The Spiritual Fever of Kim Bakshi – Love Towards Armenia

In the book “Resurrection of Saint Lazarus”, Russian writer Kim Bakshi writes: “I call such a sudden burst of love towards Armenia ‘the effect of Byron’, as if this repeating phenomenon truly has a physical nature. This is a kind of a spiritual fever that embraces an individual, possibly for the rest of his life.”

These words first of all rightfully concern Bakshi himself. He is one of those noblest people who are capable of loving nations other than their own. Bakshi caught this “fever” in 1964 when he visited Armenia at the assignment of the Russian “Ogoniok” magazine.

Since then, Bakshi became a true specialist of medieval Armenian manuscripts. Like no one else, he harmonized himself with the Armenian culture. Over several decades, he has been researching the history of the Armenian nation. Bakshi is well-acquainted with all painful historical points of the Armenians, feeling for them to a greater degree than some of the Armenians themselves.

Kim Bakshi traveled all over Armenia and visited many countries housing Armenians, such as Iran, Lebanon, Italy, Austria, France, and the US. He studied Armenian manuscripts in numerous libraries around the world, attended many Armenian churches, and socialized with many Armenians.

He wrote six books about the Armenians, one better than the other: “Eagle and the sword”, “Fate and the stone”, “Resurrection of Saint Lazarus”, “About the love from the monastery”, “Our world is like a wheel”, “Frozen time”. Bakshi also wrote the script for the TV series “Matenadaran.” These seven works declare the immense love of the author towards the Armenian people and their country. Aside from those, the writer planned to publish a new book about Artsakh a couple of years ago.

I revere this man as much as I revere the noblest and worthiest of my compatriots!

Silva Kaputikyan writes in the foreword of “Fate and the stone”: “Kim Bakshi delves into the mystery of a small nation’s persistence, demonstrating the erudition of a historian, the ingeniousness of an art critic, the feeling of colors of an artist, the inspiration of a poet, and, most importantly, his love. This love isn’t a short-lived passion but an emotion that soaked into the spirit, becoming one with the flesh and blood.

Museum paintings and temples, miniatures and ornaments are animated by his awe. Grigor Magistros from the 11th century and Mkhitar Gosh from the 13th century become our contemporaries, whereas painter Minas, our contemporary, is matched with medieval miniaturist Toros Roslin.

Deprived of the downside of foreigners – amateurism – Kim Bakshi’s position nonetheless has an advantage, which is the ability to evaluate from a certain distance.”

Due to his jubilee, I reread all the works of Bakshi. I think that there are no other writers in the world who could claim the creative niche that he so dignifiedly occupies. Armenia and its people have many friends, but Kim Bakshi is unique among them. His works aren’t bounded by the Armenian topic. He is a brilliant Russian writer, dramatist, and an author of scripts for over 50 documentaries and popular-science films.

Kim Bakshi was awarded the Movses Khorenatsi prize, the State Prize of the Republic of Armenia, the International Prize of Fridtjof Nansen, the Hovhannes Tumanyan Prize of the Armenian Writers Union, the honorary medal of the Russian-Armenian state university, and the Karpis Papazian prize.

Emanuil Dolbakyan