Zori Balayan

Zori Balayan
Balayan in 2010
Balayan in 2010
Born (1935-02-10) February 10, 1935 (age 89)
Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh AO of Azerbaijan SSR, Soviet Union
Occupation
  • Author
  • novelist
  • journalist
  • sports doctor
  • traveler
Writing career
Period1971–present

Zori Hayki Balayan (Armenian: Զորի Հայկի Բալայան, born February 10, 1935) is an Armenian novelist, journalist, sports doctor, traveler and sports expert.[1] He was awarded the "Renowned master of the Arts" an Armenian official title.

Biography

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Balayan was born in Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (Azerbaijan SSR). He graduated from the Ryazan State Medical University in 1963. From 1971 to 1973 he traversed the Kamchatka and Chokotskaya tundras on dog-sleds, traveling as far as the North Sea. In his essay "Hearth," published during the pre-perestroika era, he tried to demonstrate the Armenian identity of Nagorno-Karabakh and identified Nakhichevan as historically belonging to Armenia. He further regarded the Turks (including Azerbaijanis) as an enemy of both Russia and Armenia. Azerbaijani historian[2] Isa Gambar criticized Balayan's book in an article entitled Old Songs and New Legends.[3][4]

In 1988, he and Armenian poet Silva Kaputikyan were received by Mikhail Gorbachev and discussed the absence of Armenian-language television programs and textbooks in Nagorno-Karabakh schools as well as other concerns of Karabakh's majority-Armenian population.[5]

In October 1993, he signed the Letter of Forty-Two.[6]

Balayan is a journalist for the weekly Russian-language publication Literaturnaya Gazeta.

Book forgery

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Sometime after the end of the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, a number of Azerbaijani and Turkish sources began to quote a passage from a book supposedly written by Balayan titled Revival of Our Souls (sometimes given as Revival of Our Spirits as well), wherein he confesses to brutally murdering an Azerbaijani child during the war. Balayan, as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, have come out to deny him having ever written such a book.[7][8] Ayşe Günaysu, a member of the Committee Against Racism and Discrimination of the Human Rights Association of Turkey (Istanbul branch), stated that "it should be quite obvious, from the language used in depicting the torture, that the quotation was wholly made up."[9] Onur Caymaz, a Turkish writer, who originally backed the allegation, stated that he was wrong and that Balayan never wrote such a book.[10]

Interpol refused the arrest warrant

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Azerbaijani authorities allege that Balayan was involved in a terrorist bombing of the metro in Baku in 1994. In a letter to Balayan, the general secretary of Interpol, however, stated that the agency considered the complaint politically motivated and that it had removed Balayan from its wanted list as a result.[11]

Critics in Armenia

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Balayan's views on the annexation of Crimea by Russia and alleged lobbying[12] activities were criticized by some Armenian politicians, including Igor Muradyan[13] and Levon Ter-Petrosian.[14] Balayan's letter to Vladimir Putin, in which he implies that both Armenia and Karabakh are Russian soil, met harsh criticism in Armenia in 2013.[15]

Books

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  • My Cilicia, (Russian), Yerevan, 2004
  • Zim Kilikia (Armenian: Զիմ Կիլիկիա), Yerevan 2005
  • Cilicia (Armenian: Կիլիկիա), vols. 2 and 3, Yerevan 2006–2007
  • Chasm, (Armenian and Russian), Yerevan, 2004
  • Heaven and Hell (Armenian, Russian and English) Los Angeles, 1997, Yerevan, 1995
  • Hearth, Moscow 1984, Yerevan 1981
  • Between Two Fires, Yerevan 1979
  • Blue roads, Yerevan 1975
  • Required Man's opinion, (Russian) Yerevan 1974

References

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  1. ^ "Balayan Zori". Armenian Writer's Union. Archived from the original on January 24, 2010.
  2. ^ ГАМБАР Иса Юсы оглы (Гамбаров Иса Юнисович) [GAMBAR Isa Yusy oglu (Gambarov Isa Yunisovich)]. Labyrinth (in Russian). Archived from the original on May 31, 2013. Retrieved November 29, 2012.
  3. ^ Gambar, Isa (January 1985). Старые песни и новые легенды [Old Songs and New Legends] (in Russian). Archived from the original on February 12, 2012. Retrieved November 29, 2012.
  4. ^ de Waal, Thomas (2003). Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan through War and Peace. New York: NYU press. pp. 142–143. ISBN 978-0814760321.
  5. ^ Barringer, Felicity; Keller, Bill (March 11, 1988). "A Test of Change Explodes in Soviet". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 4, 2012.
  6. ^ Писатели требуют от правительства решительных действий [Writers demand decisive action from the government]. Izvestia (in Russian). October 5, 1993. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
  7. ^ Minasian, Tamar (June 6, 2006). "Security & Foreign Affairs: Azeri Disinformation. Azerbaijani Masochism?". Office of Nagorno Karabakh Republic in the USA. Archived from the original on February 28, 2014. Retrieved September 7, 2012.
  8. ^ "Armenia's Foreign Ministry shows up Azerbaijani disinformation". aysor.am. December 25, 2009. Archived from the original on March 5, 2012.
  9. ^ Gunaysu, Ayse (May 11, 2012). "Gunaysu: The Reign of Lies in Turkey". The Armenian Weekly. Archived from the original on August 26, 2012.
  10. ^ Caymaz, Onur (March 1, 2012). "Zori Balayan Kimdir?" [Who is Zori Balayan?]. Onur Caymaz (in Turkish). Archived from the original on March 5, 2012.
  11. ^ Halpin, Tony (September 2, 2005). "Ship Shape: Cilicia completes second leg of its historic journey around Europe". ArmeniaNow. Archived from the original on September 26, 2007.
  12. ^ В последние дни Зорий Балаян занят лоббистскими вопросами нового кандидата в премьеры: «Жоховурд» [In recent days, Zori Balayan has been busy with lobbying questions of a new candidate for prime minister: Zhokhovurd] (in Russian). Archived from the original on March 18, 2014. Retrieved March 18, 2014.
  13. ^ Muradyan, Igor (March 18, 2014). Идиотизм и пошлость в одной ипостаси [Idiocy and vulgarity in one incarnation]. www.lragir.am (in Russian).
  14. ^ В Армении майдан не состоялся из-за глубокого разочарования народа в Западе [In Armenia, the Maidan did not take place because of the deep disappointment of the people in the West]. Inosmi (in Russian). January 11, 2014.
  15. ^ Musaelyan, Lusine (October 14, 2013). Письмо Зория Балаяна Путину удостоилось резкой критики в Армении и Карабахе [Zori Balayan's letter to Putin received harsh criticism in Armenia and Karabakh]. Радио Свобода (in Russian). Retrieved July 12, 2021.
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