Artsakh Atlas released

The Research on Armenian Architecture Fund and the Duty of Soul NGO presented a trilingual (Armenian, Russian, and English) Artsakh Atlas to the public on Tuesday.

The electronic atlas offers an all-embracing picture of Artsakh with photos as well as maps of ethnic distribution, scriptoria, educational institutions and cultural monuments.

The Project has been implemented under a grant programme of the Youth Foundation of Armenia, a partner organisation of the President of the Republic of Armenia.

Shoghine Hovhannisyan, Chairperson of the Duty of Soul NGO, says that the mission is to introduce Armenian society to the history and culture of Artsakh, as well as to numerous others aspects. It could be of special help to the political figures ex officio dealing with the Nagorno-Karabakh problem, as well as to international public, which can learn the truth.

Samvel Karapetyan, Director of the Research on Armenian Architecture Fund, highlight the importance of any research on Artsakh in the fields of history and culture. Recent years have seen the release of works on the Artsakh war of liberation, historical and cultural heritage. In the context, Mr Karapetyan highlights mapping.

The edition covers different areas of human life, which may be of use to both experts specializing in culture, historical monuments and manuscripts, and individuals interested in the educational institutions of Artsakh.

It begins with a brief overview of Artsakh’s history (starting from times immemorial). Mr Karapetyan highlighted the use of Artsakh (instead of Karabakh) in European specialists’ records dating from 1865.

It is an integral part of the patriotic education program, the spatial-temporal perception of fatherland being among its key pillars, said Gayane Manukyan, a coordinator of the project funded by the Armenian president’s staff. “So atlases have a crucial role in this respect, especially when it comes to the historical atlas of Artsakh; it is tailored to not only the Armenian but also the foreign reader. I am confident that the atlas compiled under this project will become the property of the Armenian student, citizen, diplomat and soldier,” she added.