Azerbaijan to Close all Russian Schools Amid Rising Tensions

Amid escalating tensions with Russia, Azerbaijan has decided to begin closing Russian-language schools across the country, Oxu.az reports.

Parents already start receiving relevant notifications at school WhatsApp groups saying that the closures will be taking place gradually.

"In the next three years, Russian-language schools will transition to instruction in Azerbaijani, with retraining courses organized for teachers,” the website said.

Azerbaijan currently has 340 Russian-language schools; in 16 of these, education is conducted exclusively in Russian, while the rest offer bilingual instruction, Mektebgushesi publication says. It is estimated that 150,000 to 160,000 students attend these schools. Most of the schools are located in Baku, while some regions of the country have none at all.

Relations Between Russia and Azerbaijan Go Downhill

Tensions between Russia and Azerbaijan flared after representatives of the Azerbaijani diaspora were detained in Yekaterinburg at the end of June in connection with investigations into murders and attempted murders dating back to 2001, 2010, and 2011. Six suspects were arrested.

Two other suspects died during investigative procedures. The Russian Investigative Committee stated that one died from heart failure, while the cause of the second death is still being determined. However, following autopsies, Azerbaijani authorities reported discovering injuries on the bodies and have launched criminal cases under articles concerning intentional homicide, torture, and abuse of power.

Baku has initiated its own investigations targeting Russians. In particular, law enforcement conducted a raid on the offices of Sputnik Azerbaijan. Executive Director Igor Kartavykh and Editor-in-Chief Evgeny Belousov were arrested on charges of fraud, illegal entrepreneurship, and laundering criminal proceeds. Additionally, on July 1, Azerbaijani authorities announced the detention of several other groups of Russians accused of drug trafficking from Iran and cybercrimes. Eight people were arrested.

Commenting on the worsening situation, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that law enforcement actions should not be used as a pretext for diplomatic provocations. He later emphasized that Russia does not threaten Azerbaijan.

"At present, the chairman of the Russian Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, is in constant contact with the Azerbaijani Prosecutor General, and through these communications, they are addressing issues that appear problematic,” Peskov said.