Letter of Protest from the Geghard Foundation Regarding Anti-Armenian Publications in the Journal 'The Caucasus and the World'
2025-07-23
The Geghard Scientific-Analytical Foundation has sent a letter of protest to academic organizations in Georgia (Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation of Georgia, Georgian National Academy of Sciences, Sokhumi State University (based in Tbilisi), Institute of History at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University) in connection with the publication of more than a dozen anti-Armenian and pseudo-scientific articles in the international journal Caucasus and the World. The journal, edited by Guram Markhulia, disseminates politically motivated materials containing falsifications and hostile statements against Armenia and Armenians. The Foundation calls on its Georgian colleagues to condemn such practices, which contradict the scientific ethics and centuries-old Armenian-Georgian friendship.
The full text of the letter is provided below.
Dear distinguished colleagues,
International Scientific Journal “The Caucasus and the World” based in Georgia, regularly publishes articles targeting Armenians.
The editor-in-chief of the journal is Guram Markhulia, Doctor of History and Associate Professor at Soukhumi State University, whose academic work and public statements often target Armenians. In addition, he cooperates with the “Western Azerbaijan Community” organization, which was established with the direct involvement of the Azerbaijani authorities, and which presents territorial claims against the Republic of Armenia. Markhulia holds an honorary membership status in that organization.
Most members of the journal’s editorial board are affiliated with Sokhumi State University, with some also representing other universities in Georgia. The majority of the journal's foreign editorial members are affiliated with Azerbaijani universities and scientific institutions. The journal is also archived and indexed in several databases, including Index Copernicus, Semantic Scholar, WorldCat, and others.
In recent years, more than a dozen articles have been published in various issues of the journal that are politically motivated and overtly anti-Armenian in nature. These texts are not only pseudo-scientific but also contain blatant falsehoods and express a distinctly hostile attitude toward the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian people.
Let us mention just a few examples - Acts of Genocide Committed by Armenians Against the Jews and Historical Claims to Them (1st half of the 20th century) (DOI: https://doi.org/10.52340/isj.2022.26.12).
This article has no relation to academic standards. It accuses Armenians of committing genocide against Jews without presenting any evidence or credible sources. Moreover, the author uses the term 'Khaikans' alongside 'Armenians'—a term employed exclusively by Azerbaijani sources in a derogatory and hostile context. Such usage constitutes a clear manifestation of ethnic hatred and overt racism.
Armenia and Azerbaijan in a geopolitical battle. Zangezur corridor (DOI: https://doi.org/10.52340/isj.2024.29.12): This article reproduces a number of Azerbaijani viewpoints and claims.
p. 127. “Yerevan has started talking about Azerbaijan's claims to the southern part of Armenia, which before Azerbaijan joined the USSR was part of the then Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, whose successor modern Azerbaijan considers itself.”
Azerbaijan has always laid claim to the southern part of Armenia (then called Zangezur, now the Syunik region), but this territory during 1918-1920, along with Nagorno-Karabakh and Nakhichevan, was deemed disputed and has never been part of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic.
p. 127. “However, we are convinced that Azerbaijan will achieve its goal and the new route will be laid through Zangezur, which will also be the final geopolitical victory of Azerbaijan.”
This claim, often expressed in the form of a threat, is regularly articulated by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev toward Armenia. Moreover, when referring to the territory of Armenia, the author uses the term 'Zangezur,' although there is no such administrative unit or official place name in the Republic of Armenia.
Armenia at the crossroads: between great power ambitions and transformation into a modern state (DOI: https://doi.org/10.52340/isj.2022.26.05) In this article, Armenia is characterized as a backward state.
“Despite a new heavy shock for fans of Armenian territorial claims against other states, this will eventually stabilize the situation in the country and gradually allow Armenia to move towards normal progressive socio-economic development, giving it a chance to become a modern state.”
Armenian Geopolitical Interests in Occupied Abkhazia DOI: https://doi.org/10.52340/isj.2024.28.19 The article contains false claims and unfounded accusations that Armenia supports separatism, thereby fueling anti-Armenian sentiment.
“Armenia continues to support separatist sentiments among Armenians in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region, which, according to the plans of Armenian nationalists (who call it "the original Armenian Javakhk"), is supposed to be annexed to Armenia according to the Karabakh scenario.”
p. 166, false claims of “genocide by Armenians towards Azerbaijanis in various settlements in Nagorno-Karabakh, which became an example to follow for other genocides in the Caucasus.”
The only highway that connects the main instigator of separatism in the Caucasus, the Republic of Armenia, with the outside world passes through Khevi and the Upper Lars checkpoint.
On page 179, it denies the fact of the Armenian Genocide, accuses Armenians of fabricating the 'myth of genocide,' and even charges them with committing genocide against the peaceful Azerbaijani population.
The Real Truth Is Not In Fairy Tales, But In Facts: On the History of Karabakh
False claim: The Armenians, resettled to the South Caucasus by tsarist Russia.
The examples cited above are only a few among many similar cases. These articles have several recurring themes, including:
Portraying Armenia and Armenians in a negative light;
Accusing Armenians of committing genocides and ethnic cleansing against Azerbaijanis, Georgians, Turks, and Jews;
Alleging that Armenia and Armenians instigate and support separatism in Georgia;
Denying the historical fact of the Armenian Genocide and the indigenous presence of Armenians in Armenia.
With this letter, we draw the attention of our Georgian colleagues and those responsible for the academic sphere to a number of publications in a journal that presents itself as scientific, yet fails to meet even the basic standards of academic scholarship or ethical conduct. Even more concerning, given the centuries-old friendship and neighborly relations between the Armenian and Georgian peoples, as well as their deep historical and cultural ties, there is a clearly visible intent behind these publications: to incite hostility toward Armenians and Armenia in friendly Georgia.
We ask our Georgian colleagues to condemn such practices and to halt the publication of similar materials. We also demand that the editorial board of the journal conduct an impartial review and exclude any further publication of articles of this nature.
Should no measures be taken, we will be compelled to appeal to the international academic indexes and databases where this journal is listed, requesting an investigation into violations of academic ethics.
If necessary, we are ready to provide a detailed review of problematic articles.
Sincerely,
SCIENTIFIC ANALYTICAL FOUNDATION “GEGHARD”
OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
