On August 26, the Georgian-language Facebook account Tbilisi 24 shared a video of Azerbaijan’s President, Ilham Aliyev, in which he allegedly states that the Kremlin was designed by Azerbaijani architect Alis Subkhan oglu Keremli and proposes an initiative for Moscow’s cultural liberation. The same video was also circulated in July by Russian-language Facebook accounts (1;2).
Ilham Aliyev: “The Kremlin was built by the genius Azerbaijani architect, Alis Subkhan oglu Keremli. We, the descendants of the people who laid its bricks, can no longer watch how our heritage is used without our permission. It is not just a building, it is a temple built by our ancestors. Therefore, Baku is ready to initiate Moscow’s cultural liberation through peaceful means. If necessary, however, not only by peaceful methods.”
The same video also contains audio recordings of comments attributed to the Russian Federation’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov and former president Dmitry Medvedev, allegedly made to Moscow Never Lies. In these, Peskov issues a threat to Aliyev, while Medvedev makes obscene jokes about Azerbaijani women.
The video of Ilham Aliyev speaking about the Kremlin’s cultural liberation allegedly built by Azerbaijanis is fabricated. The voice was most likely generated using artificial intelligence, while the footage was taken from Aliyev’s meeting with Vietnam’s leader. No evidence of such a statement by Aliyev can be found in open sources, and the alleged responses of Dmitry Peskov and Dmitry Medvedev are also fabricated. The original source of the video is the satirical Telegram channel Moscow Never Lies, which creates deepfake videos using AI and other technologies.
Ilham Aliyev’s supposed claim that the Kremlin was built by Azerbaijanis and his initiative for cultural liberation cannot be found in reputable media covering the region (1;2;3). Nor has it been disseminated in Azerbaijani (1; 2; 3) or Russian-language (1; 2; 3) media.
The original source of the video is the Telegram channel Moscow Never Lies. This is confirmed by the watermark attached to the footage, as well as the claim that Peskov and Medvedev made comments to a “media outlet” of the same name.
In the channel’s description, it states that it publishes satirical news, using deepfakes generated by artificial intelligence and dark humor. The Aliyev video, in which the voice was also most likely created with AI, was published by the channel on June 30, 2025.
Additionally, we analyzed the audio material using the tool Deepfake-O-Meter. In three cases, the tool confirmed with over 99% accuracy that the content was AI-generated.
Real footage of Ilham Aliyev was used to create the video. The footage was taken from a press conference held on May 7 following his meeting with To Lam, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
On the official website of the President of Azerbaijan, the full video and transcript of the meeting are published, showing that the sides did not discuss the Kremlin or Russia at all. The name “Alis Subhan oglu Keremli” was not mentioned either.
The audio recordings attributed to Dmitry Peskov and Dmitry Medvedev were also likely created with artificial intelligence. The video states that they made the comments exclusively to Moscow Never Lies. Such statements by Medvedev and Peskov have not appeared anywhere else besides the satirical Telegram channel. In Dmitry Medvedev’s clip, it is obvious that the voice differs significantly from his real one.
The Russian outlet Lapsha Media also commented on the video, labeling the claims as fake. The website noted that the original source was the satirical Telegram channel and explained in detail why Azerbaijanis had no connection to the Kremlin’s construction. They highlighted the Kremlin’s general reconstruction in the 15th-16th centuries, which gave it its current appearance under the work of Italian architects. Lapsha Media is a project of the government-funded NGO ANO Dialog, created as part of a memorandum signed by Russian internet companies to combat disinformation.
According to Azerbaijani sources, Alish bey Subhan oglu Keremli (also known as Kerimli-Shirvani or Alish Shamakhili in Europe and Syria), born in the city of Shamakhi (in present-day Azerbaijan), played an important role in the process of replacing the Kremlin’s wooden structures with a stronger white limestone citadel, where he, according to Azerbaijanis, acted as an architect.
Myth Detector has previously verified other video fabrications originating from the satirical Telegram channel Moscow Never Lies. Read more in the following articles:
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