“GEGHARD”
SCIENTIFIC ANALYTICAL
FOUNDATION
2025
2025
Azerbaijan's anti-Armenian pseudo-scientific theses have always been spread through various public channels, including the Internet, international conferences, various events, and scientific publications. After the 44-day Artsakh war of 2020, the number of similar reports and publications increased significantly, including various international platforms.
The Azerbaijani state propaganda continues to appropriate and erase the heritage, history, and identity of the occupied Armenian territories through the dissemination of false scientific theses.
One example of this is the violent appropriation of Shushi, which, on one hand, is presented as the 'cultural capital of Azerbaijan,' the 'pearl of Karabakh,' and the 'cradle of Azerbaijani music.' On the other hand, the Armenian heritage of Shushi, its historical traces, are being destroyed and erased.
During the 44-day Artsakh war of 2020, the Ghazanchetsots church, a symbol of Armenian victory, was subjected to shelling twice, and after that Azerbaijan started to alter the appearance of the church. Additionally, in Shushi, the Church of St. Hovhannes the Baptist, also known as the Kanach Zham (Green Chapel), along with the old cemetery of Shushi, suffered complete destruction.
In 2022, “Shusha”, a book consisting of seven parts, was published in different languages: Italian, Greek, Arabic (in Jordan), Bulgarian, Latvian, Tajik and French.
The publication of the book is state-sponsored and aims to represent Shushi as an Azerbaijani city and erase the historical Armenian trace. The author of the book is Elchin Ahmadov, an employee of the Academy of Public Administration under the President of Azerbaijan and the head of the “Karabakh heritage” research center. The co-authors of the books are Daniel Pommier Vincelli, Kaspars Klavins, Nigar Sultanova, and Jean-Michel Brun.
The book was published with the support of Azerbaijan’s National Commission for UNESCO. Presentations were held in Rome, Sofia, Amman, Riga, Dushanbe.
The book falsifies the Armenian cultural heritage, presenting it as Albanian and Azeri. The work puts forward the false thesis that Armenia allegedly committed cultural vandalism against the so-called "Azerbaijani heritage" at the end of the 20th century.
Azerbaijan portrays itself as the 'liberator' of the city of Shushi, yet during and after the 2020 war, the state actively distorts the Armenian historical and cultural identity of Shushi.
Such pseudo-scientific 'research' should be countered by scientific circles, as they contribute to Azerbaijan's acts of vandalism and cultural genocide in the region.