AW: Glimpses into the ARF Photo Archives: Armenians and Their Neighbors

In my previous articles delving into photographs from the ARF Archives, we saw some familiar and unfamiliar visuals from our history and culture over the past century and more. One clear takeaway is that the Armenian people have never lived in a vacuum. Empires have passed over the lands where Armenians have lived. Large-scale conflicts have reverberated among the Armenian people, not least of which the Genocide during the First World War. Armenians themselves have also participated in and helped shape fashions and trends around them – including, not coincidentally, the spread of photography in the Middle East.

Unsurprisingly, then, there are subjects among the photographs in the archives outside of exclusively Armenian circles.

ARF Photo Archives – Box 1, Photo 15

For example, here we have a group photo of Turkish military personnel. Below, more specifically, is one Mustafa Vefa Bey who, it says on the back of the photo, was a spy assassinated in Tiflis (Tbilisi).

ARF Photo Archives – Box 10, Photo 40

The picture below is a bit more mysterious, as it is merely labelled “Տաճկական Հիւպատոս” in Armenian on the back – “Turkish Consul.”

ARF Photo Archives – Box 3, Photo 186

This picture does not match the stereotypical visualizations of Turks in Armenian discourse (for which, see the images above). There is something domestic and avuncular about this man, his dog and a granddaughter, perhaps, on a trike.

There are also a number of photographs with Kurdish themes in the collection – many more than Turkish ones. The ARF photo archives reflect a turbulent time in the 1920s and 1930s after the Genocide and the establishment of the USSR and the Republic of Turkey, when Kurdish and Armenian groups collaborated in armed movements. The most significant such uprising was the Ararat Rebellion in the late 1920s, led by the Khoyboun (Xoybûn) party. Below are two of its members.

ARF Photo Archives – Box 10, Photo 47

Ardashes Mouradian, in the picture below, was an ARF agent within that group. He went by Zeynal or Ziylan Bey, and was eventually abducted across the border into the USSR and probably killed on the orders of the Soviet leadership.

ARF Photo Archives – Box 6, Photo 169

Sheikh Mahmoud Barzanji also features in a couple of photographs in the collection.

ARF Photo Archives – Box 10, Photo 37

He was a Kurdish leader in uprisings against British rule in the north of newly-established Iraq in the 1920s. It is not clearly marked in the images, however, what the Armenian or specifically ARF connection might have been with his activities.

This series of brief articles is meant above all to invite you to visit arfarchives.org/photograph. Click around on the website. You might find a fascinating page from your family history or see directly the ups and downs of the Armenian nation in the last hundred-plus years.

Nareg Seferian has lived, studied and worked in New Delhi, Yerevan, Santa Fe, Boston, Vienna, Istanbul and Washington, DC. His writings can be read at naregseferian.com.


Meet IALA’s new advisory board members

The International Armenian Literary Alliance (IALA) is pleased to introduce its new advisory board members: Shushan Avagyan, Susan Barba and Anahit Ghazaryan.

Shushan Avagyan (b. 1976) is the author of two experimental novels Girq-anvernagir (A Book, Untitled, 2006) and Zarubyani kanayq (2014), and co-author, with the Queering Yerevan Collective, of Queered: What’s to Be Done with X-Centric Art (2011). She has translated several classics of the early Soviet avant-garde into English, including A Hunt for OptimismThe Hamburg ScoreOn the Theory of Prose by Viktor Shklovsky (Dalkey Archive Press) and Art and Production by Boris Arvatov (Pluto Press). She revived Shushanik Kurghinian’s work by translating and publishing the bilingual edition I Want to Live: Poems of Shushanik Kurghinian (AIWA Press). Her articles, translations and interviews have appeared in Contemporary Women’s WritingThe Review of Contemporary FictionAsymptoteInTranslationThe International Literary QuarterlyMusic and LiteratureLos Angeles Review of Books and elsewhere.

