I | INTRODUCTION |
Armenia
(country), republic in western Asia. With Georgia and Azerbaijan, Armenia
is located in the South Caucasus (the southern portion of the Caucasus region),
which occupies part of the isthmus between the Black and Caspian seas. Yerevan
is the capital and largest city
.
In Armenian, the official state language,
Armenia is named Hayastan. Ethnic Armenians, who call themselves
Hay, constitute more than 90 percent of the country’s population.
Incorporated as a part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in
1922, Armenia became independent in 1991. Its first post-Soviet constitution was
adopted in 1995.
II | LAND AND RESOURCES OF
ARMENIA |
Armenia occupies about 29,800 sq km (about
11,500 sq mi) of the northeastern portion of the Armenian Highland, an extensive
upland area that extends as far south as Van Gölü (Lake Van) in Turkey. Armenia
is bordered by Georgia on the north, Azerbaijan on the east and the Azerbaijani
exclave of Naxçivan (Nakhichevan) on the southwest, Iran on the south, and
Turkey on the west. Armenia is extremely mountainous. The average elevation is
about 1,800 m (about 5,900 ft). Mount Aragats is the highest point in the
republic, reaching a height of 4,090 m (13,419 ft). Mountain ranges in the
republic include the Pambak, Geghama, Vardenis, and Zangezur branches of the
Lesser Caucasus (Malyy Kavkaz) mountain system.
A | Rivers and Lakes |
Armenia is a landlocked country. The
republic contains many mountain lakes, the largest of which is Lake Sevan,
located in the northeast. Lake Sevan is the largest lake in the South Caucasus
and one of the largest high-elevation lakes in the world. It is also a popular
resort area. In the early 1990s the lake’s wildlife habitat was threatened, as
large amounts of water were being taken from Lake Sevan to supply hydroelectric
plants. A tunnel was constructed to bring water from the Arpa River into the
lake in order to maintain a constant water level. Although many rivers flow into
Lake Sevan, the main outlet is the Hrazdan River, which flows south to join the
Aras (known in Armenia as the Arax) River, Armenia’s largest and longest river.
The Aras originates in the mountains of northeastern Turkey and flows generally
eastward, following Armenia’s border with Turkey and then Iran, until it turns
north to join the Kura River in Azerbaijan. Armenia contains a dense network of
small rivers and streams that are part of the Aras-Kura river basin. Due to the
mountainous terrain, waterfalls and rapids are common.
B | Plant and Animal Life |
Armenia’s plant life is diverse. In the
semidesert regions, which occupy the lowest elevations, drought-resistant plants
such as sagebrush, juniper, and honeysuckle are common. Grasses predominate in
the steppes, which are higher in elevation and constitute most of Armenia’s
terrain. Beech and oak trees are found in the forest zones of the extreme
northeast and southeast. Animal life in Armenia includes wild boars, jackals,
lynx, and Syrian bears.
C | Natural Resources |
Natural resources in Armenia include
copper, molybdenum, zinc, gold, perlite (a lightweight aggregate used in
concrete and plaster), and granite. The country lacks deposits of petroleum,
natural gas, and coal, and must import these fuel resources. Armenia’s rivers,
especially the Hrazdan, provide considerable hydroelectric power.
D | Climate |
The climate of Armenia varies by elevation
but is predominantly dry and continental, with long, hot summers and moderate
winters. The elevated plateaus, which are less sheltered by mountains than the
inland plains, have more inclement weather in winter. The sun shines frequently
in Armenia. Precipitation varies by location and is heaviest in autumn.
Mountainous areas receive the most precipitation, in the form of rain and snow.
The most arid region of the country is along the Aras River.
E | Environmental Issues |
Armenia’s environment became severely
polluted during the Soviet period. The Soviet government introduced heavy
industries—which emit more pollution than light industries—on a massive scale
throughout the Soviet Union. The government long ignored the environmental harm
caused by these industries, but in the 1980s liberalizing political reforms in
the USSR resulted in the formation of environmental groups, which began to
express concerns about the state of the environment. Because of pressure from
these groups, several factories in Armenia that were sources of severe pollution
were closed beginning in 1989. One of these factories, a rubber and chemical
plant in Nairit, reopened in 1992 because Armenia needed the income generated by
exporting the plant’s products. Although national environmental laws have been
put into effect in Armenia since it became independent, no comprehensive
environmental protection program has emerged, and environmental initiatives are
typically addressed on an ad hoc basis.
