Poet, Doctor of Philosophical Sciences Slavi Avik Harutyunyan, whose books and works are known in Russian, English, French, Spanish, Italian, German, and Catalan, in addition to Armenian, sent personal letters and requests to hundreds of his fellow writers around the world to condemn the blockade of the Lachin Corridor by Azerbaijan and siege of Artsakh. In his letter, he stated: “Azerbaijan has closed this way of life for 120,000 Armenians, including my 83-year-old mother.” The call of the Armenian poet is now being responded to in different parts of the world. In particular, his Russian colleagues issued a call condemning Azerbaijan.
Blockade of Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh)
Despite the difficult times for Russia and all the former Soviet republics, we are concerned about what is happening on the land that was once part of the USSR and the Russian Empire, the blockade of Nagorno Karabakh / Artsakh. The heavy word “blockade” reminds us of the blockade of Leningrad during the Great Patriotic War. And it has been almost a month since the only road from Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh, the Lachin Corridor, which is vital for Artsakh, has been closed.
The closure of that road isolated 120,000 Armenians from the WHOLE WORLD. The air route is also closed. According to the trilateral /three-party statement of November 9, 2020 (Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia), the five-kilometer-wide LACHIN STRAIT has come under Russian peacekeepers’ control. Azerbaijan has guaranteed the uninterrupted movement of Armenian passengers and cargo from Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh and vice versa. But the “environmentalists” of Azerbaijan blocked the only road from Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh.
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The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is not new, and we aren’t sure we can help by interfering directly in politics. But today, in the 21st century, 120,000 children, older people, and women from Artsakh were taken hostage before the eyes of civilized humanity; that is, an absolute humanitarian disaster is taking place. Currently, 200 French cultural figures have voted in favor of the civilian population (their joint statement was published in “Le Figaro” newspaper). Cultural figures from other countries, including Russia, also signed the call. Beloved cultural figures, please spread this information and raise your voice to defend 120,000 Armenian besieged in Artsakh.
VLADIMIR MIKUSHEVICH – Russian poet, novelist, translator, esoteric and mystic, religious philosopher. Winner of the Anhalt Prince Award of the Duke of Saxony for spreading German culture in Russia. Won an award from the French Embassy for his translation of Chrétien de Troye’s novels “Yvain or the Knight with the Lion” and “Lancelot or the Knight of the Chariot.” Winner of the Master’s Guild Master of Literary Translation Award for translation of Edmund Spenser’s “The Fairy Queen,” “The Legend of the Red Cross Knight,” or “About Sainthood.”
He translated the poems of Grigor Narekatsi.
VYACHESLAV KUPRIYANOV – Russian writer, poet, and translator. Winner of the poetry festival of Goneza (Italy, 1986). Winner of the European Literary Prize (Yugoslavia, 1987). Holder of the Macedonian Literary Wand (Macedonia, 1999). Prize winner of the Austrian Ministry of Culture and Education (2006). Winner of the Branko Radičević International Prize (Serbia, 2006). Winner of the “Moravian Certificate of Honor” international award (Serbia, 2008). Winner of the Bunin Prize (Moscow, 2010). Winner of the “Children of Ra” magazine award (Moscow, 2015, 2018). Winner of the “Map of European Poetry” award (Serbia, 2017). Winner of the Felix Romulana Award (Serbia, Negotin, 2017). Winner of the “Thread that binds hearts” award (Moscow, 2018). Winner of the “Ugra” award (Khanty-Mansiysk, 2018). Winner of Naji Naaman literary prizes, 2018 (Japan/Lebanon), winner of “Golden Key of Smederev” prize, 2021, Serbia.
ANUSHKIN VLADIMIR IVANOVICH – Doctor of Philological Sciences, A. S. Honored Professor of the Pushkin State Institute of Russian Language, President of the Russian Association of Researchers, Teachers, and Rhetoric Teachers, Member of the Writers’ Union of Russia, Academician of the Petrovsky Academy of Sciences and Arts.
ALEKSEY PROKOPIEV – Poet, translator, and laureate of the Andrey Bely Prize.
SERGEY ZENKEVICH – Poet, translator, Moscow Writers’ Union member, and founder of the “Nekrasov Fridays” literary club.
ANTONINA BELOVA – Literary scholar, candidate of philological sciences, and member of the Writers’ Union of Russia.
YURI ORLITSKI – Literary scholar, poet, doctor of philological sciences, laureate of the International Symbol Award named after David Burluk, the father of Russian Futurism, laureate of the magazine “Ra’s children” (2015), organizer of Verlibri festivals.
ELENA SEMENOVA – Poet, journalist, winner of the “Bejin Luk” (2018) and “Childhood” (2021) international literary contests. She translated the works of Nahapet Kuchak.
KONSTANTIN KEDROV – Russian poet, philosopher, and literary critic. Author of the term meta metaphor and the philosophical theory of metabolism. Candidate of Philological Sciences, Doctor of Philosophical Sciences, and Professor of the Literary Institute.
ZAYA IOSIF YURIEVICH – candidate of historical sciences, associate professor of the Academy of Social Management, deputy editor-in-chief of the magazine “Teaching History at School” (from the list SCC-Supreme Certifying Committee), member of the scientific expert council of Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM).