Avagyan grew up in Soviet Armenia and lived in Zambia and Ethiopia with her parents who taught there as part of the Soviet Teach Abroad Program. After graduating from Khachik Dashtents School in Yerevan, she went to study at the Melkonian Educational Institute in Nicosia, Cyprus. She received her undergraduate degree in studio art with a focus on printmaking and book arts from Cedar Crest College, and her master’s and doctoral degrees in English studies from Illinois State University. She lives in Yerevan and teaches at the American University of Armenia, where she coordinates the Certificate in Translation program.

Susan Barba is the author of Fair Sun, winner of the Anahid Literary Award and the Minas & Kohar Tölölyan Prize, and geode, a finalist for the New England Book Awards and the Massachusetts Book Awards. She is a co-editor, with Victoria Rowe, of I Want to Live: Poems of Shushanik Kurghinian, and the editor of American Wildflowers: A Literary Field Guide, which won the 2023 American Horticultural Society Book Award. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times MagazineThe New York Review of BooksPoetry, The New Republic and elsewhere, and her poems have been translated into Armenian, German, Swedish and Romanian. She earned her doctorate in comparative literature from Harvard University, and she has received fellowships from MacDowell and Yaddo. She works as a senior editor for New York Review Books. Learn more by visiting www.susanbarba.net

Anahit Ghazaryan is a writer, visual artist and researcher from Yerevan, Armenia. In the last several years, Ghazaryan has worked with text, audio and visual materials, including photography, and most recently with documentary theater play and film. Ghazaryan was the co-producer of the Akanjogh Podcast (2019-2021), the first podcast on feminism in Armenia. Additionally, Ghazaryan has co-authored two books. The first book, Border-play | The Armenian and the Armenian, is a discussion about the relationship between two language backgrounds, Eastern Armenian and Western Armenian. Her second book Dark Matter: Notes on War came out in November 2022 and chronicles a painful, honest conversation between two friends, providing an unfiltered perspective on the personal impacts of war.

Ghazaryan has been researching the life and work of Maryam Shahinyan (1911-1996), the first woman professional studio photographer in the Republic of Turkey, for more than six years. In 2021, she curated an exhibition of Shahinyan’s original photos that she found and collected during her time in Istanbul at the 4Plus Documentary Photography Center in Yerevan. In 2022, she completed the production of “Foto Galatasaray,” a full-length documentary on Shahinyan’s life and work. The film is currently in post-production. In 2023, Ghazaryan, as a playwright, created a Documentary Performance titled “Planned Outage,” delving into the nostalgic childhood memories of those born after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Currently, she is working on a new documentary performance exploring dating culture in Armenia.

IALA supports and celebrates writers by fostering the development and distribution of Armenian literature in the English language. Founded in 2021, IALA develops emerging Armenian writers, supports established authors, promotes Armenian literature and fosters intercultural exchange. IALA’s annual programs include grants in translation and creative writing, a mentorship program for emerging writers and the Young Armenian Poets Awards, which lifts up the next generation of Armenian writers. You can learn more on www.armenianliterary.org.

The International Armenian Literary Alliance is a nonprofit organization launched in 2021 that supports and celebrates writers by fostering the development and distribution of Armenian literature in the English language. A network of Armenian writers and their champions, IALA gives Armenian writers a voice in the literary world through creative, professional, and scholarly advocacy.


Literary Lights 2024: Featuring Ariel Djanikian

The International Armenian Literary Alliance (IALA), the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR) and the Krikor and Clara Zohrab Information Center are pleased to invite you to the second event of their 2024 reading series, Literary Lights, featuring Ariel Djanikian, author of the Barnes & Noble October 2023 book selectionThe Prospectors. Djanikian will be joined by Aline Ohanesian, author of the critically acclaimed novel, Orhan’s Inheritance. The event will take place virtually on March 9, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific | 1:00 p.m. Eastern | 10:00 p.m. Armenia time. Register here.

