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Blocking Tsargrad in Azerbaijan: Reasons, context and consequences

At the end of May 2025, access to the website of the Russian propaganda channel Tsargrad was blocked in Azerbaijan. The formal reason was accusations of disseminating false and provocative information against Azerbaijan.

The initiative to block this resource was taken by the editor-in-chief of the Azerbaijani publication Minval Politika, Emil Mustafayev. He officially appealed to the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport of Azerbaijan with a demand to restrict access to Tsargrad due to systematic disinformation against Baku. The fact of blocking was confirmed by the supervisory authorities: the site was included in the country's register of prohibited resources, as a result of which users saw a message about the impossibility of access when trying to enter.

One of the key arguments for the blocking was specific cases of information attacks by Tsargrad. In particular, on the eve of the blocking, this pro-Kremlin resource published an article titled "Aliyev is no longer hiding: Azerbaijan has sided with Ukraine against Russia". The article claimed that official Baku had openly sided with Kyiv in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, a conclusion based on a visit by a Ukrainian official to Baku and other gestures by Azerbaijan in support of Ukraine.

The Azerbaijani side regarded these statements as openly provocative and untrue. According to Mustafayev, the Tsargrad website published materials that distorted historical facts and undermined the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, especially in the context of the conflict over Karabakh. Thus, the resource was accused of deliberately spreading fakes that incite hatred and harm the state interests of Azerbaijan.

The Minval Politika initiative was not an accidental action of a single media outlet - it fits into the broader policy of the authorities to cleanse the information space of pro-Kremlin propaganda. Minval Politika is considered to be pro-regime and influential, so its public call to block Tsargrad carried considerable weight. It is also important to note that the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport promptly responded to Mustafayev's appeal, actually implementing his recommendation, which indicates official support for the initiative

According to Azerbaijani sources, the blocking of Tsargrad was part of the general state policy of countering Russian disinformation resources that pose a threat to national security

The political context of this step is trivial: the cooling of relations between Baku and Moscow amid recent events. At the end of 2024, an incident occurred when Russian forces mistakenly shot down an Azerbaijani passenger plane, which caused sharp discontent in Azerbaijan. The authorities in Baku began to react more harshly to the Russian presence in the information sphere. The blocking of Tsargrad is not the first such step: earlier, Azerbaijan reduced the staff of the Russian state agency Sputnik Azerbaijan to one person (!!!), effectively closing its editorial office, and also terminated the activities of the so-called Russian House in Baku.

All these actions are explained by the desire of the Azerbaijani authorities to reduce the influence of Russian propaganda and protect their information sovereignty. According to analysts, Baku has consistently demonstrated its determination to clear its information space of Russian disinformation.

A growing number of countries in the region are aware of the threats posed by Kremlin propaganda and are implementing tough policies to protect national security from external influence. Azerbaijan, having its own painful experience of conflicts, is particularly sensitive to attempts to destabilise the situation in the country with information, which motivates the authorities to take this step.

The question arises as to whether such a high-profile initiative could have been implemented without the knowledge and consent of Azerbaijan's top political leadership.
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