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The first-ever European Games in Baku drew the world community’s attention to Azerbaijan; still they did not reduce the criticism of the country in the West. The US president Barack Obama recently called Azerbaijan an anti-democratic country, and the Ambassador to Baku, Richard Morningstar, already spoke about a possible maidan in Baku, which came as an open threat to Aliyev rather than “ponderings of an analyst”, according to the news website Politnavigator.

The website points that Bundestag has already adopted an anti-Azerbaijani resolution. Not a single EU leader attended the European Games making the Games with such a name rather strange. No matter how hard Aliyev – like Yanukovych - tried to threat the West and Russia, he fails. He is not of any use for the West, and it finally became clear during the European Games. The West needs performers, and Aliyev is too self-dependent after all.

The European Games, concerning which the Aliyev clan had so many hopes, may become the beginning of its end. No Games will help unless Azerbaijan shifts its pro-Western course to the side of Russia. Curiously, they only split the society instead of uniting it as they planned. Many, even the reserved Muslims, protested against the European Games for being “non-halal” because of the abundance of half-naked sportswomen, for instance. And even the opening ceremony itself was unacceptable for the real Muslims, to put it mildly – the fire of the first European Games was lit in the historical Museum Complex Ateshgah, a complex of ancient pagan Zoroastrians’ temples, Politnavigator writes.

It highlights that the European leadership stuck in occultism and promoting Paganism would certainly like the gesture, but the opinion of your nation must also be kept in mind. They are 94% Muslims, and the Christians would not be amazed, either. And the liberal opposition took advantage of the chance to voice “the human rights violations” in Azerbaijan when so many people are looking at the country.

The information agency Turan reports that the US Department of State issued a security message for its citizens concerning the European Games. “We recommend that U.S. citizens traveling to or residing in Azerbaijan enroll in the Department of State's Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP). The STEP enrollment gives you the latest security updates, and makes it easier for the U.S. Embassy to contact you in an emergency. If you do not have Internet access, you can enroll directly with the U.S. Embassy. We encourage you to follow us on Twitter and Facebook,” the message said.
Turan reminds that several cases of crimes against the US citizens have taken place in Azerbaijan over the recent years. The most notorious case was the murder of the US International Republican Institute representative John Elvis at the house he resided in November 2000.

According to Kyiv Post, the extravagant opening ceremony of the European Games – which cost Baku $100 million – was supposed to mark Azerbaijan becoming a member of the European Community. However, the carpet-plane and the jeering at the Armenian athletes seemed to emphasize the alien atmosphere of the host country. Even the Tourism Ministry appears to be confused. The word East in its slogan “The European charm of the East” inevitably points that the nation is not European, while the cult of personality around the Aliyev clan comes as a reminder of the past Soviet days.

Kyiv post further writes that some Azerbaijanis are disappointed with the number of the foreign visitors to Baku. The government had promised thousands of brave tourists, and many locals expected to meet them in the pubs, restaurants and teahouses in the downtown. But the things did not turn up as they had been planned to.

The lack of cooperation with sport federations deprived the Games of some of the most prominent athletes. The International Swimming Federation FINA and Engineering Athletics Association (EAA) did not send their top athletes, according to Kyiv Post.
According to the Russian-language news portal rus.err.ee, Merili Luuk, who attended the European Games through the AIPS contest of Young Reporters, wrote a critical article about the situation there, which was followed by an immediate response.

“On the second day we were told not to write very bad things about Azerbaijan, because I had done it immediately. Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev was in the Crystal Hall, and all the journalists were trapped. I did not like that and I wrote about that. Soon I was told that we may not write so critically because Azerbaijan has covered all the travel expenses and we are guests there,” Luuk said.

Carnegie Moscow Center highlights that the media all over Europe rather dimly covered the European Games in Baku, which opened with an immensely pompous ceremony, while there has been a lot of coverage on Azerbaijan’s poor human rights records.
The Irish Times writes that when David Alaverdian from Israel faced the Armenian fighter Artyom Aleksanyan, all hell broke loose. Azerbaijan may not be best friends with Israel, but they definitely hate Armenia, so every time Alaverdian landed a punch on Aleksanyan, everyone inside the boxing arena roared in approval. Currently no one from Armenia is allowed enter Azerbaijan. If they come in from the Nagorno Karabakh region, they are likely to be jailed.

The Irish Times highlights that it is not entirely clear yet what the European Games medals will represent in the greater scheme of sporting achievement.

The Conversation writes that the billions spent on staging these games will be wasted – hardly anyone will be able to watch because of the tight media regulations; new rules make it possible for lawsuits to be brought against journalists whose work opposes national interest or “insults the honour of the state and the dignity of the Azerbaijan people”. And it’s very hard to inspire at an event so mired by controversy.

The website Idaho Statesman reports that many sessions in the European Games have taken place with banks of empty seats, even at sold-out events. "I do recognize that this is incredibly frustrating for people who want to buy tickets but when they look at the television they can see some empty seats," said Simon Clegg, the chief operating officer for the games. Clegg had previously said there are "issues" with sponsors not using the tickets allocated to them.

On 12-28 June, Baku is hosting the first European Games under the auspices of the European Olympic Committee. According to media estimates, the Games will cost the Azerbaijani population $10 billion. However, they have become a serious headache for the locals with numerous bans and demolition of property. The preparatory works for the Games are accompanied by crackdowns and brutal repressions against dissent.