In an attempt to offset a six-year energy
crisis caused by blockades by Azerbaijan and Turkey, the Armenian government in
1995 reactivated a nuclear power plant at Metsamor, which had closed in 1988
after a catastrophic earthquake in northern Armenia. Environmental groups
opposed the reopening because the plant poses an environmental threat. Although
it is in an earthquake-prone area, it was not built to withstand earthquakes.
Portions of Armenia also were rapidly deforested during the winters of 1992,
1993, and 1994, as trees were often the only available source of fuel.
III | THE PEOPLE OF ARMENIA |
The population of Armenia is 2,968,586
(2008 estimate), giving the country’s land area a population density of 105
persons per sq km (271 per sq mi). Armenia is highly urbanized, with 64 percent
of all residents living in cities or towns. Population is concentrated in river
valleys, especially along the Hrazdan River, where Yerevan, the capital and
largest city, is located. Armenia’s second-largest city is Gyumri (formerly
Leninakan), the site of a devastating earthquake in 1988.
A | Ethnic Groups and Languages |
Armenia was the most ethnically
homogeneous republic of the 15 republics that made up the USSR, and the country
is still characterized by a high degree of ethnic homogeneity. Ethnic Armenians,
or Hay, constitute more than 90 percent of the population. Kurds and
Russians are the next two largest ethnic groups in the republic, each making up
less than 2 percent of Armenia’s total population. Small numbers of Ukrainians,
Assyrians, Greeks, and Georgians also live in Armenia. Azerbaijanis were the
largest minority group during the Soviet period, but in the early 1990s nearly
the entire Azerbaijani population fled or was forcibly deported from Armenia
because of ethnic tension brought on by a secessionist conflict in
Nagorno-Karabakh, a region inhabited predominantly by Armenians in western
Azerbaijan. In the reverse direction, many Armenian refugees entered Armenia
from Azerbaijan during the conflict.
Armenia’s official state language is
Armenian, an Indo-European language with no surviving close relatives. It has a
unique 38-letter alphabet that dates from the early 5th century. Of its many
spoken dialects, the most important are Eastern or Yerevan Armenian (the
official language) and Western or Turkish Armenian (see Armenian
Language). Armenia’s ethnic minorities also speak their own native languages,
mainly Russian and Kurdish.
B | Religion |
Armenians were converted to Christianity
in the early 4th century, and by some accounts they were the first in the world
to adopt Christianity as a state religion. During centuries of foreign
domination, when Armenians did not have a state of their own, the Armenian
Church helped maintain a sense of collective identity. When Armenia was part of
the Russian Empire, the head of the church, known as the catholicos, was
considered the most important representative of the Armenian people. The church
therefore developed as a strong symbol of the Armenian nation.
The Armenian Church was allowed to
continue as the national church of the Armenian republic during the Soviet
period, although the Soviet Union was officially atheistic because of its
Communist ideology. Soviet authorities granted official recognition only to
Armenian clergy who were affiliated with a pro-Soviet political faction. Clergy
who supported nationalist groups were not allowed to hold power in the church.
Today, Christianity remains Armenia’s
predominant religion. Most ethnic Armenians belong to the Armenian Apostolic
Church. Among ethnic minorities, there are Russian Orthodox Christians,
Protestants, and Muslims.
C | Education |
Nearly all adults in Armenia can read and
write. During the Soviet period the educational system was controlled by the
central government in Moscow, which emphasized free and universal education.
