US EditionAzerbaijan and Russia Face Off Over Arrests—and More?
AZERBAIJAN AND RUSSIA, JUL 7 – Azerbaijan demands investigations and compensation after a Russian raid in Ekaterinburg and arrests of Russian journalists, escalating tensions rooted in a fatal plane crash and accusations of ethnic violence.
- A violent operation conducted by special units in Ekaterinburg on June 27 targeted ethnic Azerbaijanis, leading to the deaths of two brothers and the detention of multiple individuals.
- The raid occurred against a backdrop of escalating tensions between Azerbaijan and Russia, stemming from unresolved issues such as the December 2024 accident involving Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 and the shutdown of Russian cultural institutions in Baku.
- Azerbaijan responded by arresting Russian nationals for criminal activities, closing Russian-linked events, and expelling journalists from Sputnik's Baku office.
- Azerbaijan’s Prosecutor General initiated a criminal investigation alleging that Russian law enforcement subjected the Safarov brothers to torture leading to their deaths, while Russia called for the journalists’ immediate release and criticized actions it viewed as harmful to bilateral relations.
- These events highlight Azerbaijan's growing assertiveness and a shift of regional influence away from Russia toward Türkiye, marking a significant power realignment in the South Caucasus.
12 Articles
12 Articles
Resisting the Authoritarian Playbook in the South Caucasus - Coda Story
Recent events in the South Caucasus show how the authoritarian playbook is exported and adapted to suit local contexts. From Armenia’s clergy allegedly plotting coups, to Azerbaijan raiding Russian state-funded media offices as retribution, to Georgia’s mass arrests of opposition leaders, the region revealed how authoritarianism and resistance to it adapts and spreads through digital-age tactics. The three nations of the South Caucasus: Armenia,…
After the incident of the aircraft with 67 people on board crashed in December for "interferences" with the war in Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Russia are again in the midst of a diplomatic crisis for a police raid. In the background the crisis of Russian influence in the Caucasus, increasingly overshadowed by Turkish activism in the region.
After the death of Azerbaijani migrants while being detained by Russian security forces, the crisis in relations between Russia and Azerbaijan entered an active phase. In response to the detentions, Baku took tough measures against Russian citizens: 11 people were significantly beaten and arrested. Why does Azerbaijan respond so harshly to Russia's actions? And why is the conflict coming to a climax? Nurlan Aliyev, senior researcher at the Depar…
Baku-Moscow Tensions Signal Türkiye’s Rise in the South Caucasus
In a significant power shift in the South Caucasus, tensions between Azerbaijan and Russia have escalated sharply this month following the deaths of two ethnic Azeri brothers, Ziyaddin and Huseyn Safarov, while in Russian custody. In late June, Russian law enforcement in Yekaterinburg — a Russian city located in the Ural Mountains — detained 50 individuals as part of a decades-old contract killing investigation. Among those detained were the Saf…
Something strange is happening in the South Caucasus, Russia's backyard. Russia is fighting with its old "little brothers" and a new "big brother" has arrived, Turkey. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is even shepherding the Kremlin itself.
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