Published in 2009, Artush and Zaur by Ali Akbar (alias of Alakbar Aliyev) is a novel about the relationship between Artush Saroyan and Zaur Jalilov, an Armenian and Azeri respectively.
Akbar is an Azeri journalist, translator, and writer. He has been based out of Switzerland.
Due to the fact that the plot involves a queer romance between two men, and that they were an Armenian and an Azeri, and that it involved the conflict in Artsakh (early 2000s) the book has been banned in Azerbaijan and from Armenian bookstores. According to news reports at the time, only 500 copies were published.
“I started a war against two stereotypes. See what people [in Azerbaijan] do these days: either they look for someone’s Armenian origins, or they say, ‘I don’t like you, so you must be gay.’ Having a nontraditional sexual orientation is nothing to be ashamed of. There’s no shame in being gay, or in being Armenian. But it is shameful to be corrupt, to be dishonest, to be treacherous. This was a message about two major stereotypes.”
Ali Akbar, 2009 interview with Radio Free Europe
We obtained a PDF copy in Azeri which we ran through an online translation service to produce an English copy. The translation should not be considered authoritative. You can download them here:
