Turkish Language Pushing Russian Out of Azerbaijan's Cinemas

The screenings of Russian-language films in Azerbaijani cinemas have been reduced, writes Minval. If previously the share of such screenings was 70%, now it has decreased to 30%. Specifically, out of 13 screenings, only four are in Russian; the rest are shown in Turkish.

Until recently, the situation was the opposite, the publication notes. Experts, whose names and positions are not mentioned, considered this decision logical. According to them, the "overwhelming majority" of Azerbaijan's population does not speak Russian but understands Turkish well as a "closely related" language, so this transition will allow cinemas to expand their audience.

Russian does not have official status in Azerbaijan, neither at the state nor at the regional level. What percentage of the more than 10.1 million population speaks Russian is not precisely known, the Azerbaijani source notes.