Schools were required to promote Soviet Communist ideals. In the early 1990s,
after achieving independence, Armenia made substantial changes to its
educational system. Most notably, curricula began to emphasize Armenian history
and culture, and Armenian replaced Russian as the dominant language of
instruction. Today, primary and secondary levels of instruction are compulsory
and available free of charge. The country’s largest university is Yerevan State
University, founded in 1919 in Yerevan. Other institutes of higher education
offer specialized instruction in engineering, agriculture, architecture, fine
arts, and theater arts.
D | Way of Life |
Armenians typically maintain close family
ties and pride themselves on their distinctive cultural traditions. Armenian
music and cuisine are similar to those of the Middle Eastern countries. On
festive occasions, Armenians enjoy traditional folk music and circle dances.
Spectator sports such as basketball, soccer, and tennis are popular, and in
international competitions Armenians have excelled in wrestling, boxing, and
gymnastics. Armenians also like to play chess and backgammon in their leisure
time. Most city-dwellers live in apartment buildings that were built during the
Soviet period; many of these are now dilapidated. Rural residents live mostly in
single-family houses, and many members of an extended family often live
together. Family and friends are the center of social life, and respect for
elders links generations.
E | Art and Literature |
Art that was distinctively Armenian in
form first emerged in the early 4th century, coinciding with the introduction of
Christianity in the country. Religious icons were a favored subject during that
time. Armenia subsequently had three major artistic periods, which coincided
with periods of independence or semi-independence. These periods occurred from
the 5th century to the 7th century, during the 9th and 10th centuries, and from
the 12th century to the 14th century.
Armenian folk arts, which have remained
essentially unchanged for centuries, include rug weaving and metalwork. The
carving of decorative stone monuments called khatchkars is an ancient
Armenian art form that continues to be practiced today.
An Armenian literary tradition first
emerged in the 5th century. Literary themes were at first historical or
religious, as represented by two great works of the period, the History of
Armenia, by Movses Khorenatsi, and Eznik Koghbatsi’s Refutation of
the Sects. The first great Armenian poet was the 10th-century bishop Grigor
Narekatsi, whose mystical poems and hymns strongly influenced the Armenian
Apostolic Church.
A secular, or nonreligious, literary (and
musical) tradition began to develop in the 16th century with the appearance of
poet-minstrels called ashugh, whose lyric poems were written and
performed in the vernacular language. Many ashugh love songs remain popular to
this day.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries
several Armenian writers gained attention for their modern novels, short
stories, and plays. The most renowned novelist of this period was Hakob
Melik-Hakobian, who is best known by his pen name, Raffi. His novels include
Jalaleddin (1878), Khent (1880), Davit-Bek (1881-1887), and
Samuel (1888). In the 1920s the Communist regime of the Soviet Union
instituted a policy of cultural uniformity, known as socialist realism, which
largely stifled Armenian literary development. Armenia’s first great composer of
classical music, internationally famous Aram Ilich Khachaturian, wrote his
masterpieces during the Soviet period. Some of his works reflect the influence
of Armenian folk music.
F | Cultural Institutions |
Museums in Armenia include the Armenian
State Historical Museum, the Armenian State Picture Gallery, and the State
Museum of Literature and Art, all in Yerevan. The city is also the site of the
State Academic Theater of Opera and Ballet. A national dance company and several
orchestras tour throughout the country.
IV | ECONOMY OF ARMENIA |
Armenia’s economy suffered as a result of
natural and human-caused calamities that beset the country during the late 1980s
and early 1990s. An earthquake in 1988 severely damaged Armenia’s
infrastructure. A prolonged war in Nagorno-Karabakh, which involved Armenia, led
to blockades of the country’s chief trade routes. Two unusually harsh winters,
combined with a lack of heating fuels because of the blockades, resulted in
deaths and near-famine conditions.
The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991
contributed to Armenia’s economic difficulties. Years of Soviet central planning
had developed an industrial base in Armenia that was highly dependent upon trade
with other Soviet republics. Those industries also were largely dependent on
imported fuels. Blockades imposed by Turkey and Azerbaijan in 1989 and political
instability in Georgia effectively isolated Armenia from world markets. A lack
of fuels and the inability to sell products forced most factories to close. The
gross domestic product (GDP), which measures the value of goods and services
produced in the country, fell by 60 percent between 1991 and 1993.
