Berlin in the ‘30s, Beirut in ‘70s . . . Now Baku : Soviet Union: A seemingly powerless Moscow stands by as Armenians are slaughtered in Azerbaijan. The Jews and Russians will be next.

The new round of savage killings of Armenians in Baku, the capital of Soviet Azerbaijan, underscores the Soviet government’s inability to deal effectively with its ethnic problems.

Azerbaijanis, Armenians, Russians and Jews peacefully coexisted in Baku for decades. But the fragile balance has been irretrievably upset and the central government seems powerless to restore order to this picturesque city on the shores of the Caspian Sea. Even the state of emergency declared elsewhere in Azerbaijan this week cannot call back the violence that has claimed many lives and ruined others.

Residents proudly recall the rich history of an international city steeped in tradition and blessed with a moderate climate, vast natural resources and an ideal location. But during a recent visit to Baku, I saw the signs of a city in decline everywhere. The billboard on the road from the airport reads in Russian, “The U.S.S.R.--Home for All Peoples.” But one rarely hears Russian spoken anymore in a city in which just two years ago more than half the people were native Russian speakers. Today, the language of power in Baku is Azeri, and non-Azerbaijanis are not welcome.

Armenians have been the subject of brutal attacks on the streets and in their homes. Streets that only a few months ago had Armenian names now carry Azerbaijani names. Statues of Armenians have all been destroyed. The Armenian church, which until last month remained unscathed, has been desecrated. In short, all public traces of Armenian culture and history are gone.

An influx of Azerbaijanis who were living in neighboring Soviet Armenia is the primary trigger of this transformation. Extremist nationalist elements in the Armenian population terrorized Azerbaijani inhabitants into leaving Soviet Armenia. One Jewish woman now living in Baku told me that all 115 Azerbaijani newcomers attending the institute at which she works arrived in Baku with limbs missing or mutilated.

The Azerbaijanis fleeing Soviet Armenia have therefore come to Baku bent on vengeance. These newcomers, known pejoratively throughout Baku as Yerazi (Yeravan Azerbaijanis), have bolstered the ranks of the Popular Front, an extremist nationalist organization in Azerbaijan.

The Popular Front has wrought havoc on Baku, visiting virtually every enterprise in the city, requiring the firing of all Armenian employees. And on the streets, one must carry an internal passport to show that he or she is not Armenian. Armenians fear for their lives.

The nationalists are orchestrating a concerted campaign to secede from the Soviet Union to create a separate union with southern Azerbaijan, which is now part of neighboring northern Iran. The Popular Front’s reign of terror in Baku is part of this campaign.

More than 90% of the Armenian population in Azerbaijan has fled. Only the most defiant, or those deluding themselves that the situation will get better, have stayed. I met one woman who had lost her job the day before. She was married to a Russian, her last name was Russian--but one parent was Armenian. Someone at work found out, and she was fired.

Other minority populations are also in danger. While walking to a store, a man was accosted on the street. He had forgotten his internal passport showing that he was Jewish. The Azerbaijani marauders were looking for Armenians. They addressed him in Armenian, which he did not understand. He told them in Russian that he was Jewish, so they addressed him in a language spoken among some Jews. He knew a few words, convincing his assailants that he was Jewish. They let him go, but warned him that once they rid the city of Armenians, the Jews would be next.

Azerbaijani “collaborators” are also subject to attack. While I was in Baku, an older Azerbaijani man helped a longtime neighbor and friend--an Armenian. In retaliation, a gang of about 15 youths came to his apartment, beat him up and stole his jewelry and clothes. There are similar instances of Azerbaijanis helping neighbors or friends, but the bonds that preserved the peace have unraveled. The city has all but fallen into the hands of the Popular Front.

I attended a dinner at which former grade-school classmates who had known each other for more than 15 years gathered for probably the last time. Most were products of mixed marriages from a time when tolerance and understanding reigned in this international city.

These lifelong friends will soon scatter to all parts of the globe to escape. They recognize that they are re-enacting similar exoduses from Berlin in the ‘30’s or Beirut in the ‘70’s--in both instances, great cities on the verge of calamity.

All remaining Armenians will soon leave; then the Jews. Then it will not be safe for the Russians.

The great, tolerant and prosperous city that once was has vanished.