On March 10, 2023, a public lecture “Aivazovsky and Turkey” was held at the National Library of Armenia. The lecture was given by Lebanese-Armenian researcher, publisher and culturologist Movses Herkelyan.  
Movses Herkelyan was born in 1949 in the village of Aynchar (Lebanon), where he received his primary and secondary education. In the 1970s he studied at the Yerevan State University, later graduated from the Art and Theater Institute.  
Upon his return to Lebanon, Herkelyan worked in the field of education and journalism. He acted as an art teacher, and newspaper editor, specialized in art research. Currently, he is author of more than 20 books and studies dedicated to various artists, including Sergei Parajanov, Arshile Gorky, Vahan Rumelyan, and others. Movses Herkelyan has been published in many well-known Armenian journals (such as Bagin, Azdak, Hask, Horizon, Qamar, Zartonk, Artsiv, Geghard, Asparez, Alik, Ararat, TorontoHai), in international editions, including English Fine Art Magazine (New York), English-French Luxe-Immo (Monaco), multilingual magazine L.I.ART, etc. As the owner of the “Noah's Ark” art gallery in Beirut, he represented the Armenian fine arts at more than 30 international festivals.  
As part of a lecture full of interesting facts and details, Movses Herkelyan presented the life and work of Hovhannes Aivazovsky, touched upon Aivazovsky's relationship with Turkey, and spoke about the Turkish theme in his work. Gerkelyan said that four countries are currently contesting the ownership over Aivazovsky's works: Russians, Turks, Ukrainians, and Armenians. The researcher presented the Turkish "reasons". After the lecture, a lively discussion unfolded, the audience asked many interesting questions.  
At the end of the lecture, Gerkelyan donated 40 art editions to the library, which Anna Chulyan, director of the National Library of Armenia, accepted with gratitude. The large hall of the library was filled with the colors of Aivazovsky's paintings, fine art, bright light, and ripples of the waves of the paintings of the famous marine painter.