In the summer of 2025, when Russia–Azerbaijan relations were tense, 13 offensive graffiti appeared in Yekaterinburg, written in Azerbaijani, but with errors. These writings were presented on social networks and some radical channels as “Russophobic calls by Azerbaijani migrants,” causing widespread resonance. It is interesting that it was evident from these graffiti that the individuals using the Azerbaijani language lacked elementary knowledge, as they wrote "ruslara örüm" instead of "ruslara ölüm" ('death to Russians').
Modern.az reports that during investigations, it became clear that these nationalist graffiti were not written by Azerbaijanis, but by 2 individuals of Russian nationality – 22-year-old Daniil Nuryev and his friend Gleb. A court process has begun against them. According to local media reports, the investigation claims that they drew the graffiti at the behest of unknown individuals. It is reported that the order was passed on in a chain, and the investigation continues.
During court sessions, charges were brought against the accused under several articles of the Russian Criminal Code – public calls for extremist activity, hooliganism, and vandalism on the grounds of ethnic hatred.
Meanwhile, the neo-Nazi NS/WP group, known as a terrorist organization in Russia, claimed responsibility for the incident. Representatives of the group shared previously unreleased photos of the graffiti on social networks, stating that they did it intentionally. According to them, the goal was to incite inter-ethnic conflict.
A person presented as a representative of the radical group wrote that “the more inter-ethnic hatred there is, the closer an inter-racial war becomes.”
It should be noted that immediately after the incident, some far-right media resources and Telegram channels spread provocative information, attributing the graffiti to the Azerbaijani community. Now, the neo-Nazi group's claim of responsibility raises additional questions regarding the security forces of the Yekaterinburg region, which have always acted with bias and carried out repressions against the Azerbaijani diaspora. Investigations are ongoing.
Kərim RUTULLU
