Azerbaijan–Russia relations

What is now Azerbaijan became part of the Russian Empire after Qajar Iran was forced to cede it alongside all of its other Caucasian territories following the Russo-Persian War (1804–13) and the resulting Treaty of Gulistan and the Russo-Persian War (1826–28) and its resulting Treaty of Turkmenchay. The area north of the Aras River, including the territory of the present-day Republic of Azerbaijan, had been Iranian territory until occupied by Russia.[2][3][4] After decades as a territory of the Russian Empire, Azerbaijan achieved independence, before subsequently being annexed into the Soviet Union in 1920.

Ilham Aliyev meeting with Vladimir Putin on 13 October 2022

Russia has an embassy in Baku, and Azerbaijan has an embassy in Moscow and consulate-general in Saint Petersburg. Azerbaijan also announced that it will open another consulate-general in Yekaterinburg. There are more than half a million Azeris in Russia as well as a notable diaspora of Russians in Azerbaijan, which is the largest Russian diaspora in the region.[18] President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev stated that the peoples of Russia and Azerbaijan were tied with "closest friendship and trust links".[19] Relations between the two countries remain friendly and close but there are numerous disagreements such as in the first Nagorno-Karabakh War, the South Ossetian-Abkhazian conflict, and the legal status of the Caspian Sea. Azerbaijan supported Russia on the Chechnya issue and closed the office of Chechen rebel president Aslan Maskhadov's representative in Baku, as they faced a possible separatist movement by Lezghins (Lezgistan). Some analysts argued that Russia was neutral and somewhat supported Azerbaijan in the Karabakh conflict in the beginning of the 1990s until Elchibey's nationalist government took office, which caused Russia to sign many military agreements with Armenia.[20] These actions, along with the memory of Black January in 1990 during the dissolution of the Soviet Union, are sources of distrust of Russia in Azerbaijani society, mainly among nationalists. According to a poll taken in 2007, about of 80% of Azeris approved of the friendship with Russia. After the 2008 war with Georgia, this number dropped to 52%.[21] Russophobia had never been common in Azerbaijan and the government is also strongly committed to protecting the rights of ethnic Russians in Azerbaijan, but hostility exists toward Russians who are married to or otherwise connected with Armenians.[22] Azeris often face discrimination in Russia because of the common "Caucasophobia" that arose after the Chechen Wars, as it is believed Russians cannot differentiate between Azerbaijanis and other Caucasian nationalities.[23]

Russia is one of Azerbaijan's main suppliers of arms. "As of today, military and technical cooperation with Russia is measured at $4 billion and it tends to grow further," President Ilham Aliyev said after meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Baku in 2013.[24] The leaders of the defense departments of both countries make guest visits on a regular basis. On 23–25 January 2006, Russian Minister of Defense Sergei Ivanov visited Baku, followed by Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov in November 2007.

On 25 January 2002, an agreement between Russia and Azerbaijan on the status, principles, and conditions for use of the Gabala Radar Station was signed, and on 28 November 2003, an intergovernmental protocol was signed. On June 8, 2007, at the G-8 summit in Heiligendamm, President Vladimir Putin made a proposal to use the Gabala Radar Station as a part of the U.S.-developed missile defense system. Gabala was suggested as an alternative to locations in Poland and the Czech Republic (both NATO members) as the US had planned, which Putin opposed despite US claims the system was not designed to counter a large-scale Russian missile attack, but rather that it was intended to defend against an attack from Iran or North Korea. The proposal to use Gabala was supported by the Azerbaijani leadership, which considered it a concrete contribution to stability and security in the region. The US, however, rejected the proposal as unsuitable.

Vladimir Putin, Mahmoud Ahmedinejad and Ilham Aliyev.

Trade and economic cooperation between Russia and Azerbaijan is on the rise. In 2008, the trade turnover between the two countries increased annually by 39.3%, totalling US$2.403 billion, exports grew by 42.6% up to $1.9911 billion, and imports increased by 25.4% up to $411.4 million. Despite the end of Russian gas deliveries to Azerbaijan on January 1, 2007, Russian-Azerbaijani trade has kept a positive trend, and its structure has evolved towards an increasing share of non-primary goods.

Medvedev lays a wreath at the monument to heroes (Baku)

Russian–Azerbaijani relations in culture and education are developing steadily.[25] In December 2006, the two countries adopted a program of interstate cooperation in the humanitarian sphere for 2007–2009. 2005 was the "Year of Azerbaijan" in Russia and 2006 was the "Year of Russia" in Azerbaijan; the two countries held 110 special cultural events during these two years. In 2008, in Baku, a branch of Moscow State University was established. In the universities of Azerbaijan, over 15 thousand students are involved in Russian language education. In Azerbaijan, there are over 50 Russian-language newspapers and 10 Russian news agencies.

• Foreign relations of Azerbaijan
• Foreign relations of Russia
• Azerbaijan–Russia border
• Azerbaijanis in Russia
• Russians in Azerbaijan
• Armenia–Azerbaijan relations
• Armenia–Russia relations
• Russia–Turkey relations

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Azerbaijan–Russia relations.

• Embassy of the Russian Federation in Baku