Russian authorities have stripped Bakhtiyar Hasanov, head of the Council of National and Cultural Autonomy of Azerbaijanis, of his citizenship. He was accused of ties to "shadowy schemes" such as illegal migration, counterfeit goods, and inciting ethnic hatred.

Hasanov has repeatedly expressed support for Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

"We are proud to have such a president—one of the most authoritative leaders of the world," he wrote in a congratulatory letter to the Azerbaijani leader in 2023.

Previously, persecution of Azerbaijani diaspora leaders has increased in Russia. For example, Arshad Khankishiyev, head of the Azerbaijani diaspora in the Chelyabinsk region, was stripped of his Russian citizenship. Additionally, Yusif Khalilov, the leader of the Azerbaijani diaspora in Voronezh, and Shahin Shikhlinsky, the former head of the diaspora in Yekaterinburg, were arrested.

On June 27, in Yekaterinburg, officers from the Russian National Guard, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Federal Security Service detained Azerbaijani citizens and individuals of Azerbaijani descent. They were suspected of involvement in previous crimes. Some of them were tortured, and two died: 60-year-old Huseyn Safarov and his brother, 55-year-old Ziyaddin Safarov. Baku also noted that other detainees were also tortured. Six people were sent to pretrial detention. Subsequently, the Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan opened a criminal investigation into the torture and premeditated murder with particular cruelty of two Azerbaijani citizens and individuals of Azerbaijani descent by Russian law enforcement officers.