Bibliographical or archival information about this photographer based in Shushi has not been found. Shahbazyants is the author of a series of photos stored in the National Library of Armenia, which depict the city’s hospital facilities and its staff. These photographs have an unique historical value, as the hospital was destroyed during the Armenian-Azerbaijani clashes in 1918-20. Shahbazyants' photos are also interesting as evidence of the emerging modern documentary practices in local photography. With their clear and rigorous compositions, these images the spirit of Armenian cultural modernity at the turn of the 20^th century. The hospital's clean and technically well-furnished quarters speak of highly developed urban culture and are suggestive of the significance of Shushi as one of the most key centers of Armenian medicine prior to the Soviet revolution.

Vigen Galstyan, 2016