A new leader of the Azerbaijani diaspora will be elected in Yekaterinburg.

      In Yekaterinburg, a new head of the Azerbaijani diaspora will be elected today at 09:57, reports EAN agency.

      According to the publication, Vidadi Mustafayev will run for this position. Yekaterinburg residents are familiar with him from media reports after a high-profile incident at a nightclub on Radishcheva Street, where a group of Azerbaijanis brutally beat a local resident. Mustafayev called for an end to the savage "customs" that his compatriots have already become notorious for in Russia.

      "Shykhlynsky has never been the head of the Azerbaijani diaspora. He simply established the NGO 'Azerbaijan-Ural' and proclaimed himself the president of this organization. Regarding the head of the diaspora, I think there will now be a general assembly where a decision will be made. I will propose my candidacy," Vidadi Mustafayev told EAN.

      As EAN reports, Mustafayev and Shakhin Shykhlynsky have long been in hostile relations. Six months ago, Shykhlynsky called his opponent a "pretender" in an EAN interview and denied that he was Azerbaijani at all.

      "Mustafayev is from Armenia, has never been to Azerbaijan, doesn't know a single word in Azerbaijani, and is masquerading as the head of the diaspora," Shakhin Shykhlynsky stated at the time.

      Additionally, at the end of 2024, it was announced that Vidadi Mustafayev was involved in a criminal case related to bribery of the former mayor of Sredneuralsk, Andrey Zashlyapin, involving an FSB officer. Mustafayev, who was called an intermediary, told EAN that he was no longer a figure in the case and that it was "the work of Shykhlynsky," who wanted to oust him from the city in this manner.

      Vidadi Mustafayev confirmed to EAN that, according to him, Shakhin Shykhlynsky is currently staying at a hotel near the Azerbaijani embassy in Moscow.

      It is also noted that last week, reports emerged that Shakhin Shykhlynsky has been declared wanted on federal charges. He is accused of "using violence against a law enforcement officer." According to preliminary information, Shakhin allegedly ordered his son Mutvali to leave (resulting in one of the special forces members involved in their detention being hit).