United Russia Removes Markov's* Page From Its Website

After pro-Kremlin political scientist Sergei Markov* was added to the register of foreign agents, the United Russia party removed the page about him from its official website. Against this backdrop, the Russian government reported successful contacts with Azerbaijan.

As "Kavkazsky Uzel" wrote, in July, against the backdrop of worsening Russian-Azerbaijani relations, some Z-bloggers called for pro-Kremlin political scientist Sergei Markov, who praised Ilham Aliyev in front of Azerbaijani journalists in Shusha, to be declared a foreign agent. In response, Markov reminded that he "has been a supporter of Putin for all 26 years." Today, the Ministry of Justice added Markov to the register of foreign agents, stating that he "spread false information" about the policies of the Russian authorities.

The page with the biographical data of political scientist Sergei Markov disappeared from the official website of United Russia within a few hours after he was declared a foreign agent, the project "We Can Explain"* noted.

“Caucasian Knot” has verified that as of 21.12 Moscow time today, Markov’s page on the website of the Russian ruling party has been removed - when following the direct link, a 404 “Page not found” error is displayed. However, at 18.05 Moscow time today, the page was still available. It described the regalia of the pro-Kremlin political scientist, who was a State Duma deputy from United Russia in 2007-2011, and in 2012, Putin’s official confidant before the next elections.

Markov himself edited today’s posts in his Telegram channel, adding a foreign agent mark to all publications made after 14.00 Moscow time. “We strictly comply with the law. So far, this is how it is (....) I understand that someone wanted to find fault with the fact that I gave interviews to Western media and defended Russia's interests there and defended Vladimir Putin,” his latest publication says.

It is noteworthy that soon after Markov was declared a foreign agent, the Russian government reported on successful contact between Moscow and Baku - a meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation between Russia and Azerbaijan was held in Astrakhan today, which was jointly chaired by Deputy Prime Ministers of the Russian Federation and Azerbaijan Alexey Overchuk and Shahin Mustafayev.

On December 25, 2024, an Azerbaijan Airlines plane flying from Baku to Grozny crashed at the airport in the Kazakh city of Aktau, killing 38 people. The Azerbaijani Transport Ministry said the plane was damaged in Russian airspace as a result of external impact. On December 29, Ilham Aliyev publicly demanded that Russia admit guilt in the plane crash.

At a meeting with the participation of the relevant structures of the two countries, a protocol was signed confirming plans to implement the events planned a year earlier in Baku to develop economic cooperation until 2026. The parties “confirmed their readiness to continue a constructive dialogue aimed at strengthening Russian-Azerbaijani relations in all areas,” according to a statement on the official website of the Russian government.

Before the meeting this morning, Overchuk and Astrakhan Region Governor Igor Babushkin, along with Azerbaijani delegates, took part in laying flowers at the Heydar Aliyev monument. At the end of the government press release, it is noted that this monument in Astrakhan was erected “in 2010 as a sign of strengthening friendship and economic ties between the countries,” so “the city where the meeting is held is symbolic.”

Relations between Moscow and Baku have noticeably worsened since the plane crash, according to the “Caucasian Knot” report “Baku-Grozny Plane Crash” and the article “Geopolitical Confrontation: What Did the AZAL Plane Crash Lead to?.” Ethnic raids in Russia and retaliatory detentions of Russians in Azerbaijan have become a new round of worsening relations between the two countries. After the detention of the Sputnik Azerbaijan executives, a number of Z-bloggers published anti-Azerbaijani posts calling for an "asymmetrical and harsh response", "to hit Azerbaijan with large guns", "to initiate a criminal case on the facts of the "indiscriminate genocide of the Russian population of the Azerbaijan SSR in 1990-1993", according to the "Caucasian Knot" report "Crisis in Relations between Azerbaijan and Russia".

* are included in the register of foreign agents by the Ministry of Justice of Russia.

** the activities of the Meta company (which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp) are prohibited in Russia.