Bringing the Klondike and turn-of-the-century California to vivid life, Djanikian weaves an ambitious narrative of claiming the American Dream and its rippling effects across generations. Sweeping and awe-inspiring, The Prospectors is an unforgettable story of family loyalties that interrogates the often-overlooked hostilities and inequities born during the Gold Rush era. Learn more about the novel.

Ariel Djanikian was born in Philadelphia and attended the University of Pennsylvania. She holds an MFA from the University of Michigan and is the previous recipient of a Fulbright grant, Meijer Fellowship, Cowden Award and Hopwood Award. She is the author of the novel The Office of Mercy, and her writing has appeared in Tin House, Alaska Quarterly Review, Glimmer Train, The Millions and The Rumpus. She currently lives near D.C. with her husband and children and teaches fiction writing at Georgetown University.Aline Ohanesian is the author of the critically acclaimed novel, Orhan’s Inheritance, which was long listed for the Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize, a Summer 2015 Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers pick, an April 2014 Indie Next pick and an Amazon Top 25 pick for 2015. The novel was also a finalist for the PEN Bellwether Award for Socially Engaged Fiction and has been translated into 13 languages. She lives and writes in San Juan Capistrano, California with her husband and two young sons.

Literary Lights 2024 is a monthly reading series organized by IALA, NAASR and the Krikor and Clara Zohrab Information Center. Each event, held online, will feature a writer reading from their work, followed by a discussion with an interviewer and audience members. Keep an eye on our website and socials for the exact dates of each event. Read along with the series by purchasing titles from the IALA Bookstore or the NAASR Bookstore.

The International Armenian Literary Alliance is a nonprofit organization launched in 2021 that supports and celebrates writers by fostering the development and distribution of Armenian literature in the English language. A network of Armenian writers and their champions, IALA gives Armenian writers a voice in the literary world through creative, professional, and scholarly advocacy.


Armenian community of Jerusalem initiates legal action to protect the historic Cows’ Garden

JERUSALEM—On February 18, the Armenian community of the historic Armenian Quarter officially filed a lawsuit to invalidate the lease between the Armenian Patriarchate and Xana Capital.

The community’s legal action asserts that the property is held in trust specifically for the benefit of the Armenian community pursuant to a waqf trust established more than 400 years ago. Under the waqf trust, which is legally enforceable, the property cannot be leased or sold by the Patriarchate if the transaction does not inure to the direct benefit of the Armenian community and if the transaction is not consented to by the Armenian community. Here, the transaction has neither been consented to by the Armenian community nor does it inure to the benefit of the Armenian community.

The Armenian community’s position aligns squarely with the stance of the Saint James Brotherhood. In 2021, 17 members of the Brotherhood, a majority of the members of the supreme body of the Patriarchate, issued a statement publicly opposing the deal and declaring that the Patriarch lacked the requisite authority and conditions to execute the purported agreement. As such, the Armenian community’s legal case underlines the Patriarchate’s lack of authority to enter into this specific deal.

The community’s lawsuit gives necessary legal voice and crucial legal strength to the objective of canceling the purported agreement and protecting the land – a goal the Armenian community, the Armenian Patriarchate and the global Armenian diaspora share. The Armenian community has specific rights that must be raised and protected by the Armenian community itself. This land holds immense historical and cultural significance, symbolizing the community’s and the Patriarchate’s enduring presence in the region, and the community is committed to preserving the integrity of the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem and protecting itself from the existential threat posed by this purported deal with Xana Capital.

Since the community learned of the illegal lease, community members had weekly demonstrations to vocalize their stance against the deal. The community has remained on the ground for over 100 days, camping in tents 24/7 to defend against physical threats and attacks on the land. The community understands that its very survival hinges on protecting this land. It now presses forward to enforce its historic rights on the land itself and to confirm the invalidity of the lease in the District Court of Jerusalem. Importantly, the community’s lawsuit bolsters the Patriarchate’s existing lawsuit with crucial arguments that are within the community’s rights in order to halt this attack on the community’s historic presence, heritage and existence in the Old City of Jerusalem.

