Chechen rebel site says Russia’s Krasnodar gripped by “Cossack-mania”

Chechenpress web site, Tbilisi
5 Apr 04

A rebel Chechen web site has accused Cossacks in Russia’s Krasnodar of
“tyranny” and “constant wars” against ethnic minorities. Chechenpress
said that to protect themselves “against the tyranny”, representatives
of ethnic minorities are “ingratiating themselves among the Cossacks
and joining their ranks”. It added that “the regeneration of the
Cossacks’ militant psychology” was also encouraged by local
officials. The following is the text of report by Chechenpress news
agency web site entitled A “Cossack shop”; subheadings have been
inserted editorially:

There is a “Cossack shop” on Suvorov Ulitsa Street in
Krasnodar. Anyone can enter wearing ordinary European clothes and come
out in a colourful Cossack costume. In the summer this could be a silk
Cherkess coat, a beshmet quilted coat or a hood, and in winter, into
the bargain, there would also be a burka felt coat , papakha fur cap
and boots. Here, you can adorn your outfit with a sabre, dagger and
lash, and also shoulder-boards with virtually all the Cossack military
decorations. And none of the assistants will ask if you are a Cossack
or a member of any sect. Here, the laws of the market economy hold
sway – money means trade.

Any weekend you will come across gentlemen who are fitted out in these
shops and who swan about with their lashes on Krasnaya Ulitsa Street ,
which is the main street in Krasnodar. The Cossacks of the Northwest
Caucasus (Krasnodar Territory and the Republic of Adygeya) call this
town their capital. They consider it their duty to impose order on all
the populated areas, using their own, special methods. “I was struck
three times with a lash because I left my passport at home,” said the
Krasnodar tradesman, Artur Z-yan. A 30-year old refugee from Abkhazia,
Georgiy Benia, told me this: “In Sochi, three Cossacks shouted at me,
calling me a ‘black'”. I told them it was they who were blacks. They
abused me and in broad daylight started beating me with lashes and
their feet. Only one passer-by – a woman – stopped and shouted at
them to stop. I ended up in hospital for three weeks and soon left
Sochi.” A history teacher from Maykop, Aslanbey Skhalakho, told me:
“Cossacks dressed in Cherkess coats are not looked upon with favour by
Adygeys, Cherkess, Kabardinos, Balkaris or other indigenous peoples of
the North West Caucasus. The Cossacks used to have their own form of
dress, which had nothing in common with the Cherkess.

In 1861, the Russian Emperor Alexander II ordered the Cossacks to wear
such coats as a military uniform, but we, the indigenous peoples, were
forbidden to wear them. Czarism not only subjugated, but “stripped”
the indigenous peoples. We still fill resentment over this even now.”
“But we are even more annoyed by the fact that the Cossacks here, in
the Caucasus, call all the Caucasus people “foreigners” Russian
“inorodtsy” , and consider only themselves to be the indigenous
population. This is a blatant incitement to inter-ethnic discord,” he
said.

Cossack-mania

In the opinion of the Krasnodar writer, Valeriy Kuznetsov, the Kuban
area has been gripped by Cossack-mania. Representatives of ethnic
minorities are ingratiating themselves among the Cossacks and joining
their ranks. This is their way of protecting themselves against the
tyranny of the Cossacks. A tale by this writer called “The faculty of
stupidity” creates the stereotypes of a “Jew turned Cossack” and an
“Armenian turned Cossack”, and so on. “In official documents,” says
the psychologist, Sergey Kiryanov, “the Cossacks are described as a
socio-ethnic community. They are distinguished from the Slav peoples
in precisely this respect – a way of life which is subordinate to
military demands, an ability to rapidly organize the defence of their
homes, a constant readiness to attack and persecute the enemy, and the
habits and skills of life on the move.” “It was precisely these
qualities of the Cossacks which Russian Empress Yekaterina II
Catherine the Great learnt when, in a Proclamation of 30 June 1792,
she bestowed upon them the Taman peninsula and the right bank of the
Kuban river.

Regeneration of Cossacks’ “militant” psychology

Having settled here, the Cossacks waged constant wars against the
Adygeys, the Cherkess and other aboriginal tribes of the North West
Caucasus. During the years of Soviet power, the Cossacks were
subjected to repression. Their aggressive war-like mentality suffered
considerably, but over the past 15 years it has been increasing in a
geometrical progression.”

