Thomas Goltz

Last updated • 3 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Thomas Goltz
Born(1954-10-11)October 11, 1954
Japan
DiedJuly 29, 2023(2023-07-29) (aged 68)
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater New York University
Occupation(s)Journalist and author
Website http://thomasgoltz.com

Thomas Goltz (October 11, 1954 – July 29, 2023) was an American author and journalist best known for his accounts of conflict in the Caucasus region during the 1990s. He spent 15 years in and around Turkey and the Caucasus. [1]

Contents

Career

He directed and co-produced a documentary for Global Vision's Rights and Wrongs program [2] which was a finalist in the Rory Peck Award for excellence in television journalism in 1996 [3] [1] [4]

Goltz has written news for most leading US publications, including the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post. In-depth articles have appeared in Foreign Policy magazine, The National Interest, The Washington Quarterly and other broad-based magazines. In  electronic media, he has worked on or produced video documentaries on a variety of topics for ABC/Nightline, BBC/Correspondent and CBS/60 Minutes. [5]

He became known mainly as a crisis correspondent due to coverage of the first war between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Karabakh, the war of secession in Abkhazia from Georgia and the separatist conflict in Chechnya. [1]

He spent time in Samashki, Chechnya before the massacre happened there. He made video reports about the massacre immediately afterwards. Goltz made a film out of them which was in mainstream in US, UK, and even in Russia. [6]

On August 22, 2000, Goltz carried the symbolic “first barrel of oil” from Baku, Azerbaijan with IMZ sidecar motorcycle, to Ceyhan, Turkey with other 25 riders. They used to future Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline route at the time. The aim was to draw attention to this mega project which symbolizes both Azerbaijan's and Georgia's economic independence. [7] [8]

He lectured at most leading US universities including Columbia, Georgetown, Berkeley, Northwestern, Princeton, etc and foreign policy-related institutes in Azerbaijan, Canada, Georgia, the United Kingdom and the United States. [5] Other than that he was also professor in Montana State University. [9] In 2020, he was awarded an honorary PhD by the ADA University. [10]

Personal life

Thomas Goltz was born in Japan and raised in North Dakota. He graduated from New York University with an MA in Middle East studies. [1] He married to Hicran Oge in 1984 in Istanbul, Turkey. [11] Goltz spoke English, German, Turkish, and Azerbaijani fluently. He knew some Arabic, Russian and Japanese too. [1] [12] He died on July 29, 2023, at the age of 68 after a long illness. [13] [14] [11] Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev sent a condolences message to his family and described Goltz as "great friend of Azerbaijan". [15]

Controversy

The Armenian National Committee of Canada accused Goltz of racism in March 2009 for remarks made at a lecture allegedly sponsored by Assembly of Azerbaijani-Canadian Organizations. According to the Armenian National Committee, Goltz characterized the Armenian inhabitants of Nagorno-Karabakh as "garlic-growing Armenians", and selectively mentioned instances of ethnic cleansing by Armenians against Azerbaijanis while omitting mention of cases of ethnic cleansing of Armenians by Azerbaijanis. [16] [17] [ unreliable fringe source? ]

Books

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Azerbaijan</span> Country straddling West Asia and Eastern Europe

Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a transcontinental country at the boundary of Eastern Europe and West Asia. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia's republic of Dagestan to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia and Turkey to the west, and Iran to the south. Baku is the capital and largest city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Economy of Azerbaijan</span>

The economy of Azerbaijan is highly dependent on oil and gas exports, in particular since the completion of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline. The transition to oil production in the late 1990s led to rapid economic growth over the period 1995–2014. Since 2014, GDP growth has slowed down substantially.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chechnya</span> Republic of Russia in the North Caucasus

Chechnya, officially the Chechen Republic, is a republic of Russia. It is situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, between the Caspian Sea and Black Sea. The republic forms a part of the North Caucasian Federal District, and shares land borders with Georgia to its south; with the Russian republics of Dagestan, Ingushetia, and North Ossetia–Alania to its east, north, and west; and with Stavropol Krai to its northwest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Caucasus</span> Geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and West Asia

The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and West Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan, which are sometimes collectively known as the Caucasian States. The total area of these countries measures about 186,100 square kilometres. The South Caucasus and the North Caucasus together comprise the larger Caucasus geographical region that divides Eurasia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic</span> Former republic of the Soviet Union

The Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, also known as the Transcaucasian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, or simply Transcaucasia, was a republic of the Soviet Union that existed from 1922 to 1936.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline</span> Oil pipeline

The Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline is a 1,768 kilometres (1,099 mi) long crude oil pipeline from the Azeri–Chirag–Gunashli oil field in the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. It connects Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan and Ceyhan, a port on the south-eastern Mediterranean coast of Turkey, via Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. It is the second-longest oil pipeline in the former Soviet Union, after the Druzhba pipeline. The first oil that was pumped from the Baku end of the pipeline reached Ceyhan on 28 May 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heydar Aliyev</span> President of Azerbaijan from 1993 to 2003