The Armenian community of Jerusalem stands as one united voice. It stands together for the principle that only justice will suffice. It stands firmly on the belief that the lack of transparency and collaboration with the community is what has brought the Armenian Quarter to this existential moment – and that it is enough. The community will fight until the end to ensure that the Armenian Quarter remains untouched, that it remains Armenian and that it remains for the benefit of the Armenian people. These are the very principles that have united the global Armenian world – and our allies who understand the value of that unique mosaic that is the Old City of Jerusalem – to save the Armenian Quarter.

The community has been committed to carrying out this powerfully unifying mandate on the ground, and it is now establishing its legal rights in the courts. Hundreds of community members have signed in support of the legal fight to protect their historic rights and to protect this crucial property that has served the Armenian community for generations over the centuries, from a place for sustenance and social life to a refuge to house Armenian Genocide survivors, to providing access to the people to their schools, churches and community institutions. The Armenian community will stand in defense of its rights on the ground and in the courts.

The community insists that the parties to the lawsuit, and those under their direction, refrain from any and all retaliatory measures against community members. To this end, the people ask the international community to remain vigilant, to stand with the Armenian community against any such threats and to continue to voice their support for the Armenian community in its unwavering commitment to protect the Cows’ Garden, to protect the rights of the Armenian community and to protect the very future of the Armenian people in Jerusalem.




AW: Bringing “shoorch bar” to high school stages

Every year, my school, Bergen County Academies (BCA), holds an assembly titled “International Day of Acceptance” (IDA). This student-facilitated performance is a blend of cultures and backgrounds coming together to bring light to our multicultural community in Hackensack, New Jersey. Following months of preparation – including emails, auditions, practices, dress rehearsals and wardrobe procurement – student groups perform for their fellow students and faculty. Each group receives around five minutes total for their performance, including an introduction to the culture followed by the dance performance. Student leaders choose the melodies, along with choreographing, coordinating and preparing the performances. 

One main emphasis of this assembly is that a student does not need to be a part of a certain ethnicity to join their group. For instance, in my freshman year I chose to perform as part of the Hispanic IDA, dancing styles such as bachata, samba and merengue. Without any Hispanic dance background and just a pure interest in Hispanic culture, I enjoyed getting on stage to perform these various dances. Consequently, I returned the next year as a sophomore and now in my junior year as a co-leader.

While I have enjoyed my time in other groups, since freshman year I have always thought about what it would be like to have my Armenian culture on the BCA stage. There are just a few students with Armenian backgrounds at BCA, probably just six at most throughout all four grades. However, while our numbers are small, my culture is so grand in my heart that it pushed my desire to be represented at the IDA assembly. Just because there is small representation in my school environment, that does not mean that the students shouldn’t learn about our long history of arts and customs. Especially with recent events, and the resilience of Armenians in Armenia and Artsakh alike, it was crucial that I took this step. I put my thoughts into action, and this year I led the first ever Armenian IDA performance along with the help of another fellow Armenian classmate, Heidi Borekciyan.

Heidi Borekciyan and Seta Sahagian

It started with an interest email, the first step in bringing this idea to life. Then came recruitment, gathering my friends of all backgrounds to join. I expressed that this performance was more than a dance and has deeper meaning rooted in our fight as a nation. Then came the practices, staying after school on Tuesday evenings to learn choreography. I decided to combine six different Armenian melodies, including slow rhythms and fast beats. I wanted to capture the full Armenian spectrum, showing the beauty of our instruments that shine through in slower songs and the firm, upbeat nature of our battle or party dances. The choreography included songs from music geniuses such as Ara Gevorgian, Tata Simonyan and Karnig Sarkissian. 

During practices, as we went through the various styles, I would ask students which they liked the best. Many of my friends would say the “shoorch bars,” as they linked pinkies to dance in unison. As a young Armenian, these dances have been a large part of my life, whether at camp, Armenian dances or celebrations. To hear my “odar” (non-Armenian) friends say this made me realize how they can learn about the other half of my life. These friends said, “Now we can do this at your birthday,” or “I remember seeing you do this dance; now we can too.” With all my non-Armenian friends, I will certainly be playing some “Anapati Arev” at our next outing. 

