Escalating Friction: The Unfolding Crisis Between Russia and Azerbaijan in the Wake of Violence and Accusations

Relations between Russia and Azerbaijan plummeted to unprecedented lows this week, as escalating tensions surrounding the deaths of two Azerbaijani men during mass arrests in Russia spiraled into a serious diplomatic crisis.

The Moscow Times explores the disintegration of relations between the two nations and reasons why they may deteriorate further before showing any signs of improvement.

Tensions initially surged in late December when an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane crashed while attempting to land in Grozny, a city in the North Caucasus. The flight, which took off from Baku, went down in western Kazakhstan, resulting in 38 fatalities and 29 injuries.

A preliminary report from Kazakh officials appeared to lend credence to allegations that the jet came under fire from Russian air defense systems in Grozny, which was under a Ukrainian drone strike at that moment. Images and videos from the crash site depicted the rear of the aircraft riddled with bullet holes.

In a rare gesture, Russian President Vladimir Putin offered an apology during a conversation with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev but refrained from accepting liability. This incident reportedly influenced Aliyev’s choice to forgo Russia’s Victory Day celebrations on May 9.

In the weeks following the crash, Baku took multiple actions viewed as retaliatory, including the closure of a Moscow-funded cultural center, prohibiting Russian officials from entering the country over “offensive” comments, and forcing Kremlin-affiliated media to close their offices.

The diplomatic divide widened on June 27 when law enforcement in Yekaterinburg arrested numerous individuals linked to the unresolved murders of Azerbaijani businessmen dating back to the early 2000s.

During these arrests, two Azerbaijani brothers, Ziyaddin Safarov, 55, and Huseyn Safarov, 60, died. While authorities indicated one succumbed to a heart attack, the other’s cause of death remained under investigation. However, autopsies conducted after their remains were sent to Baku revealed that both died from severe blood loss and shock due to significant physical trauma.

Azerbaijan’s Prosecutor General’s Office initiated a criminal investigation into what it termed the «brutal and premeditated murder» of the two men, accusing Russian law enforcement of inflicting «torture and serious bodily harm» during their apprehension and detention.

In parallel, Russian investigators reported that six ethnic Azerbaijani men holding Russian citizenship were charged and placed in pre-trial detention following the arrests in Yekaterinburg. The defendants, some of whom appeared in court with noticeable injuries, faced accusations of murder and attempted murder.

According to Kommersant, authorities suspect the accused are connected to an organized crime group linked to the 2001 murder of businessman Yunus Pashayev, the attempted murder of businessman Fehruz Shirinov in 2010, and the 2011 homicide of vegetable warehouse owner Ikram Hajiyev.

On June 29, Azerbaijan’s Culture Ministry declared the cancellation of all cultural events associated with Russia, citing the «extrajudicial killings» of its citizens in Russia. Additionally, Azerbaijan’s parliament withdrew from a scheduled bilateral meeting with lawmakers in Moscow, and a planned visit by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk to Azerbaijan was abruptly canceled.

The following day, Azerbaijani law enforcement raided the offices of Sputnik Azerbaijan, the local branch of the Russian state-funded news network. Although Sputnik had officially suspended operations in Azerbaijan earlier this year due to new media laws restricting foreign ownership, it continued to publish online content.

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry accused the news agency of operating through «illegal financing,» leading to the detention of several employees, including editor-in-chief Igor Kartavykh and deputy editor Evgeny Belousov. Unverified local media reports suggested that the two had connections to Russia’s FSB security service.

In response, Russia summoned the Azerbaijani ambassador in Moscow, condemning Baku for «deliberate actions aimed at undermining bilateral relations» and for interfering in Russia’s internal matters.

On July 1, Azerbaijani police announced the arrest of at least eight Russian nationals allegedly connected to «organized criminal groups» involved in cybercrime and drug trafficking. Court appearance images showed some of the apprehended Russians with visible injuries.

The next day, the Kremlin asserted that it had taken note of all details in videos depicting the arrests and pledged to protect its citizens «through diplomatic channels and all means at our disposal.»

Russian media identified the arrested individuals as comprising IT professionals, businesspeople, and others whose presence in Azerbaijan was unclear, although authorities have not validated this information. The Russian Embassy in Baku later accused Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry of neglecting its requests for consular access to the detained Russians.

On the same day that Baku authorities detained the group of Russians, law enforcement in Yekaterinburg conducted a violent arrest of a local leader of the Azerbaijani diaspora, as a social media video captured security personnel breaking the windows of his vehicle and forcibly removing him.

Local media reported that the diaspora leader, Shakhin Shykhlinsky, was interrogated as a witness in the ongoing murder investigation and was released from custody later that same night.