Portraits Criticizing the President of Azerbaijan Appear in Moscow

Portraits and graffiti depicting the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev have appeared in the Russian capital. The inscriptions on them read: "Stop paying for Aliyev's Russophobia" and "Our partner Aliyev supports Kyiv."

The day before, Ilham Aliyev and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky had a telephone conversation. They condemned Russia's targeted airstrikes on Azerbaijani oil and gas facilities in Ukraine and agreed that this would not affect cooperation between Baku and Kyiv in the energy sector.

Recall that on June 27, in Yekaterinburg, employees of the Russian National Guard, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the FSB detained citizens of Azerbaijan and persons of Azerbaijani origin. They were suspected of involvement in previously committed crimes. Some of them were tortured, two died - 60-year-old Huseyn Safarov and his brother, 55-year-old Ziyaddin Safarov. Baku also noted that other detainees were tortured. Six people were sent to pretrial detention. Subsequently, the Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan opened a criminal case on the fact of torture and premeditated murder with particular cruelty of two citizens of the country and persons of Azerbaijani origin by Russian law enforcement officers.

On June 30, Azerbaijani security forces arrested in Baku the editor-in-chief of the Russian state agency Sputnik Azerbaijan Igor Kartavykh and editor-in-chief Yevgeny Belousov. Both were called FSB officers working undercover. The Press Council of Azerbaijan noted that both defendants cooperated with the Russian FSB and were in Baku to carry out assignments unrelated to journalistic activities.

Последние новости
Shchukin: Over 3 Billion Rubles Paid to Flood Victims in Dagestan
Society
Shchukin: Over 3 Billion Rubles Paid to Flood Victims in Dagestan
16 October 2026

More than 3 billion rubles have been paid out to residents of Dagestan affected by spring floods. Fyodor Shchukin announced this on October 15 while speaking at a session of the republic’s People’s Assembly. On the same day, deputies elected him as the head of the region, following which he took the oath of office and assumed his duties.

Court upholds sentences for four Crimean Tatars in ‘Hizb ut-Tahrir’ case
Human rights
Court upholds sentences for four Crimean Tatars in ‘Hizb ut-Tahrir’ case
16 October 2026

A Russian military appellate court has rejected the appeals of four Crimean Tatars—Nariman Ametov, Ali Mamutov, Vokhid Mustafayev, and Enver Khalilyayev—who were convicted of involvement with the organization ‘Hizb ut-Tahrir.’ The sentences handed down by the Southern District Military Court on May 21, 2026, remain unchanged. According to the TASS news agency, citing court sources, the individuals—part of what is known as the "third Dzhankoy group"—were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 14 to 15 years.

Six more individuals involved in the case concerning the storming of the presidential residence have been released in Georgia
Human rights
Six more individuals involved in the case concerning the storming of the presidential residence have been released in Georgia
16 October 2026

Six people convicted in connection with the events of October 4, 2025, in Tbilisi have been set free following the conclusion of plea agreements with the prosecutor's office. This was reported on October 16 by the television channel TV Pirveli.

UN Summit Participants in Yerevan Seek Ways to Halt Nature’s Destruction
Ecology
UN Summit Participants in Yerevan Seek Ways to Halt Nature’s Destruction
16 October 2026

On October 16, a Leaders’ Summit on Biodiversity is taking place in Yerevan, organized as part of the preparations for the 17th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP17). Participants are discussing how to accelerate the fulfillment of international commitments regarding biodiversity conservation and prompt more decisive action from governments.