As the performance neared, a lot of attention was placed on cleaning up formations and moves and our appearance on stage. This is where outfits came into question. Outfits would be crucial to fully showcasing the beauty of Armenian dance. I crafted a letter to send via email to various Armenian dance groups to borrow outfits for the performance. As these are important pieces in many groups’ performances, I promised that they would be kept in good condition, and any damage caused by the students would be corrected through payment. Looking to my Armenian community, I hoped that these groups would see the message I was trying to spread within my school walls. Unfortunately, I was faced with blank stares and barriers. Everyone either sought hundreds of dollars, which was not feasible for a student group, or did not respond to our inquiry. 

This experience taught me a great deal about the power of a few – a few thoughts and then a few Armenians coming together to attempt the growth of an idea. A few conversations with my friends turned into dancing together on stage in traditional Armenian dress.

Finally, shortly before the performance, I received an affirmative response. Sylva Asadourian from the Akh’tamar Dance Ensemble graciously allowed us to borrow about two dozen outfits. I am very thankful for her giving nature, for supporting a spark in the Armenian youth. Not only did all the dancers enjoy wearing traditional clothing, admiring the patterns on the skirts, but the audience continuously gave compliments about our appearance in the performance. 

This experience taught me a great deal about the power of a few – a few thoughts and then a few Armenians coming together to attempt the growth of an idea. A few conversations with my friends turned into dancing together on stage in traditional Armenian dress. All these girls came together because of some Armenian girl they knew and an idea she had. I feel lucky to have such committed and educated friends.

It is also important that we learn from our experiences to better our communities and create a future for the youth to take action. As an Armenian school graduate, member of the AYF and child of the Armenian church community, I have been surrounded by the idea of the Armenian community. As the youth, it is our duty to step up and spread the message of our people. We should use our connections to help one another for the united, shared cause to keep our multi-millennia-old identity alive. 

However, as I prepared for this performance, it was difficult for me to utilize these connections, especially when searching for group outfits. As a community, we should not look for profits and or be silent as the diaspora attempts to serve the Armenian community. Our Armenian dance ensembles and organizations are in place in order to educate, share and grow global understanding of the presence of Armenians. With that, actions speak louder than words. Let us help the youth to educate their classmates about Armenia, bring Armenian dance to their schools and continue our fight.

My mom was the backbone in letting this idea become a reality, from helping me choose songs and coordinate outfits to picking me up from school. She had watched me prepare for the four-minute performance for months. As she watched me on stage with 16 other students from my school, I could see her eyes shine. Hints of water reflected through them, as she watched high school students of all backgrounds – Japanese, Indian, Polish and Hispanic – come together for the Armenian cause. Every Armenian parent looks to their child to continue the cause, the fight of our ancestors. I could see the pride in my mother’s eyes and the pride of my great-grandparents from 100 years ago. It made getting on stage and dancing for my school community the most worthwhile.

For all the diasporan Armenians: You will be faced with challenges, whether it is being told “no” or struggling to find those who have a will as strong as yours. Be the one to start the group, reach out and represent our nation in every aspect of your life. The Armenian storybook only comes to life if there are storytellers to teach the tales of our people. Dance, sing, read, write, speak and share in any capacity you can. This is what it means to be Armenian.

Watch the Armenian IDA performance at https://youtu.be/chPqJR7ZkaQ

Seta Sahagian is 17 years old, a member of the AYF New Jersey "Arsen" Chapter and a graduate of Sipan Armenian School. She attends Bergen County Academies (BCA) in Hackensack, New Jersey.


RFE/RL Armenian Service – 02/20/2024

                                        Tuesday, 

Armenia, Azerbaijan Preparing For Further Talks

        • Shoghik Galstian

U.S. -- Foreign Ministers Ararat Mirzoyan of Armenia and Jeyhun Bayramov of 
Azerbaijan meet in Washington, November 7, 2022.