Heydar Alirza oghlu Aliyev was an Azerbaijani politician who was a Soviet party boss in the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic from 1969 to 1982, and the third president of Azerbaijan from October 1993 to October 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic</span> Constituent republic of the Soviet Union between 1922 and 1991

The Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, also referred to as the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic, Azerbaijan SSR, Azerbaijani SSR, AzSSR, Soviet Azerbaijan or simply Azerbaijan, was one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union between 1922 and 1991. Created on 28 April 1920 when the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic brought pro-Soviet figures to power in the region, the first two years of the Azerbaijani SSR were as an independent country until incorporation into the Transcaucasian SFSR, along with the Armenian SSR and the Georgian SSR.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Nagorno-Karabakh War</span> 1988–1994 Armenia-Azerbaijan war

The First Nagorno-Karabakh War was an ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan, between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh backed by Armenia, and the Republic of Azerbaijan with support from Turkey. As the war progressed, Armenia and Azerbaijan, both former Soviet republics, entangled themselves in protracted, undeclared mountain warfare in the mountainous heights of Karabakh as Azerbaijan attempted to curb the secessionist movement in Nagorno-Karabakh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Azerbaijan</span>

The history of Azerbaijan is understood as the history of the region now forming the Republic of Azerbaijan. Topographically, the land is contained by the southern slopes of the Caucasus Mountains in the north, the Caspian Sea in the east, and the Armenian Highlands in the west. In the south, its natural boundaries are less distinct, and here the country merges with the Iranian Plateau.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nagorno-Karabakh conflict</span> 1988–2024 conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is an ethnic and territorial conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, inhabited mostly by ethnic Armenians until 2023, and seven surrounding districts, inhabited mostly by Azerbaijanis until their expulsion during the 1990s. The Nagorno-Karabakh region was entirely claimed by and partially controlled by the breakaway Republic of Artsakh, but was recognized internationally as part of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan gradually re-established control over Nagorno-Karabakh region and the seven surrounding districts.

Isgandar Majid oglu Hamidov was an Azerbaijani politician, Minister of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan who served in the Popular Front government of 1992–1993. He was a nationalist and anti-communist. He played a key role in preventing Ayaz Mutallibov's 1992 self-coup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Baku</span> 1918 battle between Ottoman–Azerbaijani forces and Bolshevik–Dashnak forces

The Battle of Baku took place in August and September 1918 between the Ottoman–Azerbaijani coalition forces led by Nuri Pasha and Bolshevik–ARF Baku Soviet forces, later succeeded by the British–Armenian–White Russian forces led by Lionel Dunsterville and saw Soviet Russia briefly re-enter the war. The battle took place during World War I, was a conclusive part of the Caucasus Campaign, but a beginning of the Armenian–Azerbaijani War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas de Waal</span> British journalist (born 1966)

Thomas Patrick Lowndes de Waal is a British journalist and writer on the Caucasus. He is a senior fellow at Carnegie Europe. He is best known for his 2003 book Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan Through Peace and War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Azerbaijan–Georgia relations</span> Bilateral relations

Foreign relations exist between Azerbaijan and Georgia, two neighboring small nations which were former Republics of the Soviet Union. Azerbaijan has an embassy in Tbilisi and Georgia has an embassy in Baku. Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC). The two countries are among the four founding members of the GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development along with Ukraine and Moldova.

Svante E. Cornell is a Swedish scholar specializing on politics and security issues in Eurasia, especially the South Caucasus, Turkey, and Central Asia. He is a director and co-founder of the Stockholm-based Institute for Security and Development Policy (ISDP), and Research Director of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program (CACI), and joined the American Foreign Policy Council as a Senior Fellow for Eurasia in January 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Caucasus</span> Past events in the Caucasus region

The history of the Caucasus region may be divided by geography into the history of the North Caucasus (Ciscaucasia), historically in the sphere of influence of Scythia and of Southern Russia, and that of the South Caucasus in the sphere of influence of Persia, Anatolia, and Assyria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baku–Novorossiysk pipeline</span> Azerbaijan-Russia gas transporter

The Baku–Novorossiysk pipeline is an 1,330-kilometre (830 mi) long oil pipeline, which runs from the Sangachal Terminal near Baku to the Novorossiysk terminal at the Black Sea coast in Russia. The Azerbaijani section of the pipeline is operated by the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) and the Russian section is operated by Transneft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assa (river)</span> River in Georgia and Russia

The Assa is a right tributary of the Sunzha in Georgia and Russia. It is located in Dusheti Municipality of Mtskheta-Mtianeti, Georgia; and in Dzheyrakhsky and Sunzhensky Districts of Ingushetia and in Sernovodsky and Achkhoy-Martanovsky Districts of Chechnya, Russia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">11th Army (RSFSR)</span>

