Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan through Peace and War

408 Pages·2013·21.253 MB·English

by  Thomas de Waal

Black Garden
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Thomas de Waal
Armenia and Azerbaijan
through Peace and War
black garden
10th-Year Anniversary Edition, Revised and Updated
a
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS
New York and London
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS
New York and London
www.nyupress.org
© 2003, 2013 by New York University
All rights reserved
References to Internet websites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing.
Neither the author nor New York University Press is responsible
for URLs that may have expired or changed since the manuscript was prepared.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
De Waal, Thomas.
Black garden : Armenia and Azerbaijan through peace and war / Thomas de Waal. —
10th-year anniversary edition, revised and updated.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8147-6032-1 (paperback)
1. Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict, 1988–1994. 2. Armenia (Republic)—Relations—Azerbaijan.
3. Azerbaijan—Relations—Armenia (Republic) I. Title.
DK699.N34D4 2013
947.5408’54—dc23
2012049431
New York University Press books are printed on acid-free paper,
and their binding materials are chosen for strength and durability.
We strive to use environmentally responsible suppliers and materials
to the greatest extent possible in publishing our books.
Manufactured in the United States of America
Text design by Marcelo Agudo
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To Georgina
“War is kindled by the death of one man, or at most, a few; but it
leads to the death of tremendous numbers.”
—Elias Canetti, Crowds and Power
“Mercy on the old master building a bridge, The passer-by may lay
a stone to his foundation. I have sacrificed my soul, worn out my
life, for the nation. A brother may arrange a rock upon my grave.”
—Sayat-Nova
Contents
Author’s Note ix
Preface to the Revised Edition xiii
Two Maps, of the South Caucasus and of Nagorny Karabakh xviii–xix
Introduction: Crossing the Line 1
1. February 1988: An Armenian Revolt 11
2. February 1988: Azerbaijan: Puzzlement and Pogroms 30
3. Shusha: The Neighbors’ Tale 46
4. 1988–1989: An Armenian Crisis 56
5. Yerevan: Mysteries of the East 74
6. 1988–1990: An Azerbaijani Tragedy 83
7. Baku: An Eventful History 96
8. 1990–1991: A Soviet Civil War 108
9. Divisions: A Twentieth-Century Story 139
10. Hurekavank: The Unpredictable Past 158
11. August 1991–May 1992: War Breaks Out 172
12. Shusha: The Last Citadel 196
•  vii
viii • CONTENTS
13. June 1992–September 1993: Escalation 207
14. Sabirabad: The Children’s Republic 229
15. September 1993–May 1994: Exhaustion 237
16. Stepanakert: A State Apart 252
17. 1994–2001: No War, No Peace 262
18. Sadakhlo: “They Fight, We Don’t” 279
19. 2001–2012: Deadlock and Estrangement 284
Conclusion: Seeking Peace in Karabakh 305
Appendix 1: Statistics 325
Appendix 2: Chronology 329
Notes 341
Bibliography 367
Index 375
About the Author 387
All illustrations appear as a group following p. 124.
Author’s Note
The research done for this book is based on around 120 original inter-
views done in 2000–2001, supplemented by eyewitness reporting and
secondary sources. Personal testimony is of course subjective, so I have
tried to balance my reconstruction of events from as many sources as
possible. The problem is that the written record on the subject is also fre-
quently unreliable, partisan, and incomplete. It will take many years for
a full picture of what happened in Armenia and Azerbaijan after 1988 to
be assembled. Many Armenians and Azerbaijanis will take an interest in
what is written here, and I would make a plea for them not to quote some
of the information here selectively, to suit their own political agendas.
The book stands or falls as an entire whole.
The use of names is problematic. Written Azeri has two alphabets,
Armenian has a Western and Eastern version, and most of the written
material I have drawn on is in Russian anyway. I have tried to be as con-
sistent as possible. One of the more disputed things about the disputed
•  ix