Elshan Ibrahimov, head of the regional national-cultural autonomy of Azerbaijanis in Moscow Region, has been deported from Russia. According to APA, he flew from Moscow to Baku on an Aeroflot flight departing from Sheremetyevo Airport.
His deportation follows the recent revocation of his Russian citizenship, which occurred a few days earlier. Reports of his planned expulsion had circulated in Telegram channels prior to the official confirmation.
Simultaneously, Russia’s Minister of Emergency Situations Aleksandr Kurenkov is visiting Baku to attend the 58th session of the International Civil Defence Organization (ICDO). He also met with Azerbaijan’s Minister of Emergency Situations, although some sources suggest the trip had unofficial objectives as well.
According to the VChK-OGPU channel, Kurenkov may have carried a personal message from President Vladimir Putin, possibly discussing the exchange of detained Russian and Azerbaijani nationals.
However, Minval.az reports that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev did not meet with Kurenkov. One of the key points of contention is reportedly Azerbaijan’s demand that Russia acknowledge the targeting of an Azerbaijani passenger aircraft in December 2024, which the Russian side has not done.
While Kurenkov was in Baku, a local court rejected a motion to alter the pretrial detention conditions for detained Russian journalists.
On June 27, Russia’s Investigative Committee in Sverdlovsk Region announced the arrest of six suspects in Yekaterinburg, accused of organizing serious crimes over the past years. The suspects are reportedly part of an ethnic criminal group involved in murders and attempted murders in 2001, 2010, and 2011. Preliminary reports indicate one person died of heart failure, while the cause of death for another is still under investigation. The bodies were repatriated to Baku, where forensic examination reportedly found signs of violence, sparking backlash against Russia. During this period, events involving Russia were canceled in Azerbaijan, and Russian journalists Igor Kartavikh and Evgeny Belousov, along with eight other Russians, were arrested and detained for four months. Both countries have exchanged diplomatic notes over the issue.