Turan Research Center

In late June, as part of a police raid in Yekaterinburg, Russian security forces arrested a dozen ethnic Azerbaijanis, two of whom died in custody, with a subsequent autopsy reportedly showing signs they had been beaten. To register the seriousness with which it viewed the incident, the government of Azerbaijan arrested Russian nationals it said were illegally living and working in Baku, while also rolling back all Russia-related cultural activities and downgrading interparliamentary work. Both sides subsequently summoned their ambassadors to file official protests.

Far from being an isolated incident, the diplomatic spat between Moscow and Baku reflects a broader shift in the balance of power in the South Caucasus, where Russia’s position is in flux. Long considered one of the core spaces of Moscow’s geopolitical sphere of influence and an anchor of its claim to great power status, the region is now being increasingly contested by other actors. From China, the European Union and the U.S., to Turkey, Iran and even the wealthy Gulf states, external powers are playing a greater economic and geopolitical role in the South Caucasus.

Read the full article on World Politics Review.

Emil Avdaliani is a Research Fellow at the Turan Research Center.