Former Russian President Boris Yeltsin gave the Cossacks back their
rights. This served as a signal for the regeneration of the Cossacks’
militant psychology. It was no accident that the Cossacks took an
active part in all the inter-ethnic conflicts in the post-Soviet
space, and even in the Balkans. The Kuban Cossacks were particularly
active in neighbouring Abkhazia, fighting on the Abkhaz side. The
governor of Krasnodar Territory, Aleksandr Tkachenko, is still giving
all kinds of moral and material support to the Abkhazian. The Cossacks
are forming the opinion that Abkhazia is virtually already a part of
Krasnodar Territory, and not Georgia. I have frequently heard this
opinion among the Cossacks: “The empire will still exist while it
continues to fight and to develop.”

Cossack patrols

Highly disciplined militarised structures, built on a social basis and
headed by atamans, have been created in all the Cossack villages,
settlements and towns. The so-called Cossack patrols, ostensibly to
help the police, which are carried out in residential areas, are a
blatant form of interethnic confrontation. In the markets, railway
stations, telephone booths and other areas where people congregate,
the Cossacks detain and search mainly “people of Caucasus
nationality”. If there is the slightest resistance these documentation
checks end in a flogging. Whereas over the past 7-8 years these
so-called Cossack patrols have been largely a substitute for the
police, the tactics have now changed somewhat.

The ataman of Cossack troops, Gen Gromov, ordered his subordinates
“not to Cossackize”. Asked by a journalist of the Mayak Kubani Beacon
of the Kuban radio station what he meant by this, the general replied:
“This means not being distracted by petty things, not showing off, and
always being at combat readiness.” The writer of these lines explained
in a conversation with rank-and-file Cossacks that the day was not far
off when they will have to “drive the blacks – the so-called
foreigners -from the Kuban”.

Refugees

In the same interview, Gen Gromov said plainly, and without a trace of
diplomacy, that the “Cossacks have nowhere to tread on Kuban land”. As
a result of interethnic clashes in the Fergana valley of Uzbekistan,
Baku, Sumgait, Karabakh, Abkhazia, Tskhinvali and other places of
post-Soviet space, there has been a flood of refugees into Krasnodar
Territory, although this number is tiny compared with the territory’s
population of nearly six million. There are only 30,000 Armenians
registered here. There are the same number of Meskhetian Turks from
Fergana, as well as about 10,000 Georgian refugees, and even less
representatives of other ethnic groups.

It would be a gross exaggeration to claim that there was an abundance
of “foreigners” in the territory. “Armenian merchants appeared in the
Kuban long before the Cossacks,” Armenak S., a teacher, says, “but now
we are treated as aliens. One of my people wanted to buy a patch of
land in the Dubinok area of Krasnodar, but the local Cossacks held a
protest rally and forced the local authorities to abolish the act of
buying and selling. “We are outlawed,” says an activist of the
Meskhetian Turk community, Dursun Z. “We are not registered in the
towns or the villages, we have no rights and they can extradite us at
any time.” If one bears in mind that the Russian Federation is
considered to be the legal successor of the USSR, then the situation
cannot be considered normal. But Cossack Gen Gromov is proud of the
fact that the Kuban Cossacks have managed to “uphold their rights” not
to permit the registration of the Meskhetian Turks in Krasnodar
Territory.

“The Don Cossacks in Rostov Region,” the general says, “made a mistake
when they allowed the authorities to register the Meskhetian Turks on
their territory, but we have managed to avoid this.” It might appear
that the general was overstepping his role, but that is the absolute
truth. The Kuban Cossack army in the territory virtually duplicates
the power-wielding bodies, and in the majority of cases, when it is a
matter of inter-ethnic relations and migration processes, it acts much
more brutally than them. It could be said that in these instances the
Cossacks run the law-enforcement and administrative bodies. “This
do-as-you-please attitude to the Cossacks was created when the
well-known nationalist and anti-Semitist Nikolay Kondratenko was
governor of the territory,” says the writer, Sergey S. “The Cossacks
still refer to him as “batka”, in other words, ataman.”

