Adviser to Russian Transportation Minister Resigns After Azerbaijan Issues Warrant for His Arrest
Moscow said it stands ready to provide legal defense for Alexei Chadayev and two other Russian commentators now wanted in Azerbaijan.
Russian transportation minister Alexei Chadayev, an adviser to the transportation minister, has resigned after Azerbaijan issued an arrest warrant for his involvement in comments made during YouTube livestreams in July and August. Chadayev, alongside political commentator Semyon Uralov and Ivan Knyazev, a presenter on the state-run Moscow 24 news channel, were charged with inciting violent overthrow of the Azerbaijani government, ethnic hatred, and terrorism.
The charges arose from the livestreams' content, which has since been removed from YouTube. Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry expressed strong dissatisfaction with the comments and summoned Russia's ambassador to Baku, stating their intent to take urgent action against the provocations. Despite Russia's Foreign Ministry distancing itself from the commentators' views, they offered to provide legal defense for the accused men.
The strained Russo-Azerbaijani relations were exacerbated by a Russian missile downing an Azerbaijani passenger plane in December 2024, killing 38 people. Russia acknowledged responsibility for the incident but tensions remain high. The Moscow Times faces its own challenges, including being labeled as an 'undesirable' organization by Russia's Prosecutor General's Office, which may impact its ability to continue independent journalism.
Written by urgent.news from The Moscow Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
