MMA Fighter Faces Citizenship Revocation Amid Escalating Russia-Azerbaijan Tensions

An MMA fighter born in Azerbaijan has reported that Russian authorities have revoked his citizenship, marking a further escalation in the deteriorating diplomatic relations between Moscow and Baku.

Javid Rzaev, 30, shared with the RBC news outlet that a security officer from the FSB informed him of this decision in Russia’s southern Saratov region.

On Wednesday, pro-Kremlin media released a video allegedly showing the moment Rzaev learned that his Russian passport was being annulled due to actions deemed to pose a threat to the country’s “political and social stability.” In the video, the officer stated that Rzaev has 30 days to contest the ruling.

Rzaev is currently serving a two-year sentence of corrective labor due to an incident at a nightclub, where he was convicted of aggravated assault for attacking a DJ in November 2022.

Last July, the Russian Boxing Federation imposed a lifetime ban on Rzaev and lodged a complaint with law enforcement after he referred to another fighter as a “Russian pig” during a tournament in Moscow. He later issued a video apology on Instagram, declaring Russia as his home and expressing a desire to “regain” public trust.

Rzaev’s loss of citizenship coincides with a significant downturn in relations between Russia and Azerbaijan, prompted by the deaths of two Azerbaijani men during police operations in Yekaterinburg last month.

In response to these fatalities, Azerbaijani officials initiated a criminal investigation, accusing Russian police of using torture. The Russian Foreign Ministry has refuted these allegations, asserting that the arrests made on June 27 were lawful.

In what appears to be a retaliatory measure, Azerbaijani authorities detained at least 10 Russian citizens, while Russia has imprisoned six ethnic Azerbaijani individuals linked to a murder case in Yekaterinburg.

Earlier this month, the leader of the Azerbaijani diaspora in Yekaterinburg experienced similar repercussions, as he had his Russian citizenship revoked and was deported from the country.