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Azerbaijan's Ministry of Culture announced Friday that it has canceled all Russian cultural events in the country, citing targeted violence and extrajudicial killings of Azerbaijani nationals by Russian security forces in the Sverdlovsk region.
In a statement, the ministry condemned what it described as “openly ethnically motivated violence and extrajudicial executions” carried out by Russian law enforcement against Azerbaijani citizens in Yekaterinburg. It further claimed that such incidents have become systematic in recent months.
“As a result, all concerts, festivals, theatrical performances, exhibitions, and similar cultural activities planned by Russian public or private organizations in Azerbaijan are hereby cancelled,” the statement said.
The move follows a deadly operation on June 27 in Yekaterinburg, where Russian security forces raided residences of Azerbaijani nationals. Two Azerbaijanis were reportedly killed, several others seriously injured, and nine detained.
Russia’s Interior Ministry stated the operation was part of an investigation into crimes committed in previous years, without elaborating further.
In response, the Russian chargé d'affaires in Baku, Pyotr Volokovikh, was summoned to Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry. Azerbaijani officials demanded an immediate investigation and called for legal action against those responsible for the violence.
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