Armenia and Azerbaijan are discussing the date and venue of an upcoming meeting 
of their foreign ministers, the Armenian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

The leaders of the two South Caucasus states reached an agreement on that 
meeting during weekend talks in Munich hosted by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. 
They said the ministers will focus on an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty.

“The parties are working out [a date for the meeting,]” Ani Badalian, the 
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. “In case of 
reaching a final agreement, we will inform you further.”

It remained unclear whether the upcoming negotiations will be direct or mediated 
by a third party.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had been scheduled to host his Armenian 
and Azerbaijani counterparts in Washington last November. Azerbaijan’s Foreign 
Minister Jeyhun Bayramov withdrew from the trilateral meeting in protest against 
what his office called pro-Armenian statements made by a senior U.S. diplomat. 
Washington afterwards failed to convince the Azerbaijani leadership to 
reschedule it.

Speaking three days before Saturday’s summit, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev 
said that Baku “doesn’t need mediators to normalize relations with Yerevan” and 
that the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict “should be removed from the international 
agenda.”

Yerevan has insisted on continued Western mediation. In the run-up to the Munich 
talks, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian accused Baku of walking away from 
understandings reached during his earlier encounters with Aliyev organized by 
the European Union. But he said on Sunday that both sides are “committed to 
those understandings” relating to the basic parameters of the peace treaty.

“A number of articles of the peace treaty have been agreed but a number of 
articles of fundamental importance have not yet been agreed, and efforts must be 
made in that direction,” said Pashinian.




Karabakh Leaders ‘Working On Mass Repatriation’ (UPDATED)

        • Ruzanna Stepanian
        • Astghik Bedevian

A satellite image shows a long traffic jam of vehicles along the Lachin corridor 
as ethnic Armenians flee from the Nagorno-Karabakh, September 26, 2023.


A member of Nagorno-Karabakh’s exiled leadership said on Tuesday that it is 
taking “concrete steps” for the eventual repatriation of the region’s ethnic 
Armenian population displaced by last September’s Azerbaijani military offensive.

“Our struggle will continue,” Gagik Baghunts, the acting Karabakh parliament 
speaker, told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. “The Armenians of Artsakh will not 
accept the idea that we have closed the page of Artsakh, and the desire to 
return will always stay with us. I hope that we will have significant success in 
that direction already in the not-so-distant future.”

“We are taking concrete steps, we will continue to do everything possible so 
that the Artsakh Armenians return to the homeland, our historical homeland, and 
I hope that despite my rather old age, I will return, not my grandchildren.”

Baghunts refused to shed light on those efforts, saying only that the Karabakh 
leaders are ready for “cooperation with world powers” and even “contacts with 
the Azerbaijani authorities.” He would not say whether there have already been 
such contacts.

Armenia - Gagik Baghunts, the acting Karabakh parliament speaker, talks to 
RFE/RL, .

The Azerbaijani government says that the Karabakh Armenians are free to return 
to their homes if they agree to live under Azerbaijani rule. Karabakh’s leaders 
and ordinary residents rejected such an option even before the Azerbaijani 
offensive forced them to flee to Armenia. None of the more than 100,000 Karabakh 
refugees are known to have expressed a desire to return home in the current 
circumstances.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said last week that Moscow and Baku are now 
“discussing prospects for the return of the Armenian population to Karabakh.” 
Karabakh’s human rights ombudsman, Gegham Stepanian, dismissed the statement, 
saying that only “international guarantees” could convince the Karabakh 
Armenians to return to their homeland.

Armenia’s government does not seem to be seeking such guarantees. Prime Minister 
Nikol Pashinian has repeatedly indicated that the Karabakh issue is closed for 
his administration.