Governor Tkachev

The present governor of the Territory, Aleksandr Tkachev, is his
pupil. His convictions are the same as his predecessor. He also openly
helps the Abkhaz separatists and indulges in Cossack nationalistic
behaviour. I learnt from confidential sources that Tkachev allocated
from the budget a multi-million sum (in roubles) to the semi-legal
Cossack “Volchya sotnya” “Hundred wolves” unit. Its main task, as in
Czarist times, is to suppress the “foreigners”. The unit uses this
money for what amounts to a terrorist-saboteur training programme. “I
am often able to visit all the republics and territories of the
Caucasus,” said Alt T., a scientist from Maykop, “and I have never
seen such chauvinism and nationalism as in Krasnodar
Territory. Thinking about this, I came to the conclusion that this is
a syndrome of fear.

The Cossacks are evidently afraid of the retribution of the Caucasian
peoples whom they have been destroying for three centuries. I can find
no other explanation.” On Krasnaya Ulitsa, in the very centre of
Krasnodar, next to the “Zimnyy Sad” Winter Garden Cafe, hangs a sign
in indelible paint: “Churka, clear off home, today I am a snake!”
“‘Churka’, in the local street jargon, means ‘non-Russian’. One can
see the following signs on walls and fences, too: “Death to the
peasants!”, “Death to the foreigners!”.

On Kommunarov Ulitsa there is another sign on a concrete wall: “Rus,
arise! The enemy is in our land.” As to who the enemy is, there is no
need to explain, one feels. To complete the picture there are the
regular gatherings of members of the local branch of the all-Russian
chauvinistic party “Russian National Unity”. They gather at the
“Zimnyy Sad” Cafe and hand out leaflets and brochures with
anti-Semitic and nationalist content to the passers-by. The pet
subject of their discussions is substituting the republic and
autonomous regions with guberniyas provinces run by governors . It has
to be said that Putin is systematically implementing this task, having
already abolished two autonomies in Russia.

Eduard Sergiyenko, for Chechenpress. 05.04.04

Azeri reporters protest in Turkey’s Igdir against opening of Armenian border

ANS TV, Baku
6 Apr 04

Presenter A group of Azerbaijani journalists are in Turkey now to
protest against the opening of the Turkish-Armenian border . A special
correspondent of ANS, Qanira Pasayeva, is on the line. Hello, Qanira.

Correspondent, over phone Hello, Leyla.

Presenter Qanira, how did Igdir’s population meet you?

Correspondent They met us much better than we had expected. They can
watch Azerbaijani TV channels, including ANS. They had learnt about
the campaign from other TV channels and newspapers. They met us at the
entrance to Igdir. Many correspondents from local TV channels and
newspapers were among them. They supported us in this action and were
wearing T-shirts with slogans on them – Turks must support Turks and
No to opening Armenian borders – and chanted these slogans together
with us.

We went to the Turkish-Armenian border some time ago and Azerbaijani
journalists staged there a protest action by blocking the road. They
also aired slogans urging an end to the European and US pressure on
Turkey, which demand that it open its borders with Armenia, and
expressed confidence that Turks would support Turks and that Turkey
would not open borders with Armenia.

The Igdir population, who gathered nearby, voiced the slogans together
with us. Even very old people were among them. They were wearing these
T-shirts and stood near the border together with us. People in Igdir
said that they did not want the borders to open although they might
get some income from trade with Armenia . Because they will not agree
to any trade relations with Armenia until Azerbaijanis are in trouble
and their lands are under occupation.

Presenter Qanira, where are you now? What other meetings are you going
to have?

Correspondent We are going to visit a memorial to Ataturk. We have
been informed that many people have already gathered there on this
occasion in support of our action. Even the municipal head of Igdir is
in the crowd there and he has said that he will wear a T-shirt like
ours and air our slogans.

Presenter Thank you, Qanira.

Armenian paper says authorities in search for “stabilizing factor”

Aravot, Yerevan
6 Apr 04

Text of unattributed report by Armenian newspaper Aravot on 6 April
headlined “Stabilizing factors”

The only thing that is “stable” in our country is the authorities’
arsenal of propaganda cliches. For 12 years there have been two
counter-arguments to any activation of the opposition: a) such
activation is advantageous to Azerbaijan and increases chances to
resume hostilities; b) activation could threaten stability and hinder
investment, economic development, etc.

The first argument can hardly stand up to criticism. There were
moments in the history of independent Armenia when even during the war
the opposition (including Dashnaktsutyun which is “a supporter of
stability”) was fighting against the authorities in a more aggressive
way, but in spite of that, success was registered on the
battlefield. Undoubtedly, today there is a danger of war, but it has
nothing to do with the mass demonstrations being held in Armenia.

