[2][3][4] After decades as a territory of the Russian Empire, Azerbaijan achieved independence, before subsequently being annexed into the Soviet Union in 1920.

[5] However, after the Armenian occupation of Khojaly, Mutallibov was forced to resign which resulted in Abulfaz Elchibey coming to power.

[7] At the beginning of 2009, Azerbaijani media published allegations that Russia had made extensive weapons transfers to Armenia throughout 2008 costing about $800 million.

[8] According to the materials published by WikiLeaks in December 2010, Azerbaijani defense minister Safar Abiyev claimed that in January 2009, during his visit to Moscow, his Russian counterpart Anatoliy Serdyukov had unofficially admitted to the weapon transfers although it was officially denied.

The visit took on added importance as it was read as leveraging Armenia–Azerbaijan relations in a warning in light of Armenia considering signing an Association Agreement with the European Union.

[11][12] Russia facilitated peace talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia, culminating in a ceasefire on October 10,[13] though this was later disregarded by both sides.

[21] Relations between the two countries remain friendly and close but there are numerous disagreements such as in the first Nagorno-Karabakh War, the South Ossetian-Abkhazian conflict, and the legal status of the Caspian Sea.

Azerbaijan supported Russia on the Chechnya issue and closed the office of Chechen rebel president Aslan Maskhadov's representative in Baku, as they faced a possible separatist movement by Lezghins (Lezgistan).

[22] These actions, along with the memory of Black January in 1990 during the dissolution of the Soviet Union, are sources of distrust of Russia in Azerbaijani society, mainly among nationalists.

[24] Azeris often face discrimination in Russia because of the common "Caucasophobia" that arose after the Chechen Wars, as it is believed Russians cannot differentiate between Azerbaijanis and other Caucasian nationalities.

On June 8, 2007, at the G-8 summit in Heiligendamm, President Vladimir Putin made a proposal to use the Gabala Radar Station as a part of the U.S.-developed missile defense system.

Despite the end of Russian gas deliveries to Azerbaijan on January 1, 2007, Russian-Azerbaijani trade has kept a positive trend, and its structure has evolved towards an increasing share of non-primary goods.