Azerbaijan Gets Rid of Russian Propagandists
Media reports indicate that Azerbaijan will restrict the operations of Sputnik, the Kremlin’s propaganda mouthpiece in the country. The editorial staff will be reduced from approximately 40 employees to a single correspondent—effectively shutting down the branch.
▫️ Azerbaijani authorities are acting based on the principle of reciprocity: Sputnik will be allowed to retain as many employees in Azerbaijan as the number of Azerbaijani state news agency AZERTAC journalists working in Russia—that is, just one.
▫️ Sputnik’s presence in Baku has faced growing criticism in recent years, particularly during escalations in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
This move—along with the recent closure of the Russian House in Baku—signals that Azerbaijan is no longer willing to tolerate Russian propaganda on its territory. It also comes amid worsening relations between Moscow and Baku after Russian forces shot down an Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer E190 passenger plane, further weakening Russian influence in the region.