One may agree with the second argument. Reasons and effects have
simply been confused there. The situation is really unstable and
tense, but there is one reason for this: unfortunately, in 2003
President Robert Kocharyan was not re-elected to the post of
president. (By the way, he was not elected in 1998 either, but the
results of those elections were in some sense corrected by the
parliamentary elections, in which voters really voted for the Unity
bloc, trusting [late Armenian Speaker] Karen Demirchyan’s legend. The
parliamentary elections of 2003 corrected nothing, as the rating of
the coalition parties was as low as the president’s.)

So, the situation is tense because Robert Kocharyan was not elected,
and it will remain tense irrespective of the opposition’s
activation. This is the diagnosis of the present situation.

What are the ways to relieve tension?

1. The president tenders his resignation, though this is ruled out.

2. A revolution takes place, which is impossible.

3. A palace revolution takes place, as was the case in 1998. This is a
theoretically possible option, but preconditions for it have not yet
been noticed.

4. The National Assembly is dissolved and new “more pleasant for the
people” parliamentary elections are held, as for instance, [leader of
the Christian Democratic Union] Khosrov Arutyunyan suggests. This is
also a possible option but it will hardly be carried out.

So, we may suppose that the status quo will be preserved by means of
arrests and “police” violence. It cannot be ruled out that some
“cosmetic” changes will be simultaneously made. For example, a new
prime minister and government may be appointed. In 1997, Robert
Kocharyan was invited from Karabakh to Yerevan as “a stabilizing
factor”. But first, experience shows that this kind of “stabilizing
factors” very quickly turn into “power changing factors”, and second,
we have not so far noticed a new Robert Kocharyan.

Armenian opposition says police sweep up party members after rally

AP Worldstream
Apr 06, 2004

The opposition leader whose party organized a large protest meeting in
the Armenian capital said Tuesday that police detained 127 members of
his party after the demonstration and that many have been sentenced to
up to a week in jail.

Artashes Gegamian, head of the National Unity party, said the arrests
took place at the party members’ homes or the residences or parents
and friends and that police threatened the members’ relatives and
acquaintances.

The arrests came after an estimated 8,000 protesters gathered in
central Yerevan.

“The deepening confrontations in society understandably makes the
people in power nervous,” he said Tuesday.

The opposition is seeking to oust President Robert Kocharian. He won a
second term in presidential elections a year ago that sparked mass
protests, including nearly daily demonstrations between the first
round of voting in February 2003 and the runoff in early March.

The opposition alleged widespread violations in both rounds of the
election. The election was followed by parliamentary ballot in which
the pro-government party won the most votes.

In April, Armenia’s Constitutional Court confirmed the results of the
presidential vote but suggested that a referendum be held within a
year to gauge the public’s confidence in the nation’s
leaders. Opposition leaders have pressed for the plebiscite.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Azeri Speaker warns Turkey against opening Armenian border

Trend news agency
6 Apr 04

BAKU

“If Turkey opens the border with Armenia, it will deal a blow not only
to Azerbaijani-Turkish friendship but also to the entire Turkic
world,” Azerbaijani Parliament Speaker Murtuz Alasgarov told a meeting
of the Milli Maclis today, Trend reports.

Alasgarov said that the opening of the border could undermine the
strengthening friendly and fraternal relations between Turkey and
Azerbaijan.

As for the calls for the restoration of Azerbaijan’s territorial
integrity militarily, the parliament speaker said there should be no
haste in this issue. We give preference to a negotiated settlement to
the conflict, but if this does not yield any fruit, then “Azerbaijan
is ready to liberate its lands in other ways”, he said.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Secretary of the National Security Council and Defense Minister of Armenia Serge Sarkisian arrived today in Tbilisi for a four-day official visit.

The Armenian official will push the issue of restoration of the railway link between Russia and Armenia via Georgia, which has been terminated after the Abkhaz conflict.

“The issue of restoration of the Sochi-Tbilisi-Yerevan railway link is of huge importance for Armenia. So, this issue will top the agenda of talks,” Serge Sarkisian said upon his arrival in Tbilisi.

