In the city of Khankendi (previously, when the unrecognized republic of Nagorno-Karabakh existed, the city was called Stepanakert), a monument to the Russian marine painter Ivan Aivazovsky was demolished on his birthday.

This is reported by Sputnik Armenia with reference to the Armenian Agency for the Development of Tourism and Culture of Karabakh.

They reported that the monument was demolished by the Azerbaijani authorities. The monument to Ivan Aivazovsky appeared in Stepanakert in December 2021. The monument became part of the “Alley of Russian Glory” project and was implemented jointly with the authorities of the unrecognized republic, the Russian community of the NKR and the Russian peacekeeping contingent.

Aivazovsky, born Hovhannes Ayvazyan— was born on July 29, 1817, into an Armenian family.

The author of the monument is Russian artist, sculptor and teacher Salavat Shcherbakov, who also created a monument to internationalist soldiers on Poklonnaya Gora in Moscow and a monument to Heydar Aliyev in Baku.

In September 2020, fighting resumed in Karabakh, which became a continuation of the long-standing conflict. A month and a half later, through the mediation of Moscow, they agreed to cease fire. The agreement provided for the deployment of Russian peacekeepers to the territory, the exchange of prisoners, the transfer of a number of regions of Karabakh to Azerbaijan and the return of refugees.

In the spring of 2023, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that 86.6 thousand square kilometers of Azerbaijani territory, which the Armenian authorities are ready to recognize, also include the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.A few days later, Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed on mutual recognition of each other’s territorial integrity.

The deterioration of relations between Moscow and Baku began in June after the arrests of representatives of the Azerbaijani diaspora as part of the investigation into the murders in Yekaterinburg, two of them died after being detained. Azerbaijan has handed over to the Russian Investigative Committee evidence of the torture and murder of two Azerbaijanis during their detention, the republic’s Prosecutor General Kamran Aliyev said. The Foreign Ministry noted that the arrests were carried out in the framework of criminal cases. The Investigative Committee reported that the cause of death of one of the detainees was a heart attack.

After these events, the Sputnik Azerbaijan news agency was searched in Baku, and several Russians were arrested and charged with drug smuggling and cybercrime. They were taken to court with signs of beatings.