Nineteen Azerbaijanis have been expelled from Russia after being detained in Makhachkala.

Dagestan police reported on a raid against illegal migrants in Makhachkala and the deportation of 19 Azerbaijani citizens as a result.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," security forces began conducting mass raids to search for illegal migrants in various regions, including in southern Russia, following the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall. Human rights activists called the fight for the legality of migration a sham, emphasizing that the actions of security forces and court decisions on fines and deportation often have neither legal grounds nor logical explanations. Another goal of the raids is to identify migrants who have received Russian citizenship but are not registered for military service, so that they can be conscripted or persuaded to sign a contract. In September 2024, it was reported that security forces had detained five Azerbaijani citizens in Chechnya and were forcing them to sign military contracts. After this information was made public, they were released and returned to their homeland.

Law enforcement agencies in Dagestan reported on the results of the "Illegal Migrant" operational and preventive raid conducted in the Kirovsky District of Makhachkala. The security forces targeted exclusively Azerbaijani citizens.

Police found 29 Azerbaijani citizens on Daganov Street. Nearly two-thirds of them, 19 people, were found to be violating residence regulations. Law enforcement officials concluded that they were living and working in Dagestan "illegally, without any permits."

Following the review of their administrative cases, 19 Azerbaijani citizens "were punished by deportation from the country," according to a statement on the agency's official Telegram channel today.

The "Caucasian Knot" also reported that relations between Moscow and Baku noticeably worsened after the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane with 67 people on board in Kazakhstan on December 25, 2024, while flying from Baku to Grozny. Ethnic raids in Russia and retaliatory detentions of Russians in Azerbaijan marked a new stage in the deterioration of relations between the two countries. Baku accuses Russian authorities of extrajudicial reprisals against Azerbaijanis, and footage of the brutal detention of Russians in Baku appears to be a demonstrative response to Moscow's actions, according to the "Caucasian Knot" report "Crisis in Relations between Azerbaijan and Russia."

Against the backdrop of the diplomatic crisis between Moscow and Baku, security forces in various Russian regions have raised concerns about ethnic Azerbaijanis, including those with Russian citizenship. Signs of easing tensions in relations between the two countries only appeared in October: the first meeting in a long time between Vladimir Putin and Ilham Aliyev took place on October 9 in Dushanbe, and on October 10, after the meeting, it was announced that Sputnik Azerbaijan Executive Director Igor Kartavykh and one of the Azerbaijanis arrested in Russia had been released. On October 19, Kartavykh flew to Russia.