My Land, My Decision: How Russia and Azerbaijan Are Treating Cultural Property in Contested Territory

We see it in the news every week- Russia has hit another cultural heritage site in Ukraine, but why is this happening? Is this a common practice in warfare? This lecture will address these questions and more pertaining to the rapidly increasing weaponization of cultural property. My research focuses on two major case studies- Russia in Ukraine and Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh. While one is in the news quite often, the other is hardly ever mentioned, and there is a reason for that. In this research I explore the legacy of Nazi and Soviet “trophy art,” the impact they left, and the way the treatment of cultural property in warfare has evolved. Only recently has NATO identified the great importance the protection of cultural property has on regional stability and the four key ways aggressors seek to weaponize cultural property in modern warfare. Both of my case studies examine how Russia and Azerbaijan have utilized all four tactics in their quest not just to conquer these territories but effectively erase and rewrite the history of the region itself. Cultural Hybrid Warfare is the newest frontier, and its destructive potential is the most dangerous to global stability.