ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN AND RUSSIA.

Alexander Lapshin is an Israeli based, Soviet Union born journalist and travel blogger specialising in international relations, military conflicts, human rights and travelling. He is also a former political prisoner of one of the world’s most autocratic regimes, Azerbaijan, after a trip to the disputed territory of Nagorno- Karabakh in 2011 landed the 40-year-old Lapshin in a Belarusian jail in 2016. Later he was abducted to Azerbaijan where he was jailed, beaten and coerced into recognising Nagorno-Karabakh as Azerbaijan territory. Nagorno-Karabakh had for centuries been entirely populated by ethnic Armenians and has been a consistent cause of Armenian-Azeri tensions. Alexander Lapshin addressed The Sydney Institute on Monday 12 February 2024. His visit to Australia was sponsored by the Armenian National Committee of Australia. The paper which follows is an edited transcript of Alexander Lapshin’s address to The Sydney Institute. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]