Violence against Azerbaijanis in Russia’s Yekaterinburg sparks Baku–Moscow tensions: opinions
Detention of Azerbaijanis in Yekaterinburg, Russia
On June 27, Russian special forces raided and ransacked the “Caspian” café in Yekaterinburg, Russia, which belongs to the Safarov family-ethnic Azerbaijanis. Violent searches were carried out in their apartments.
Two men, Ziyaddin and Huseyn Safarov, were killed during the raid. Azerbaijani media report that they were brothers of well-known journalist Seyfaddin Huseynli.
Several others were injured, and nine people were arrested. Russia’s interior ministry stated the operation was part of an investigation into crimes committed in the early 2000s and 2010s. Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry issued a strong protest, demanding “a prompt investigation and prosecution of all those responsible for the violence.”
The incident triggered a sharp escalation in Baku–Moscow relations at all levels.
The planned visit of Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk to Baku and a session of the bilateral interparliamentary commission in Moscow were both canceled.
Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Culture also canceled all cultural events in or related to Russia.
State-run Azerbaijani media have published sharply critical commentary directed at Russia and President Vladimir Putin personally.
How it happened
On the morning of June 27, special forces units raided several apartments of ethnic Azerbaijanis in Yekaterinburg simultaneously. One group broke into the home of the Safarov family, originally from Aghdam (a city liberated from Armenian occupation during the Second Karabakh War in 2020).
Armed men with covered faces immediately used brutal physical force. Family members say they were thrown to the floor in separate rooms and beaten with various objects.
According to testimonies, some were subjected to electric shocks. The homes were ransacked.
Detainees were also reportedly subjected to degrading treatment.
One of them, Vugar Safarov, told journalists that while being taken to the police station with his brother, they were forced to eat dirt, and when they refused, they were beaten.
His father, Mazakhir Safarov, who suffers from a heart condition, was reportedly shocked with electric devices multiple times.
According to the family, the abuse and violence continued both at home and later at the police station until the evening.
Harsh statements in Azerbaijani media toward Russia and Putin
Unprecedentedly strong rhetoric toward Russia and its president Vladimir Putin has been dominating Azerbaijani media. Outrage has been expressed by nearly all experts, journalists, and many members of parliament.
In the June 29 evening news broadcast on state channel AzTv, Russia was described as a “prison of nations.” The anchor declared:
“What’s wrong, Mr. Putin? Are you so disturbed by the fact that Azerbaijan has become a strong regional power, has returned its territories for the first time in 200 years, and defended its national interests? That the global arena has recognized President Aliyev as a strong leader?
You are used to ruling over peoples forcibly absorbed into your empire. In tsarist and Soviet times, Russians were treated as a superior race. Azerbaijanis, Uzbeks, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Turkmens, and others were always seen as second-class. And today, even after both empires have been thrown onto the scrap heap of history, this attitude hasn’t changed.”
Later in the day, AzTv presenters added:
“This is a systematic policy directed by Vladimir Putin. Look at what Russia is doing to fellow believers in Ukraine—destroying cities, committing genocide in Bucha, launching devastating attacks on residential buildings. So it’s no surprise how Russia treats people of other faiths. This attitude has been cultivated over years and has now taken monstrous forms.”
In a comment published on the website of the state agency AZƏRTAC, Russian policy was compared to Germany in the 1930s.
Opposition leader Ali Karimli: “Moscow wants to see Azerbaijan as a fully submissive vassal”
One of the strongest reactions to the events in Yekaterinburg came from Ali Karimli, chairman of the Azerbaijani Popular Front Party.
He believes the incident was not simply the initiative of law enforcement but was directly ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin:
“It’s impossible to imagine that violence and such humiliating treatment of a country considered one of Russia’s chosen partners could have been carried out at the initiative of a mid-level official.”
Karimli sees the incident as a deliberate Kremlin attempt to humiliate Azerbaijan as a state and as a people.
He argues that Putin continues to operate within a classic imperial mindset, where Russia has no allies—only vassals and colonies.
“Moscow wants to see Azerbaijan as a fully submissive vassal and seems confident it has already achieved that. This confidence stems from Azerbaijan’s internal weaknesses: corruption, economic monopolies, the collapse of democratic institutions, and the concentration of political power in the hands of one man.
Putin also expects that Ilham Aliyev would rather yield to Russian pressure and accept Moscow’s terms than draw closer to the West and the democratic world.”
The opposition leader issued a direct call to Azerbaijan’s leadership:
“Either submit to the demands of the Russian Empire and effectively accept the role of its governor, or open up to the people and the international community, and show political will to defend independence and citizens’ rights.”
According to Karimli, what happened is not only a test—but also a historic opportunity for Azerbaijan.
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Elkhan Shahinoglu: “This is a response to the closure of the Russian House in Baku and the restriction of the Sputnik agency’s activities”
Political analyst Elkhan Shahinoglu explains the incident in the context of broader political relations between Moscow and Azerbaijan.
He notes that what happened may be a response to the closure of the “Russian House” in Baku in February 2025 and the decision made at the same time to restrict the activities of the Russian state agency Sputnik.
Shahinoglu said that
the detainees were offered to sign documents agreeing to be sent to fight in Ukraine as a way to avoid arrest.
“This is one of the forms of pressure recently used in Russia against ethnic groups that are not Russian. It has become a new method of torture applied by the Russian authorities to people of various nationalities, including Azerbaijanis.
Russian citizens are advised to sign such documents, and they are given explanations. But members of other ethnic groups are forced to sign them under pressure, because they are the ones sent to die first.
For people of other nationalities, living and working in Russia is becoming dangerous. If the president says, ‘Where the Russian soldier is — there is Russia,’ then his police will torture and kill innocent people.”
Altay Geyushev: “People leave Azerbaijan for Russia because they can work freely there”
Historian Altay Geyushev draws attention to the structural problems in Azerbaijan that form the backdrop to what happened.
He argues that the main reason Azerbaijani citizens go to Russia is the lack of economic freedoms within Azerbaijan itself.
“People go there not for prosperity, but simply to have the opportunity to work freely.
For comparison: I recently learned that the Azerbaijani government lifted visa requirements for Chinese citizens long ago, but China still hasn’t lifted visas for Azerbaijanis. Why? Because they know Azerbaijanis are ready to accept anything and go anywhere, just to escape the problems in their own country.”
Moscow’s explanation: “The detainees are Russian citizens, arrested as part of an investigation into serious crimes”
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova responded to the statement by the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry as follows:
“The detainees are Russian citizens of Azerbaijani origin. They were arrested as part of an investigation into serious crimes committed in previous years. The investigation is ongoing.
On June 28, Russia’s chargé d’affaires in Azerbaijan, Pyotr Volokokhikh, was summoned to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry and provided clarification on the incident. More detailed information will be provided by the Russian Investigative Committee.”
Conclusion
The violence in Yekaterinburg has prompted Azerbaijani state institutions, society, and the expert community to adopt a unified stance.
The current situation is unique: for the first time, the balance in Azerbaijan-Russia relations has been so clearly disrupted.
The case is expected to result not just in diplomatic explanations, but in concrete legal consequences.
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