Where do Russia and the West fit into the new Armenian government?

Naira Hayrumyan

A month has passed since Armenia’s ‘violet revolution’. The country is being lead by a new prime minister who came from outside the old system, and the new government, young and energetic, is completely unalike any other government that has been in power before.

But what has changed in Armenia, both within the country and within its foreign relations, especially with Russia and the West?

On Voice and Violence in Armenia

Anna Ohanyan

 

Violence as a tool is a failure of imagination. This week saw such a failure in a suburb of the Armenian capital of Yerevan, where a small group opposed to the government faced off against security forces in a dramatic set of hostage crises. Both the government and the oppositionists have failed in imagining a non-violent approach to addressing what at their roots are very real social, political, and economic grievances. The recourse to violence by both the government and the oppositionists is emblematic of a broader failure by the West to engender liberal change in the post-Soviet space.

From Russia with Mania

Vartan Matiossian

A certain "Arevagal" has been cluttering my inbox--and of many other people, probably--for the past three years. Instead of blocking him, I have preferred to use the "Delete" button without even reading most of the time. However, some of his Russomaniac rants have provided comic relief. 

Ari Hadjian: "Armenia’s Younger, Knowledgeable Generation Gives Me Hope That in the Future We Will Be Able to Improve the Nation"

Interview by Armen Nercesian

In 2010, I decided to fulfill my childhood dream and repatriate to the homeland. I was born thousands of miles away in Argentina where I resided until I was 34 and took the opportunity to move to Armenia. In Argentina, I worked at an architectural studio who offered me to move for two years to Zambia, Africa where the competitor’s headquarters were established. Besides the fact that I had no desire to move to Africa, I always said if I were to move anywhere it would be Armenia. Once I understood that my Argentinian job would not send me to Armenia, I contacted a CEO and informed him of my wish to live in Armenia, and my hopes to find a job there. The CEO provided me with wonderful news – he offered me a job at the Zvartnots Airport. After one more year of work in Argentina with the Armenian architectural company approval, I moved to Yerevan, Armenia, near the Matenadaran.

ARF Conference Concludes in Yerevan

On Aug. 24-26, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Bureau held a conference in Yerevan to discuss four key topics: organizational problems, the situation in the Caucasus and its implications on Armenia, the country’s domestic realities, and the relationship between the diaspora and Armenia. ARF delegates and representatives from various Armenian communities in the diaspora, as well as from various regions of Armenia, attended the talks.

Just doom and gloom?

Vartan Matiossian

An anonymous writer who disseminates articles and commentaries hiding behind the moniker "Arevagal" has sent a piece with his comments about a "doom and gloom film" (his label) on Armenia shot by an Austrian. Some of these comments are worthy of reflection (underlining is from the original):