbaijan: All the President's Oil 2002
Distributed by Chip Taylor Communications, 2 East View Drive, Derry, NH 03038-4812; 800-876-CHIP (2447)
Produced by Journeyman Pictures
Directed by Christopher Kendall
VHS, color, 25 min.
Sr. High - Adult
Political Science, Asian Studies, Economics
Date Entered: 11/09/2018
Reviewed by Michael J. Coffta, Business Librarian, Bloomsburg University of PennsylvaniaThis is a swift but rigorous film discussing the present corruption of an oil-rich state which would seem primed for prosperity in the global economy. Despite its estimated $80 billion in oil reserves, Azerbaijan is presently a poorer state than it was under Soviet rule.
The former ruling elites of Soviet communism have formed a class of bourgeois autocrats who gather the spoils of oil sales. Azerbaijanis may cooperate with the corruption and bribery, or live in squalor. This scheme traverses all social lines. Soldiers in the Azerbaijan army cooperate in the corruption or starve. Journalists have been imprisoned for speaking out. No one will play the whistleblower for fear of reprisal.
The film offers a one-on-one interview with the Azerbaijan President Aliev. He insists that there is an “oil fund” whose monies directly benefit the Azerbaijan people. On the other hand, oil executives estimate the Alievs alone have pocketed $4 billion in the last 7 years. Furthermore, this corruption is scaring away foreign investors. Azerbaijan, therefore, must rely on older equipment to drill for oil and have adopted a sort of “slash and burn” mentality of oil drilling which has left the landscape pocked with antiquated facilities.
From a viewing standpoint, the picture seems a bit vertically stretched, suggesting the original film was shot in a wider aspect ratio than the conventional 4:3. This, however, does not detract from the great worth of this excellent documentary. This film would do well for any political science or economics class discussing the global economy.