YEREVAN (Public Radio of Armenia)—Historian, researcher and author Samvel Karapetyan, 58, passed away yesterday. His family confirmed the news to Public Radio of Armenia.
Born in 1961, Samvel Karapetian was an expert of medieval architecture, specializing in the study of the historical monuments of Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and neighboring countries.
He surveyed and catalogued thousands of artifacts of Armenian history and architecture during the course of more than two decades.
Karapetyan headed the Yerevan branch of the Research on Armenian Architecture NGO.
Karapetyan was also known as an outspoken critic of the treatment of Armenian monuments in Turkey, Georgia, and Azerbaijan․
He presented his findings to U.S. Congress in 2007 and to the European Court of Human Rights in 2008․
In 2007, Karapetyan won the Armenian Presidential Humanitarian Sciences Prize for his work in literature.
Big loss for our nation. Karapetyan was brilliant and a true patriot. His contribution will always be remembered