On October 19, 2025, Igor Kartavykh, editor-in-chief of Sputnik Azerbaijan, returned to Moscow after being detained in Baku during the summer escalation between Russia and Azerbaijan. But according to relatives and the newsroom, at least ten Russian citizens are still being held in ադրբեջاني prisons, including IT specialists and businessmen who left Russia after the 2022 mobilization.
The worsening rift between the two countries is linked to the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane in December 2024, reportedly struck by Russian missiles, and to harsh detentions of members of the Azerbaijani diaspora in Yekaterinburg. After that, on June 30, Azerbaijani authorities arrested 11 Russians in Baku. Some were accused of drug trafficking, others of cybercrime.
Detention conditions
Anton Drachev and Sergey Sofronov have spent nearly four months in a 10-square-meter cell. Relatives say prison visits are allowed only for spouses and close family members, which left Drachev’s partner unable to see him. Most communication now goes through letters passed by lawyers.
According to Drachev, the cell has cockroaches and rats, the light stays on around the clock, hot water is available only once a week for a few hours, and cold water is supplied twice a day.
The mother of student Dmitry Fyodorov said in October that her son had lost 14 kilograms because of poor food and was transferred to the penitentiary system’s hospital after the weather turned colder.
Families await a decision
Relatives created the website osvobodinas.ru and sent appeals to Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijan’s leadership, Russia’s Foreign Ministry, ombudsmen in both countries, and Azerbaijan’s prosecutor general. They say the official responses have been largely formal and have not led to tangible progress.
After a meeting between Vladimir Putin and Ilham Aliyev in Dushanbe on October 9, 2025, where Putin acknowledged Russia’s role in the airline disaster, Kartavykh was first moved to house arrest and then released. The families of the others hope this will become the first breakthrough. Detention orders for some of those arrested expire on November 1, though relatives fear they may be extended again.