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Russian portal “Kavpolit.com” renowned for its articles covering Caucasus issues was involved in anti-Armenian provocation: on the site, while translating the travel notes of the British traveler Daniel Hamilton serious mistakes were made, and phrase and photos with anti-Armenian content were added, which do not exist in original.

It is noteworthy that Daniel Hamilton has published his notes on a trip to Armenia and Karabakh from May to September, and the "translation" was published on Kavpolit.com site in November.

In the notes made on May 16 Daniel Hamilton writes about the Armenian town of Shushi, emphasizing that the town is often called by its Azeri name ‘Shusha‘ in various guidebooks. In the translation of "the Caucasian Policy" the city is named in Azerbaijani as "Shusha" which is presented as a place-name used by the author.

“Shushi was once one of the largest Armenian towns in the world and the heart of the Caucasus silk trade. It retains some of its historic buildings but saw scenes of some of the most bitter fighting during the Karabakh war. War stories about Shushi are legendary in Karabakh. The town served as a base from which the Azeri army launched missile and shell attacks on Stepanakert before being dramatically recaptured one night by Armenian forces,” the blogger writes.

He notes that during the trip to Shushi one can see the influence of both Christianity and Islam in Nagorno-Karabakh. “Ghazanchetsots Cathedral, which was used by the Azeri army to store missiles during the war, has been fully restored and should not be missed.
Similarly, you should make an effort to visit the Yukhari Govhar Agha mosque which, while no longer in use, is protected by the Nagorno Karabakh Government,” the blogger reports.

In the translation of the "Caucasian policy," we see a discrepancy with the original text: "Today Shusha is a village, but once it was a major city of a Silk Road and the center of the Armenian culture. Many historical buildings are preserved there that are worth seeing. Shusha is a surprising mix of Islamic and Christian civilizations. Visit the local fortress of Ghazanchetsots Cathedral, the 18th century Govhar Agha mosque."

Further, in translation made by D. Jalilova a completely false paragraph, which cannot be found in the original article, appears: "Unlike the other monuments of local architecture, the mosque is in terrible condition. Though officially it is protected by the state, the building is in a dilapidated condition and the people are not allowed to enter. Thus you may admire it only from the outside."

It is noteworthy that Daniel Hamilton, just on the contrary, writes that the mosque is under the patronage of the NKR government.

The translator of the "Caucasian policy" entitled the excerpt about Aghdam "Pigsty in mosque and gardens on the ruins", though text of there is very little information about Aghdam in the original text. Naturally, in the article written by Daniel Hamilton there is nothing said about the pigs grazing in the mosque.

In the article published in "Caucasian policy" among the pictures made by Daniel Hamilton there are also photos of animals grazing in the mosque, however, the British author does not possess such photos and cannot have them as this photo "runs" in the Internet for a long time; a number of Internet sites used to discuss its accuracy. There were suspicions that the photo is mounted with the help of Photoshop. It was this picture and the mentioned above paragraph about the animals in the mosque that caused a number of armenofobic comments on the site of the "Caucasian policy."

Below is the paragraph about Aghdam published on Kavpolit.com. To note in advance that only the phrase "Aghdam is a ghost city” in this text coincides with the original publication.

Thus the fabrications attributed to Daniel Hamilton: "Today Aghdam is a ghost city where there is not a single undamaged building left, except the mosque of the 19th century. The mosque is decorated with blue mosaics and is rather beautiful. But the building is gradually falling apart because of the lack of care. And on the marble floor, where people were once praying cows and pigs graze today. The military allow shooting the mosque. But you can hardly be allowed to walk around the city with a camera. Armenian fortifications are located here which should not be photographed. The cattle is grazing on the ruins, and people from nearby villages come to the gardens that have still remained there to get a harvest, several dozen of homeless people live in deserted houses," D. Jalilova writes in the "translation."

In the translated article were not included the comments of the author concerning the fact that Karabakh had become the part of Azerbaijan due to "the Soviet Russian policy" which was divide and rule," which was aimed at preventing the ethnic groups of strengthening (e.g., Armenians)."

The blogger also writes that Nagorno-Karabakh is a democratic country where the rule of law prevails: “The country held successful Presidential elections in 2012 which received top marks from international election observers (myself included).”

Naturally, this phrase was not included in the "translation" by D. Jalilova where quite a lot of phrases appeared which cannot be found in the original.

P.S.

At the time of publication of this article, the provocative photo was removed from the Kavpolit.com site; probably the editorial office had already guessed that the portal has been exposed, by involving itself into provocation. Armenofobic comments below the article have been removed as well. However, some fabrications of the translator presented as the opinion of the British blogger still remain on the site.

Naturally, we understand that the editor cannot check every translated line and often the work is based on "trust." This incident is likely to contribute to the fact that our colleagues from the "Caucasian policy" will be more responsible in hiring employees and with the trust towards them; otherwise the level of trust towards the portal will be sharply decreased among the audience.