The new book in English. Image grab from Civilnet.am video.

“Fragments of Armenia’s Soviet Past: Tracing the Armenian-Azerbaijani Coexistence,” a study published by the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of Armenia’s National Academy of Sciences was released during a presentation at the Yerevan-based Eurasia Partnership Foundation (EPF) on December 19, CivilNet.am reported.

According to the EPF press release, “The book is the outcome of a research project initiated in 2017. Based on fieldwork and archival material, the book focuses on some fragments of coexistence of Armenians and Azerbaijanis in the Soviet Armenia, as well as on traces and memories of tangible and intangible culture of that coexistence. The book discusses various layers of the Soviet past on the delicate borderline of forgetting and remembering. It brings to the reader’s attention Soviet monuments, popular sacred spaces and pilgrimage sites, and the Azerbaijani Theatre in the Soviet Armenia.”

The book is co-authored by scholars Lusine Kharatyan, Arsen Hakobyan and Raffi Kortoshian with a grant from EPF within the European Union-funded “Peacebuilding through Capacity Enhancement and Civil Society Engagement” program.

Speaking at the EPF presentation, Prof. Levon Abrahamyan of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, noted that a parallel study of Armenian heritage was envisioned to take place in Azerbaijan, however, as of the end of 2017 it became apparent that it was not possible, because of the political climate in that country.