The Armenian Security Council Secretary and Defense Minister will hold meetings with Secretary of the Georgian Security Council Vano Merabishvili, President Mikheil Saakashvili and Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

The Daily Star, Lebanon
April 5 2004

Tearing down Lebanese stereotypes of the ‘Armenian ghetto’

Special to The Daily Star
By Houry Mayissian

The discussion revolved around elections in Lebanon. Although the
title of the course was “International Communication,” our professor
never stuck by the book, always trying to stir up discussions on a
broad range of issues relevant to the course. I don’t exactly
remember what point he was trying to make, but he certainly made a
point for me. Turning to one of the students he asked: “Who doesn’t
have the right to vote in Lebanon?” The student looked confused for a
second and then, not so sure of herself, “Armenians?” she said. The
answer the professor was looking for was of course “citizens under
21.”

At first I thought her answer was just funny; insulting to a certain
extent, but also funny, because the young lady was a university
student and particularly a journalism student. Then, it struck me. Is
it possible that we’ve been citizens of this country for almost a
century now and yet people know so little about us?

Well, it seems that it is possible. The Lebanese not only know so
little about their fellow Armenian citizens living here, but also the
things they know are solely based on stereotypes. Two main
stereotypes particularly revolve around the Armenians living in
Lebanon: Armenians don’t know how to speak Arabic and the Armenians
live in a ghetto in Bourj Hammoud.

These are the two lenses through which the Armenians are most often
viewed. They are often blamed for living too close with each other,
holding each other too tight. They are even made fun of, supposedly,
because they don’t know how to speak Arabic well or have a funny
accent. While I do acknowledge that there are some elements of truth
in these images, it must be said that they are overly exaggerated and
often insulting.

It is true that most elderly Armenians don’t know Arabic well.

It would be much wiser, however, to try to understand the reason
behind it, rather than use it as a means to mock Armenians. Most of
these Armenians constitute the first generation born after the
survivors of the Armenian genocide of 1915 hit the region. Most of
these survivors were orphans when they got here; poor, with no money,
clothes, home or family. Gradually, they started building – building
houses, schools, churches, cultural organizations, gathering places,
sports’ groups, and newspapers: In other words, building a home. The
Armenian community came to be settled mostly in two major areas,
Bourj Hammoud and Anjar, which are to this day mostly inhabited by
Armenians. In these two areas the Armenians established tightly held
communities, in which the coming generation grew up surrounded by
everything that is Armenian. The kids went to Armenian schools, the
youth gathered in clubs, the neighbor was an Armenian family, the
shopkeeper was Armenian.

Taking into consideration the Armenian genocide, the loss of family,
friends and home which had a psychological

impact on these survivors, it wouldn’t be surprising that they held
so tightly to each other, helped each other out and stood by each
other. Their fear of a foreign land, foreign people and foreign
language made them stick to each other and to the community. They
seldom went outside of its borders. Perhaps, they didn’t even need
to.

This is the reason behind the elder Armenians not knowing Arabic
well. This is how the tightness of the Armenian community should be
interpreted instead of being classified as a ghetto.

The younger Armenian generations are past the problem of not knowing
Arabic well. Despite that, the stereotype, sadly, still prevails.
Even as a university student, I’ve had people asking me if I can read
or write Arabic!

Perhaps the media in Lebanon are to a certain degree responsible for
this image, or to be more accurate, responsible for not changing this
image. I remember that a few years ago a certain TV station had a
special talk show on the occasion of the Armenian genocide. The
featured guests were from the Armenian community. The show started
with a discussion about the historical causes of the Armenian
genocide, and its impact. Later, however, the host somehow segued
into asking questions about the “Armenian ghetto.” About why
Armenians allegedly preferred to shop from Armenians and a couple of
other outrageous questions. I, as an Armenian, was deeply offended to
hear a program supposedly dedicated to the Armenian genocide and
meant to be a gesture of compassion or support towards the Armenian
citizens of Lebanon, which was turned into an interrogation about the
so-called ghetto. It was not only rude, but also insulting.

I believe that as long serving and faithful citizens of this country
we deserve more respectful treatment from our fellow citizens.

Houry Mayissian is a journalism student at the Lebanese American
University

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Armenia’s Dashnaks call on authorities, opposition to begin dialogue

Mediamax news agency
5 Apr 04

YEREVAN

The Dashnaktsutyun Party, which is part of the ruling coalition,
issued a statement today calling on the Armenian authorities and the
opposition to begin a dialogue to stabilize the domestic political
situation.

