Biography
Born in Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh AO, Azerbaijan SSR. He graduated the Ryazan State Medical University in 1963. From 1971 to 1973 he traversed the Kamchatka and Chokotskaya tundras on dog-sleds, traveling as far as the North Sea. In his essay Hearth, published during the pre-perestroika era, he tried to demonstrate the Armenian identity of Nagorno-Karabakh and identified Nakhichevan as historically belonging to Armenia. He further regarded Turks (including Azerbaijan) as an enemy of both Russia and Armenia. Azeri historian Isa Gambar critizised Balayan's book in an article entitled Old Songs and New Legends
In 1988 he and Armenian poet Silva Kaputikyan were received by Mikhail Gorbachev and discussed the absence of Armenian-language television programs and textbooks in Nagorno-Karabakh schools as well as other concerns of Karabakh's majority-Armenian population.
In October 1993, he signed the Letter of Forty-Two.
Balayan is a journalist for the weekly Russian-language publication Literaturnaya Gazeta.
Read more about this topic: Zori Balayan
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