The government of Armenia, even in the midst
of crisis, laid the foundation for a market economy by liberalizing prices and
implementing an aggressive privatization program. By the mid-1990s the first
signs of economic recovery were observed. Inflation, which had increased the
price of goods by as much as 20-fold a year, was brought under control.
Continued reforms brought significant improvement in the economy by 2001, and
double-digit growth in GDP was achieved in subsequent years. In 2006 the GDP was
an estimated $6.4 billion.
A | Agriculture |
Agriculture grew in importance in Armenia
as the country’s industrial base declined. Principal crops include fruits and
vegetables grown on the Ararat plain in southwestern Armenia, irrigated by water
from the Aras River. Potatoes, grain, and livestock are raised in the uplands.
Armenia is noted for the quality of its fruits, and grapes grown near Yerevan
are made into well-regarded brandy and various liqueurs.
During the Soviet period, farms in Armenia
were organized into state-run operations. Following independence, the government
quickly turned most of the farmland over to private operators. Production
initially increased as farmers were rewarded for gains in output. But
agriculture, too, fell victim to the country’s economic decline. Blockades
prevented farmers from exporting their products, and farm development suffered
from a lack of fuel, insufficient irrigation water, and the absence of bank
credits to buy fertilizers and equipment.
B | Manufacturing |
Like other former Soviet republics,
Armenia was industrialized and integrated into the USSR’s economic system. Most
industries depended on raw materials or partially finished goods from other
Soviet republics, which also were the primary markets for Armenian products.
Manufacturing plants produced consumer goods such as fabrics and footwear,
chemicals, refined metals, and lasers and electronics for the military. Economic
blockades and severe fuel shortages stalled most industrial output by the early
1990s. Industrial production began to resume as the political situation
stabilized in 1994.
C | Energy |
Armenia traditionally depended on natural
gas imported from Azerbaijan to fuel its electricity-generating facilities.
Azerbaijan cut gas deliveries in 1989 in response to Armenia’s support of
separatist fighters in Nagorno-Karabakh, contributing substantially to Armenia’s
economic troubles. For a time the country depended almost exclusively on
hydroelectric facilities to produce its power—essentially the country’s only
indigenous source of energy. However, the aging hydroelectric facilities were
insufficient to meet the country’s needs. In desperation, Armenian officials
restarted in 1995 the nuclear power plant at Metsamor, the only nuclear power
station in the South Caucasus region. The plant had been shut down because of
seismic and safety fears after northern Armenia suffered a severe earthquake in
1988. In May 1988 the Armenian and Iranian governments signed an agreement under
which Iran was to supply Armenia with natural gas for 20 years. The deal
required construction of a gas pipeline between the two countries.
Armenia must import nearly all of its oil
and natural gas. This dependence on foreign supplies created economic hardship
when borders closed during political disputes. In 2003 thermal plants fueled by
natural gas produced 30 percent of Armenia’s electricity. Most of the gas was
imported from Turkmenistan. Some 33 percent of electricity came from
hydroelectric facilities, and Armenia’s single nuclear plant produced 37 percent
of all power generated.
D | Trade |
The Soviet Union’s central planning
distorted Armenia’s trading relationships, making it highly dependent upon
exchanges with other republics in the USSR. Realigning trade patterns was not
possible for several years after independence. Political instability in Georgia
and a closed border with Azerbaijan precluded most trade with former Soviet
republics. Turkey shut its borders in sympathy with Azerbaijan, closing
Armenia’s best outlet to western countries. To the south Iran became an
increasingly important trading partner, even though Iran itself was isolated
from many countries. The gradual return to stability in the region has
brightened the prospects for Armenia, which is geographically positioned to
become an important center for regional trade. Armenia joined the World Trade
Organization (WTO) in 2003.
