Below is the second in the series of interviews Azerbaijan in the World has recently conducted with leading figures in the Azerbaijani diaspora on the state of Azerbaijani culture abroad.  This second discussion, which focuses on art, is with Kabira Aliyeva, a distinguished Azerbaijani artist living in London.  Ms. Aliyeva’s official page could be accessed at http://www.kabira-alieva.com ...

Recently, as Azerbaijani media have reported, a protest action involving hundreds of young activists took place in front of the Baku embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran.  They shouted “Shame to Iran,” “Iran Sends Drugs and Terrorists to Azerbaijan,” and other similar statements.  The participants held photographs of Iranian Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and showed their anger at Tehran’s policy toward Azerbaijan. During the demonstration, there was no reaction from the Iranian embassy.  It is important to begin by noting that th...

Prior to the outbreak of violence in 1988, Armenian nationalists unsuccessfully asked Moscow to transfer Nagorno-Karabakh from the Azerbaijan SSR to the Armenian SSR 45 times, an indication that the so-called Karabakh movement did not arise out of nothing.  Indeed, from the late 1960s on, Armenian officials and literary figures cited Soviet policy decisions elsewhere in support of their case.  However, only under Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev did the Armenians receive promises that their claims would be seriously considered.  And even then, Azerbaijani historians point o...