ArmInfo.The Koghb Foundation held a presentation of the Armenian edition of Oliver Baldwin's book "Six prisons and two revolutions" at the Marriott Armenia hotel in Yerevan, on November 3.
Oliver Baldwin, son of British prime minister Stanley Baldwin, and officer in the Armenian army, wrote the book in the 1920s. And an Armenian edition has now been released.
Arman Barseghyan, Chairman of the Koghb Foundation, said that the value of the book is that it tells the reader about the events in Armenia the author himself was an eyewitness to. "The book is free of Armenian stereotypes," he said. It also contains valuable information on the years 1920 and 1921, which may not be found in other historical records.
"The book is a contemporary one and, in a sense, could contribute to the development of Armenian-British ties. And these factors proved a reason for our publishing the book," he said. Hrant Ter-Abrahamyan, authors of the preface to the Armenian edition, said that Oliver Baldwin arrived in Armenia at the invitation of the then prime minister of Armenia Alexander Khatisyan. He participated in the first battles of the February uprisings and witnessed the Sovietization of Armenia.
According to Mr Ter-Abrahamyan, Oliver Baldwin's civic stand was that of an Armenian as he struggled for Armenian independence.
"It is a most interesting book as it describes the most important period of our history. It is an easy-to-read book of memoirs and, in sense, an adventure book, with the only exception - the adventures were real," he said.
British Ambassador to Armenia John Gallagher and Armenia's Ambassador to Great Britain Varuzhan Nersisyan delivered speeches at the presentation as well.
Five hundred copies of the Armenian edition of "Six prisons and two revolutions" have been printed. Mr Barseghyan explained that the reason is that further research necessitates additions to the preface and epilogue. The book was translated by Leonid Zilfugaryan and edited by Lernik Dallakyan.
The book can be purchased here: https://www.liooli.am/name-141/