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Zori Balayan has died

05 April 2026 10:58 (UTC +04:00)

Armenian writer Zori Balayan has died, said his son, Hayk Balayan, APA reports.

It should be noted that Zori Balayan was one of the main ideologists of separatism and was known for his territorial claims against Azerbaijan.

It is worth recalling that, in addition to being a prominent ideologist of Armenian separatism, Zori Balayan was also considered one of the instigators of the Khojaly genocide.

Zori Balayan, one of the initiators of the separatist movement that led to the First Karabakh War, gained prominence among Armenians in the early 1980s with his work “Hearth” (“Ocaq”).

In this book, Balayan distorted historical facts and claimed that Karabakh was allegedly Armenian land. He also declared Turks and Azerbaijanis as enemies of both Russia and Armenia.

He was also accused of being the заказчик (mastermind) behind the deadly terrorist attack carried out in the Baku metro in 1994.

Zori Balayan is also known as a person who, in his book “Revival of Our Soul” (Turkish: “Ruhumuzun Canlanması”), allegedly confessed in his own words to atrocities committed during the Khojaly genocide.

A criminal case had been opened against him by Azerbaijan for the crimes he committed, and he had been placed on an international wanted list through Interpol.