[New Book] Newmag and Hasratyan-Minasyan Foundation present the "Operation "Zod": How Armenia secured the Sotk borderline in 1919" Book (trailer in Armenian)

How did the Armenians manage to keep the Gegharkunik region as part of Soviet Armenia? Why did the Azeris want to take the territory of Sevan? What happened in the end? Armenian archeologists have been looking for answers to these historical questions. They studied Operation Zod of 1919 in all the details. This case is known only in narrow professional circles. This book is unique because neither Armenian nor Azerbaijani historiography has addressed this topic separately. This study and the publication of the book were carried out with the support of the Hasratyan-Minasyan Foundation. The scientists received a grant within the framework of the Foundation's "Rethinking the Armenian History of the 20th Century" program. The book was published in the scope of the "Minasyan book series". 

The historical events unfolded during the difficult economic, military-political period of the First Republic, when Turkey and Azerbaijan, in parallel with the military aggression, were implementing a plan to destroy Armenia from within. One of the centers of anti-government movements was the Basargechar region of the Nor Bayazet province, the south-eastern part of today's Gegharkunik region. The Turkish-Tatar riots became widespread in early 1918, in parallel with the Turkish invasion of Eastern Armenia.

With the revolt of Turkish villages, clashes and deprivation of people, Azerbaijan managed to effectively take the territory out of state control, and anarchy was established. Making the village of Zod the center of the uprising, Muslim leaders declared the region as part of Azerbaijan. The book presents the heroic "40 days" battles of Basargechar, the evil trap against the Silikyan brothers and the biggest police operation of the First Republic of Armenia.

The book "Operation Zod" includes new, factual data of the details of the operation discovered by Avetis Grigoryan and Arsen Bobokhyan. Scientists have used not only historical, but also philological and archeological sources to create a database of facts. The authors reorganized the geography of hostilities, documented, mapped the locations of the clashes and the directions of the troop movements.

Archeological excavations have included the Sotk region, Vardenis, the Sotk gold mines and Karvachar. The excavation of Sotk-1 settlement showed that the hill was the cemetery of a group of Armenian soldiers in the 20th century. This work is first and foremost a major counter attack to the Turkish historians, as their theses are based solely on legends, while Operation Zod is a reliable historical and archeological source on how Armenia managed to keep Sotk after the 1919 clashes.

The presentation of Avetis Grigoryan's and Arsen Bobokhyan's "Operation Zod”: How Armenia secured the borderline of Sotk in 1919" will take place at the Newmag Winter Fest, in the Great Hall of the Congress Hotel, on February 19, at 14:00.

Right after the presentation, at 15:00, a panel discussion will be held dedicated to the "Armenian-Azerbaijani border demarcation: Historical experience and perspectives" topic.