Russian House in Baku announces work suspension

The name in Russian has been removed from the facade of the building where the Russian House is located. The organization has suspended its activities due to the demand of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), says the latter’s page on the Facebook*.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on February 7, analysts stated that the Baku's demand to close the Russian House was a way to put pressure on Moscow, seeking Russia's admission of guilt in the crash of the AZAL plane and the payment of compensation, as well as the desire to demonstrate the independence of Baku's actions.

Earlier, the State Advertising Agency of Azerbaijan (ADRA) stated that it would take measures in connection with the violation of the law in the emblem placed on the house of the Russian House in Baku. According to the laws "On Advertising" and "On the State Language of the Republic of Azerbaijan", texts on advertising facilities structures may contain inscriptions in a foreign language along with Azerbaijani ones at the advertiser’s request. However, the foreign-language text must be located after the text in the state language and not exceed its area.

In the emblem placed above the entrance to the Russian House, its name in the Azerbaijani language is placed after the Russian one, which violates the law, the ADRA has stated.

Dmitry Peskov, Press Secretary of the President of Russia, has expressed regret over Baku's decision to close the Russian House.

*On March 21, 2022, the Tverskoi Court of Moscow banned the activities in Russia of the Meta Company, owning the Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, in connection with extremist activities.