By Azerbaijan.US Editorial Board
The revocation of Russian citizenship from Islam Huseynov, head of the Azerbaijani diaspora in Ulyanovsk and adviser to the regional governor, marks more than a local administrative act.
It is part of a quiet yet calculated campaign that Moscow has unleashed against influential figures of the Azerbaijani community across Russia.
In the past few months, at least five prominent Azerbaijani leaders-from Moscow to Chelyabinsk-have faced either citizenship revocation, arrest, or deportation.
The official reasoning ranges from “ethnic separatism” to vague accusations of “disloyalty.” Yet the pattern is unmistakable: it coincides with the rapid deterioration of Russia–Azerbaijan relations and the growing assertiveness of Baku’s independent foreign policy.
A bureaucratic weapon
Russia’s Federal Security Service rarely needs to make public accusations. The revocation of a passport is enough. For individuals who have lived in Russia for decades-some since the early 2000s-citizenship is not merely a document but a life anchor: business, family, home, identity.
Its sudden withdrawal serves as a warning not only to them but to the broader diaspora community that Moscow is watching, and loyalty is now transactional.
In Huseynov’s case, no criminal charges were announced, no public hearing was held, and no explanation provided. Instead, the message was quietly delivered: your legal existence here is conditional.
The new geopolitics of punishment
These actions must be read within a larger geopolitical script. Since Azerbaijan began diversifying its partnerships with the West, Turkey, and the Global South, Moscow’s tone toward Baku has hardened.
State-aligned media have revived old colonial rhetoric, and officials-whether directly or through “leaks”-signal irritation at Azerbaijan’s refusal to act as a subordinate partner.
By targeting community leaders who embody successful integration and local influence, Russia is attempting to exert social pressure through fear. It is a tactic from an old Soviet playbook: when diplomacy fails, discipline the diaspora.
Between two worlds
For many ethnic Azerbaijanis in Russia, these developments create an impossible dilemma. They are expected to express gratitude to the host state while maintaining cultural and national loyalty to their homeland. When the political winds shift, that dual identity turns into vulnerability.
The arrests and revocations are not about national security-they are about narrative control. Moscow seeks to remind both its minorities and its neighbors that citizenship, like access, is a privilege granted at will.
A test of maturity
How Baku responds will determine more than the fate of its citizens abroad. The treatment of Azerbaijani communities in Russia is a litmus test of whether post-Soviet diplomacy can evolve beyond coercion. Silence would only embolden further repression; a principled response-firm yet measured-could set a precedent for regional accountability.
Because behind every revoked passport lies a broader truth: the story of a state that fears independence, not disloyalty.
