On August 11, 2026, a presentation of the book Irevan: The Homeland That Lives in My Heart (İrəvan – qəlbimdə yaşayan yurdum) took place in Stockholm, Sweden. The book was written by Zarifa Hagverdiyeva, a researcher and chief specialist at the Institute of Manuscripts named after Muhammad Fuzuli of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (source). According to Azerbaijani sources, the event was organized by the Sweden–Azerbaijan Association (SAF), with the support of the State Committee on Work with Diaspora of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijani Embassy in Sweden. Attendees included representatives of the Azerbaijani community in Sweden, members of Kazakh, Uzbek, and Turkmen organizations, and representatives of the Turkish community. The event emphasized themes of national memory, historical heritage, and the preservation of the concept of homeland, which, as the article argues, have no historical connection to the Azerbaijani people or their history (source). The book was published in 2026 following a decision by the Scientific Council of the Institute of Manuscripts named after Muhammad Fuzuli of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences. According to the official academic announcement, the publication examines the history of Yerevan and events that took place in the city, while also incorporating the author’s personal recollections. A separate section is devoted to the author’s grandfather, Meshhadi Teymur, who is presented as one of Yerevan’s prominent beys, and to the history of his family. The book was edited by Ragub Kerimov, Doctor of Philological Sciences and Professor. Its reviewers were Tahira Hasanzade, Doctor of Historical Sciences and Associate Professor, and Tunzala Seyfullayeva, Candidate of Philological Sciences. The event attracted particular attention because it was held in Sweden with the support of Azerbaijani state institutions. Moreover, during the presentation, the historically Armenian city of Yerevan was portrayed as part of Azerbaijani heritage, disregarding established historical facts.
On August 15, Swedish journalist and regional affairs researcher Rasmus Canbäck published a post on the social media platform X concerning the event. He noted that the Azerbaijani government’s diaspora committee had organized a book discussion in Stockholm during which Yerevan was presented as historically Azerbaijani territory. Canbäck linked the event to Azerbaijan’s increasingly prominent use of the term “Western Azerbaijan” in recent years (source). In a publication released in 2026, Laurence Broers, an analyst at the Stockholm Centre for Eastern European Studies (SCEEUS), identified the use of the term “Western Azerbaijan” as a significant element of Azerbaijan’s expansionist rhetoric, noting that it encompasses territorial claims against the Republic of Armenia (source).

Our Response

The publication of this book provides further evidence that Azerbaijan has not abandoned its claims that challenge the territorial and cultural integrity of the Republic of Armenia. The term “Western Azerbaijan” is an artificially constructed political concept lacking scholarly foundation, which is applied to the territory of the Republic of Armenia. Cultural events of this kind contribute to the formation and dissemination of distorted historical narratives. It is particularly important to emphasize that the Azerbaijani academic community has been mobilized to carry out these activities, which lack scholarly legitimacy, in accordance with the directives of Ilham Aliyev. In recent years, a systematic policy has become increasingly apparent, aimed at constructing and promoting what Azerbaijan refers to as “Western Azerbaijani culture.” It should be noted that, before 2020–2021, the publication of books and the organization of conferences and seminars devoted to “Western Azerbaijan” were relatively uncommon. Today, however, such activities take place regularly. There is a clear effort to give this historically unfounded and expansionist agenda an international dimension. Viewed in a broader context, the Stockholm event was not simply a presentation of scholarly material. Rather, it constituted an expression of cultural policy intended to disseminate Azerbaijani historical narratives concerning territories within the Republic of Armenia, portraying them as a purportedly lost homeland and part of Azerbaijani cultural heritage. The participation of intellectual circles from the Turkic world further suggests that Azerbaijan is seeking to use the cultural and educational platforms of Turkic countries to promote the idea of “Western Azerbaijan” as a central component of Azerbaijani identity. Projects of this kind—including books, films, exhibitions, and educational programs—serve a common purpose: to construct a coherent narrative that presents the concept of “Western Azerbaijan” as an established historical reality. To advance this agenda, Baku draws upon not only state institutions but also the resources of nongovernmental organizations, writers’ associations, and youth initiatives. Within this framework, culture is employed as a political instrument for rewriting history
and providing ideological justification for territorial claims. The book and its presentation in Stockholm form part of the same propaganda network, whose objective is to portray “Western Azerbaijan” to the international community as a supposedly historical identity that is now being rediscovered and reinterpreted.