Baylor Alum to Discuss New Book on Centuries-Long "Black Garden" Conflict

On Tues., Feb. 22, at 4:30 p.m., Dr. Artyom Tonoyan will engage in a conversation about the centuries-long conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region with Dr. Stephen Gardner, Herman Brown Professor of Economics and Director of the McBride Center for International Business at Baylor University, in Cashion Academic Center, Room 501. This event is free and open to the public. A reception and book signing will follow.

The region of Nagorno-Karabakh, a "mountainous black garden” located along the border of modern-day Armenia and Azerbaijan in the South Caucasus, has been disputed territory for centuries. In 1988, fresh conflict arose. In fact, the fate of Nagorno-Karabakh, a region inside Azerbaijan’s borders populated mainly by Armenians, is at the heart of the longest-running conflict in post-Soviet lands. Tensions over Nagorno-Karabakh have repeatedly escalated into war, most recently in 2020, drawing the attention of Russia, Turkey, the European Union, China, and the United States.

Tonoyan's 2021 publication translates select articles by Soviet and Russian reporters from 1988 to the present and provides commentary in order to help English-speaking audiences comprehend the geographic, social, economic, and political forces that continue to drive this conflict. During this timely conversation between Tonoyan and Gardner, they will unpack the history of the conflict, the impact that it is having on current geo-political dynamics in the region and beyond, and why Western media has often misunderstood its implications.

For more information, visit baylor.edu/history/blackgarden.