“The internal political situation in the country is reaching a
critical point of open confrontation,” reads the statement by
Dashnaktsutyun’s Supreme Body adopted in Yerevan today.

“The intolerant radical behaviour of the opposition, on the one hand,
and the opposition’s unsecured participation in solving problems of
big importance for the country, on the other hand, provide the basis
of the current political tension,” the statement said.

Dashnaktsutyun called on the authorities and the opposition to begin a
dialogue and reach an agreement “in order to solve the following key
problems: the formation of an electoral system in the country, which
will fully meet international standards; the holding of constitutional
reforms necessary for strengthening democratic mechanisms; struggle
against corruption, the shadow economy and the clan system.”

“It is necessary to effectively use this period for voluntary
compromises. Otherwise, the entire responsibility for the
confrontation will fall upon those who will lose the opportunity to
reach an agreement,” the statement read.

Armenian opposition to stage protest in Yerevan on 9 April

Mediamax news agency
5 Apr 04

YEREVAN

The [opposition] Justice bloc and the National Unity Party leaders,
Stepan Demirchyan and Artashes Gegamyan, said in Yerevan today that
they “will start mass protest actions on Freedom Square at 1600 [1100
gmt] on 9 April”.

They called on their adherents “to take part in the struggle for
returning power to people”.

Demirchyan and Gegamyan’s joint statement was announced at a briefing
at the Armenian National Assembly today, Mediamax reports.

“One year’s existence of the authorities formed through election fraud
was enough to prove that the existence of an illegal regime threatens
the national interests of Armenia,” Demirchyan and Gegamyan’s
statement reads.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

National Geographic magazine
March 2004

By Frank Viviano Photographs by Alexandra Avakian

For 3,000 years Armenians survived conquerors, calamities, and diaspora.
Defiance and a long memory continue to sustain them as they rebuild their
Caucasus homeland.

Get a taste of what awaits you in print from this compelling excerpt.

“You are looking at the great Armenian paradox,” Jivan Tabibian said. We
stood at the second-floor window of the Foreign Ministry building in
Yerevan, watching clouds scuttle across Mount Ararat’s ice-capped
16,854-foot (5,137-meter) crown. Tabibian, a diplomat whose portfolio
includes ambassadorships to four countries and two international
organizations, was discussing a policy initiative when he abruptly fell
silent, gazing at Ararat. It’s impossible not to be distracted by Ararat in
Yerevan. Despite its enormous mass, the great peak seems to float
weightlessly over the city, engaged in permanent dialogue with Little
Ararat, its 12,782-foot (3,896-meter) neighbor.

The vast snowy brow of Ararat glowers, pronounces, with hallucinatory power.
Its name is derived from that of a Bronze Age god, Ara, whose talismanic
cult of death and rebirth mirrored the seasonal transitions of Ararat from
lifeless winter to fertile spring. Little Ararat, by contrast, is an
exercise in calm, rational idealism, a volcanic cone so perfectly shaped
that it suggests not so much what a mountain is as what a mountain ought to
be.

You can’t ponder the two Ararats for long without drifting into
philosophical reflection, and the Armenians have been pondering them since
the birth of civilization.

The philosopher in Jivan Tabibian maintains that his people’s identity is
inextricably bound to the experience of loss, to the serial reorderings of
the map that have often stranded their most hallowed landmarks in someone
else’s state. Like the Monastery of St. Gregory the Illuminator deep in the
hills of Nagorno-Karabakh, Mount Ararat lies outside the contemporary
Armenian Republic, beyond the closed frontiers of a hostile Turkey.

“The paradox embodied in that mountain,” Tabibian said, “has to do with our
sense of place,” the concept that is so essential to most national
identities. “We are not place bound”-an impossibility, given Armenia’s
ceaseless traumas, metamorphoses, and peregrinations-“but we are intensely
place conscious.”

Later I repeated Tabibian’s enigmatic words to Vartan Oskanian, the Republic
of Armenia’s foreign minister. And he too offered a philosopher’s reflection
on Ararat. “Every morning we look at it,” he said. “It’s only 25 miles (40
kilometers) from this building, and we feel we can almost touch it. But we
can’t go there. Ararat is our pride and our frustration. Our history. The
unfulfilled dreams that drive us.”

Get the whole story in the pages of National Geographic magazine.

Read this 1926 manuscript unearthed from our archive: “A Holy Spectacle” by
Geographic legend Maynard Owen Williams.