A similar picture could be seen in Lankaran, where the Kyzylgach swamp was completely covered in sedge, milfoils, and a kind of water chestnut that the locals called chilim.
I had already had opportunities to visit the Black Sea coast, but I had never been anywhere else in the Caucasus; my work had never brought me to the Transcaucasian Military District. At Division X I called the fighter regiment where Shilin was serving and we arranged a meeting. Like an old hand at the Caucasus he already knew a suitable place: Lake Sevan. When traveling on business, I usually flew in order to save time – if Division X was sending a team with research equipment, we were given a military transport plane. This time, however, I chose to go by train and see the Caucasus up close.
Armenia’s southern borde
