Oliver Baldwin's Six Prisons and Two Revolutions

In the second episode of Treasures From The Library, our librarian Gagik Stepan-Sarkissian explores the nuanced value in Oliver Baldwin’s Six Prisons and Two Revolutions, which lends itself as an account of Armenia at the turn of the 1920s. A newly independent and hopeful state still fearful of nearby powerful regimes, Baldwin’s eye-witness reports describe the socio-political context of the time and provide great insight that can be corroborated in Leon Surmelian’s memoir I Ask You, Ladies and Gentlemen. The Armenian Institute is a London based charity dedicated to making Armenian culture and history a lived experience through innovative programmes, educational resources, workshops, lectures, exhibits and performances. This year we present Zanazan: an umbrella title covering our upcoming media output, from online and print publications to podcast series. Zanazan Sounds is a project that aims to explore shared histories, learn about contemporary Armenian worlds and create new ones. Zanazan (meaning “variety” in Armenian) is also the title of our latest online publication where photo essays, articles and poetry from around the world can be found. We aim to publish twice a month, taking a different angle each week as we explore our three podcasting strands: Discover, Treasures From The Library and Uncover. You can follow our social media accounts for updates in between episodes. To get involved with AI you can find us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you’d like to reach out, or to discuss anything you’ve heard in this series, feel free to email us anytime at [email protected]