The 11th Army was a field army of the Red Army during the Russian Civil War, which fought on the Caspian-Caucasian Front. It took a prominent part in the sovietization of the three republics of the southern Caucasus in 1920–21, when Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia were brought within the orbit of Soviet Russia.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Gausan, Robert. "Thomas Goltz - Biography". IMDb. Archived from the original on 2023-09-27. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
  2. ↑ "Rights and Wrongs Series: Europe, Chechnya: Russia's Human Rights Nightmare | Alexander Street, part of Clarivate". search.alexanderstreet.com. Archived from the original on 2023-09-27. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
  3. ↑ Goltz, Thomas (1996-12-29). "U.S. Quietly Abandons the Kurds of Northern Iraq". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2023-09-27. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
  4. ↑ "News Award". The Rory Peck Trust. Archived from the original on 2023-06-08. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
  5. 1 2 "Thomas Goltz: books, biography, latest update". Amazon.com. Archived from the original on 2023-09-27. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
  6. ↑ "BOOK REVIEW". Jamestown. Retrieved 2023-12-20.
  7. ↑ "Oil Odyssey 2000". Azerbaijan International : 60–61. 2001.
  8. 1 2 "Oil Odyssey". Amazon. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
  9. ↑ "Thomas Goltz | Pulitzer Center". Pulitzer Center. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
  10. ↑ TheEditor (2021-06-15). "American author Goltz: Eccentric regional icon still at it". The Tribune. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
  11. 1 2 3 "Thomas Caufield Goltz Obituary 2023". Franzen-Davis Funeral Home, Crematory and Monument Company. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
  12. ↑ Blair, Betty (2006). "The Caucasus Trilogy Azerbaijan, Chechnya and Georgia". Azer (14): 66–67.
  13. ↑ American writer Thomas Goltz who wrote about Khojaly tragedy passed away
  14. ↑ Pope, Hugh (2023-08-01). "RIP Thomas Goltz, the journalist who knew no limits". Hugh Pope. Archived from the original on 2023-09-27. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
  15. ↑ "To the family of Thomas Goltz". President.az. 29 July 2023. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  16. ↑ "ANCC: American professor made racist and derogatory remarks about Armenians". PanARMENIAN.Net . 10 March 2009. Archived from the original on 4 January 2024.
  17. ↑ "'Let the garlic-growing Armenians beg to join you [Azerbaijan]'". Armenian Weekly . 10 March 2009. Archived from the original on 24 October 2013. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
  18. ↑ Requiem for a would-be republic: The rise and demise of the former Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan : a personal account of the years 1991-1993. Istanbul: The Isis Press. 1994-01-01. ISBN   978-975-428-068-5.
  19. ↑ Goltz, Thomas Caufield (1994). Requiem for a would-be republic : the rise and demise of the former Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan; a personal account of the years 1991 - 1993 (1. publ. ed.). ISBN   978-975-428-068-5.
  20. ↑ "Azerbaijan Diary: A Rogue Reporter's Adventures in an Oil-rich, War-torn, Post-Soviet Republic". Amazon. Archived from the original on 2023-09-27. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
  21. ↑ Abdel-Hassan, Mohamed Aziz (2018-01-30). "Geopolitical dimensions to build the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Nabucco gas pipeline to Western Europe". International Journal of Multidisciplinary and Current Research. 6 (1). doi: 10.14741/ijmcr.v6i01.10909 . ISSN   2321-3124.
  22. ↑ "An Oil Odyssey". 2021-02-07. Archived from the original on 2023-03-26. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
  23. ↑ "Oil Odyssey by Thomas Goltz, Judy Gunderson-Muncy". app.thestorygraph.com. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
  24. ↑ CHECHNYA DIARY | Kirkus Reviews.
  25. ↑ Chechnya Diary: A War Correspondent's Story of Surviving the War in Chechnya. ISBN   0312268742.
  26. ↑ "Georgia Diary: A Chronicle of War and Political Chaos in the Post-Soviet Caucasus". Amazon. Archived from the original on 2023-09-27. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
  27. ↑ "Amazon.com: Türkiye Diary ('The Bridge'): Forty Years Of Intimate Association With A Wayward US Eurasian Ally eBook : Goltz, Thomas: Kindle Store". Amazon. Archived from the original on 2023-09-27.
  28. ↑ Chaffetz, David (2020-11-30). ""Türkiye Diary (The Bridge): Forty Years Of Intimate Association With A Wayward US Eurasian Ally" by Thomas Goltz". Archived from the original on 2022-11-25. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
  29. ↑ Zakhrafa : Memories of a disappearing Middle East. New Silk Road LLC / Publishing. 2021-09-01.
  30. ↑ "Zakhrafa". 2021-08-29. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.