A Lost World: Evgeniy Voyskunskiy’sMaiden Dreams, the Karabakh Crisis, and the End of Old Baku

Abstract

AbstractThis article examines the first novel about the Karabakh crisis and ethnic cleansing of the Armenian population in the city of Baku.Maiden Dreams(Devich’i Sny), published in 1995, was written by Evgeniy Voyskunskiy, an author born in Baku and generally known for science fiction novels. The novel explores the tragic fate of the city, and it includes stories of persecution and pogroms against the Armenian population in Azerbaijan in the late 1980s and early 1990s in light of the Karabakh conflict.Maiden Dreamsis the story of Baku from the beginning of the 20th century to the turbulent period late in the century when violence and ethnic cleansing had transformed the cosmopolitan, multi-ethnic capital into a homogeneous city with no space for “others.” This article examines the novel from both literary and historical perspectives.