Book Launch: Gurghen Sarkissian's “My Memoirs (1914-1921)”

Sis Publications, an imprint of the Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church, has just released a bilingual edition of “My Memoirs (1914-1921),” the unfinished recollections of Gurghen Sarkissian (1898-1972), which constitute a valuable testimony of the crucial period leading to the foundation and demise of the first independent Republic of Armenia. Vartan Matiossian, Executive Director of the Eastern Prelacy and editor and translator of the book, presented it on Sunday, June 13, at the hall of the St. Gregory the Illuminator Church in Philadelphia, under the auspices of His Eminence Archbishop Anoushavan Tanielian, Prelate, following Divine Liturgy.

(Treasures of NAASR’s Mardigian Library) May 28: Vratsian’s Hayastani Hanrapetutʻiwn and Hovannisian’s The Republic of Armenia

May 28 marks the establishment of the Republic of Armenia in 1918, providing us with the opportunity to look back on two monuments to the short-lived but historically important republic: Hayastani Hanrapetutʻiwn (Հայաստանի Հանրապետութիւն = The Republic of Armenia), by Simon Vrats‘ean (Սիմոն Վրացեան, also Vratsian or Vratzian; we will use the spelling Vratsian in this piece), published in 1928 in Paris, and the second revised edition published in 1958 in Beirut; and Richard G. Hovannisian’s 4-volume The Republic of Armenia (1971, 1982, 1996). We will also touch upon the very direct connection between these two landmark publications and their respective authors.

The Society for Armenian Studies Organizes an International Conference on the First Republic of Armenia

An international conference, “Innovative Approaches to the History of the First Republic of Armenian, 1918-1920,” will take place from noon-3:00PM on Thursday, November 15, 2018 in San Antonio, Texas. The conference, co-sponsored by the Society for Armenian Studies (SAS) and the Armenian Communities Department of the Gulbenkian Foundation, will be held in the Travis D (3) room of the Grand Hyatt San Antonio in conjunction with the Middle East Studies Association 52nd Annual Meeting to take place at the same hotel between November 15-18, 2018.

The YMCA during the First Republic of Armenia: An Exhibit in Yerevan

The United States Ambassador to the Republic of Armenia, Richard M. Mills, Jr., recently toured the exhibit American Relief in the First Republic of Armenia, sponsored by the Armenian National Institute (ANI) and the Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly), depicting the critical humanitarian role played by two courageous American YMCA officials during the first republic of Armenia.
On display at the Naregatsi Art Institute in Yerevan, the exhibit was created by ANI to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Republic. It highlights the role of John Elder and James O. Arroll, who rendered exceptional service during the critical early months of the republic in 1918 when a severe humanitarian crisis gripped the newborn country as it struggled with the consequences and violence of World War I.

The Tragedy of Armenia's First Prime Minister: Too Blunt and Now Forgotten

Gil Troy

 

Hoping to be the George Washington of the Caucasus, Hovhannes Kajaznuni helped found the first Republic of Armenia one hundred years ago, only to end up trashed by some Armenians as its sniveling Neville Chamberlain, hailed by others as Armenia’s truth-telling Isaiah, but mostly forgotten today.

The Armenian state is one of the world’s youngest, founded after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. The Armenian people, however, trace their history back 3,000 years – and should be celebrating the centenary of their Republic, founded in May, 1918.

First Republic Centennial Conference in Columbia University Releases Final Program and Details

The First Republic of Armenia Centennial Conference is rapidly approaching, with the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Eastern Region United States sponsoring the event next week, May 11-12, at Columbia University in New York City.

The conference is co-sponsored by the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR), the Armenian Review, and the Columbia Armenian Students’ Association, on the occasion of the Republic’s centennial.

As noted previously, the conference will include noted speakers from around the globe, who bring a wealth of knowledge on various topics related to Armenia and its past, present, and future. For a full listing of panels, speakers, and topics, please see the schedule below.

Virabyan, Matiossian, and Astourian to Present at the ARF’s First Republic Conference

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Western United States, in collaboration with the California State Northridge Armenian Studies Program, has organized a two-day academic conference, “Armenian Statehood Reborn: Achievements and Reflections,” to mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of the first Republic of Armenia. The conference will take place on Saturday, May 5 and Sunday, May 6 at the Plaza del Sol Hall on the campus of CSU Northridge.

During this two-day academic conference, the program will feature presentations by Dr. Amatuni Virabyan, Dr. Vartan Matiossian, and Dr. Stephan Astourian, among others.

ARF Eastern U.S. Announces Schedule for First Republic Centennial Conference

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Eastern U.S. has announced the program schedule for the First Republic of Armenia Centennial Conference, taking place May 11-12 at Columbia University in New York.
The event is co-sponsored by the Armenian Review and the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR) on the occasion of the republic’s centennial.

Centennial Minus One: The Complicated Trek of May 28 in the Armenian Diaspora

Ara Sanjian

 

In exactly one year from now many Armenians across the globe will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the proclamation of an independent republic in Armenia during the final months of the First World War. Depending on when they locate the ultimate collapse of the last Armenian medieval kingdom, most Armenians will tell you that this proclamation on May 28, 1918 marked the return of an independent Armenian entity to the world political map after a hiatus of nearly six to nine centuries. They will also add that this proclamation was the most unfailing sign of the rebirth of the Armenian people, only three years after the genocide it had suffered in the Ottoman Empire.
In 2015, the government of Armenia succeeded in bringing together almost all influential organizations in the far-flung Armenian Diaspora to impressively mark and on a worldwide scale the centennial of the darkest page in modern Armenian history. Preparations for the genocide centennial had begun in earnest four years earlier – with the Armenian president establishing on April 23, 2011 a state commission to coordinate the events dedicated to the 100th commemoration of the Armenian Genocide.