American singer and pop star Selena Gomez cancelled four shows in Russia after the country denied her a visa.

The 21-year-old singer was scheduled to perform in Minsk, Belarus and Kiev, Ukraine this weekend and next week in St Petersburg and Moscow.

There was no explanation from the Russian government why did it deny a visa to the former girlfriend of Canadian singer Justin Beiber. One possible reason, according to Entertainment.time.com, is because of Selena's support for gay rights.

As a result of Russia's anti-gay regulations, Russian officials warned Lady Gaga and Madonna that they could be prosecuted if they keep on advocating gay rights in their performance.

Another singer, Cher, had rejected invitations to perform at the Sochi Olympics in Russia as her way of protesting Russia's anti-gay rules.

The denial of Gomez's visa could be linked to the launch in Change.org a petition by gay rights activist John Becker for Selena to stand up for Russia's LGBT community. The petition, which has secured over 13,000 signatures, could have been the trigger for Russian authorities to deny Selena a visa.

Her fans in the former communist country could probably just be content for now listening to Selena sing the Russian version of I Love You Like a Love Song.

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