Pashinian’s political allies lashed out at Samvel Shahramanian, the Karabakh 
president, in late December after he declared null and void his September 28 
decree liquidating the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. Shahramanian 
said that he had to sign the decree in order to stop the Azerbaijani assault and 
enable the Karabakh Armenians to safely flee to Armenia.

Shahramanian, Baghunts and other Yerevan-based Karabakh leaders laid flowers at 
the Yerablur military ceremony in Yerevan on Tuesday as they marked the 36th 
anniversary of the start of a popular movement for Karabakh’s unification with 
Karabakh. Later in the day, the Karabakh legislature held a special session on 
the occasion.

Nagorno-Karabakh - Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian holds a rally in 
Stepanakert, August 5, 2019.

For the first time, Pashinian, who had famously declared in 2019 that “Artsakh 
is Armenia,” issued no statement on the anniversary.

“Both in 1988 and today, the realization of peoples’ right to self-determination 
and democratic freedoms remain a clear goal for us,” he stated in February 2020. 
“And we are sure that we will achieve our goals with joint efforts.”

Pashinian stopped championing that right in early 2022 and publicly recognized 
Azerbaijani sovereignty over Karabakh a year later. His critics say that the 
drastic policy change paved the way for Baku’s recapture of the depopulated 
region. The premier has reportedly refused to meet Shahramanian and other 
Karabakh leaders since they took refuge in Armenia.

“Armenia did not have a foreign policy, it had a Nagorno-Karabakh policy,” 
Pashinian claimed in December 2023. “Armenia did not have a security agenda, it 
had a Nagorno-Karabakh security agenda. The resources that we should have 
invested in creating the Republic of Armenia we have invested in creating the 
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.”




Growth In Armenian Exports To Russia Moderates


Armenia - Commercial trucks parked at the Bagratashen border crossing with 
Georgia, November 29, 2018. (Photo by the State Revenue Committee of Armenia)


A rapid growth in Armenia’s exports to Russia, driven in large measure by 
Western sanctions against Moscow, appears to have slowed down significantly in 
the fourth quarter of last year.

Armenia was quick to take advantage of the sweeping sanctions imposed following 
the Russian invasion of Ukraine, re-exporting second-hand cars, consumer 
electronics and other goods manufactured in Western countries and their allies 
to Russia. This explains why its exports to Russia tripled in 2022 and doubled 
in January-August 2023.

Full-year data released by the Armenian government’s Statistical Committee shows 
that they rose by less than 39 percent, to $3.4 billion, in 2023. This suggests 
that the lucrative re-exports largely stagnated last fall and December. The 
recent introduction of a new Russian tax on imports of used and old cars may 
have been one of the factors behind the slowdown.

Also, the re-exports prompted concern from European and especially U.S. 
officials in early 2023. They pressed the Armenian authorities to comply with 
the Western sanctions. The authorities introduced in May mandatory government 
licenses for shipments of microchips, transformers, video cameras, antennas and 
other electronic equipment to Russia.

Overall Russian-Armenian trade soared by more than 43 percent to $7.3 billion. 
It grew steadily even before the war in Ukraine not least because of Armenia’s 
accession in 2014 to the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union.

Russia has since replaced the EU as Armenia’s number one trading partner. 
According to the Armenian government data, it accounted last year for over 35 
percent of the South Caucasus country’s foreign trade, compared with the EU’s 13 
percent share in the total.



Reposted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2024 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

 

Armenpress: Thousands of relics found in 6,000-year-old tomb in Armenian village

 09:47,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 21, ARMENPRESS. Archaeologists have uncovered over 30,000 relics from a 6,000-year-old tomb in Yeghegis, Armenia. The tomb was discovered during excavations which began in 2020.

Professor Levon Yepiskoposyan, the Head of the Evolutionary Genomics Laboratory at the Institute of Molecular Biology, told Armenpress that the 6,000-year-old relics reflect the transitional period when hunter-gatherers shifted to agriculture.

The discovered items include remains of both domesticated and wild animals, with the latter evidencing that humans were engaged in hunting at that time, according to junior researcher Satenik Mkrtchyan.

