Azerbaijan has called on Russia to investigate three National Bolsheviks for putting up banners on the walls of the Azerbaijani Embassy in Moscow calling for the release of Russians detained in Azerbaijan. Baku has called the incident an ‘unacceptable provocation’.

Footage from the small protest appeared on a Telegram channel linked to the National Bolshevik Movement. In the video, the protesters criticised Azerbaijan for launching criminal cases against Russians.

Their banners read: ‘Azerbaijan’s State Security Service tortures, [Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev] covers it up!, ‘Russian blood is on your hands!’, and ‘Let the Russian citizens go!’.

The movement said that Azerbaijan ‘consistently pursues an anti-Russian policy’.

A few hours later Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry issued an official statement saying that the incident might be aimed ‘at artificially straining Azerbaijani-Russian relations’.

The ministry described the protest as an ‘ugly and biased campaign’ against Azerbaijan, which it claimed was being waged in certain Russian media outlets.

On 19 August, Azerbaijan Prosecutor General’s Office issued warrants for three Russian citizens accusing them of making calls to overthrow the government.

Relations between Azerbaijan and Russia deteriorated following the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane shot down in Grozny in December 2024, which resulted in the deaths of 38 people.

Russia subsequently arrested Azerbaijanis, accusing them of crimes committed as far back as the early 2000s; Azerbaijan characterized these actions as an instance of ethnic discrimination.

The arrests of Azerbaijanis in Russia were followed by the arrests of Russian citizens in Azerbaijan in June.