Overview

""My husband, Anatoliy, and I are in bed, but we dare not sleep...These dangerous days, sleep comes only in short intervals and only when I'm so tired that I lose focus temporarily. The respite never lasts long. The threat of violence keeps us on a razor's edge so thin we can feel it cutting our skin."" So begins the harrowing experience of Karina Yesayeva Khachatorian and her family as they endured seven days of hell, as Azerbaijanis (or Azeris as they're called locally) targeted Armenians living in the cosmopolitan city of Baku. Baku had been a peaceful blending of many nationalities. But on the eve of the collapse of the mighty Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (better known as the USSR), the unrest between the Azeris and Armenians planted by Stalin seventy-years prior erupted into a violent pogrom, killing at least ninety Armenians, injuring countless others. Genocidal violence, however, never occurs in a vacuum. Shadows Over Baku pulls apart the history, the mindset, and the deep roots of distrust that catapulted Khachatorian's beloved city into violence. Caught in the crossfire, this is one of--if the only--eye-witness account of the events of that harrowing time.

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9781948261173

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Reviews

Caught in this quagmire of ethnic emotions, her life becomes exaggerated and unreal. Karina reels through succeeding episodes, each deeper than the previous, yet lives with hope and the fortitude that her life can only improve. It was these crises and associated politics combined with institutional constraints of ancient hatreds, which clouded Karina's life and of thousands of others. She lost everything--her property, her sense of place, and perhaps saddest of all, good neighbors who turned from her in hate; this story relates her determination and success. --Varoujan Karentz, retired corporate executive, Rhode Island Historian, and board member to numerous historical organizations including Heritage Harbor Corporation, Beavertail Lighthouse Museum, and the Armenian Historical Association of Rhode Island. Karina Y. Khachatorian tells a personal and devastatingly powerful tale of the ethnic cleansing (i.e. genocide) of Armenians during the last years of the Soviet Union. Because Armenians have a rich, inspired and courageous history, they were, ever since the early days of the Soviet Union, natural dissidents of Stalin's Communist regime. Accounts such as this cannot be more to-the-heart than one told by someone who lived through it. Shadows Over Baku is such an account. Kudos to Karina for having the courage to shine the light of truth. --Foster Kinn, author of award-winning ""Freedom's Rush: Tales from the Biker and His Beast""

Caught in this quagmire of ethnic emotions, her life becomes exaggerated and unreal. Karina reels through succeeding episodes, each deeper than the previous, yet lives with hope and the fortitude that her life can only improve. It was these crises and associated politics combined with institutional constraints of ancient hatreds, which clouded Karina's life and of thousands of others. She lost everything--her property, her sense of place, and perhaps saddest of all, good neighbors who turned from her in hate; this story relates her determination and success. --Varoujan Karentz, retired corporate executive, Rhode Island Historian, and board member to numerous historical organizations including Heritage Harbor Corporation, Beavertail Lighthouse Museum, and the Armenian Historical Association of Rhode Island. Karina Y. Khachatorian tells a personal and devastatingly powerful tale of the ethnic cleansing (i.e. genocide) of Armenians during the last years of the Soviet Union. Because Armenians have a rich, inspired and courageous history, they were, ever since the early days of the Soviet Union, natural dissidents of Stalin's Communist regime. Accounts such as this cannot be more to-the-heart than one told by someone who lived through it. Shadows Over Baku is such an account. Kudos to Karina for having the courage to shine the light of truth. --Foster Kinn, author of award-winning Freedom's Rush: Tales from the Biker and His Beast

Author Information

Karina Yesayeva Khachatorian was born, raised, and educated in the Soviet Union city of Baku, capital of the Azerbaijan Republic. After fleeing Baku, Azerbaijan, her family settled in Providence, Rhode Island. Karina studied English and achieved an M.B.A. from J & W University in Providence. She became a small business owner, taking advantage of the thriving jewelry industry in her area. She has since sat on numerous boards of non-profit organizations and co-founded a woman's investment club. Inspired by the tales of many other Armenian victims and refugees, Karina wanted to articulate their stories and the voices of the Armenian people as well as tell her own harrowing story of escape as well as her family's finding a new home in America. She is married with two grown children.

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