The Yeghegis 1 archeological site has drawn much interest among international expedition teams and experts, which once again proves that ‘Armenia has always been an interesting location on the world’s archaeological map’, Professor Yepiskoposyan said.

“Armenia’s territory is situated is such a location which, according to experts, has always been the crossroads of migration of people and animals during all periods of time,” the professor added.

The excavations will continue in July 2024.

Armenia and France to cooperate in cinema

 10:17,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 21, ARMENPRESS. The National Cinema Center of Armenia and the French Center of Cinema and Animation have signed a cooperation agreement during the European Film Market in Berlin.

The Armenia-France Action Plan in cinema includes cooperation in film heritage, training, vocational education, joint production and partnership festivals.

The Armenian National Cinema Center is represented in the European Film Market at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival.

Prime Minister Pashinyan to attend pantheonization of WWII hero Missak Manouchian in France

 11:12,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 21, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his wife Anna Hakobyan have left for France on a two-day visit.

Government officials and Members of Parliament are included in the delegation, the Prime Minister's Office said. 

The Armenian Prime Minister will have a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron on February 21. Later on the same day, Prime Minister Pashinyan, together with his wife Anna Hakobyan, alongside French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron, will attend the pantheonization ceremony of WWII hero, Resistance fighter Missak Manouchian and his wife Mélinée.

Pashinyan will also have meetings with Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, President of the Senate Gérard Larcher and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo.

Missak Manouchian, an Armenian poet and fighter in World War II, will enter the French Pantheon mausoleum and join an elite group of France's revered historical figures, French President Emmanuel Macron announced in 2023.

Known as being "pantheonized," the rare tribute is reserved for those who have played an important role in the country's history.

He led a small group of foreign Resistance fighters against the Nazi occupation, carrying out attacks on German forces and acts of sabotage in Nazi-occupied France in 1943. Macron said in 2023 that Manouchian "embodies the universal values" of France and "carries a part of our greatness."

In 1944, the group, which included a number of Jews, was put out of action when 23 of its members were rounded up and sentenced to death by a German military court. Manouchian was shot by the Nazis on February 21, 1944. By entering the Pantheon, Manouchian will become the first foreign Resistance fighter to be awarded the honour. Manouchian will enter the Pantheon alongside his wife Mélinée, who survived him by 45 years and is buried alongside him at the Ivry-sur-Seine cemetery.

Macron paid tribute to Manouchian's "bravery" and "quiet heroism" in a statement back in 2023, as well as to other foreign Resistance fighters.

Manouchian arrived in France in 1925 after surviving the Armenian Genocide.

Purported Azerbaijani ex-serviceman arrested in Russia is wanted by Armenia for murder

 12:51,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 21, ARMENPRESS. Azeri national Kamil Zeynalli, who has been arrested by Russian police in Moscow, is wanted by Armenia, police confirmed to Armenpress.

Zeynalli is on Armenia’s interstate wanted list, Ministry of Internal Affairs spokesperson Narek Sargsyan told Armenpress. He did not elaborate. “The mentioned individual is on the interstate wanted list on a murder charge,” he said.

Zeynalli, who is apparently a former Azeri serviceman, claimed on social media that Russian police told him that he has been arrested pursuant to an international arrest warrant issued by Armenia. The Azeri national is scheduled to make a court appearance in Moscow on February 21, according to the reports. Zeynalli claims that he could be extradited to Armenia. 

He was placed under arrest at the Domodedovo airport and then booked at a police station.

The general prosecution of Armenia, however, told Armenpress that they don’t have any official information about Zeynalli’s arrest in Moscow.

According to unconfirmed media reports, Kamil Zeynalli is suspected of war crimes committed during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war when he fought from the Azeri side against Armenian forces, particularly of killing and beheading an elderly civilian hostage. According to the media reports Zeynalli is a recipient of Azeri medals for his military service.  According to the reports, the man is now a 'blogger' and a ‘fitness trainer’.