E | Currency |
After the breakup of the USSR, Armenia
continued to use the Russian ruble as its currency. Beginning in mid-1993,
however, the Central Bank of Russia refused to accept rubles printed before that
year. This action caused a massive inflow of rubles to Armenia and other former
Soviet republics where the ruble was still allowed to circulate. Inflation
accelerated greatly as a result of the influx of old rubles, which were
worthless in Russia. The Central Bank of Russia demanded strict control of the
new ruble, prompting Armenian leaders to issue a separate currency, called the
dram, in November 1993. The dram was originally issued at a rate of 200
rubles per dram. In 2006 the exchange rate with the U.S. dollar averaged 416
dram per U.S.$1.
V | GOVERNMENT OF ARMENIA |
Armenia’s constitution was approved by
referendum in July 1995, replacing the 1978 constitution of the Soviet period.
It declares Armenia to be an independent democratic state and guarantees the
protection of basic human rights and freedoms. All citizens age 18 and older may
vote.
A | Executive |
The new constitution gave the president,
who is head of state, broad executive powers. He or she is elected by direct
vote for a term of five years and may serve no more than two consecutive terms.
The president appoints the prime minister, who presides over the council of
ministers. The council’s members are appointed by the president upon the
recommendation of the prime minister.
B | Legislature |
Armenia’s parliament, called the National
Assembly, is a unicameral (single-chamber) legislative body. The National
Assembly is composed of 131 members who are elected for four-year terms.
C | Judiciary |
Armenia’s 1995 constitution provides for an
independent judiciary. The highest appellate court is the Court of Appeal, which
ensures uniformity in how the country’s laws are applied through its final
review of cases. The Court of Appeal’s members are nominated by the Council of
Justice, an administrative body created to ensure independence of the courts,
and then appointed by the president. Armenia also has a Constitutional Court,
which is charged with ensuring that legislative decisions and presidential
decrees are consistent with the constitution. Of the Constitutional Court’s nine
members, five are appointed by the president and four by the National Assembly.
The president of Armenia heads the Council of Justice. The minister of justice
and the prosecutor general serve as deputy heads of the council.
D | Local Government |
For purposes of local government, Armenia
is divided into ten marz (regions), including Yerevan. The regions are
subdivided into hamaynk (communities). The National Assembly appoints and
dismisses governors to administer the regions in accordance with national
policies. The communities exercise local self-government. They hold local
elections every three years to select a community leader.
E | Political Parties |
Armenia’s constitution guarantees a
multiparty political system. Many new political parties have emerged since
Armenia’s independence in 1991, although some have been relatively short-lived.
Armenia held its first post-Soviet parliamentary elections in 1995. The
Republican bloc, a coalition led by the Pan-Armenian National Movement (PNM),
won an overwhelming majority of seats. The PNM, which had controlled the
government since 1990, thereby retained its dominant position. A number of
opposition parties were not allowed to participate in the 1995 elections,
including the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF; also known as Dashnaks, a
shortened version of its name in Armenian), which had been the ruling party
during Armenia’s short-lived independence from 1918 to 1920. The PNM-led
government had banned the ARF in December 1994. The ARF was legally reinstated
in 1998 after President Levon Ter-Petrossian, leader of the PNM, resigned. His
political downfall also led to the end of the PNM’s dominance in the 1999
parliamentary elections.
F | Defense |
Before Armenia gained independence in 1991,
its military forces were part of the Soviet Union’s centralized security system.
In the early 1990s the Armenian government began to develop a small,
combat-ready defense force. Armenia’s objective of military self-reliance places
an emphasis on small, highly mobile, and well-trained units. The number of
soldiers on active duty has surpassed the initial goal of 30,000, with an
estimated 48,160 troops in 2004. Armenia also has a paramilitary force of about
1,000 troops. Military conscription is for 18 months for all males at the age of
18. An estimated 4,300 troops under Russia’s jurisdiction are stationed in
Armenia in accordance with the collective security system of the Commonwealth of
Independent States (CIS), a loose alliance of most of the former Soviet
republics.
G | International Organizations |
Armenia is a member of the CIS, the United
Nations (UN), and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE). In October 1994 the country joined the Partnership for Peace program,
which provides for limited military cooperation with the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO).
VI | HISTORY |
This section highlights some of the pivotal
events in the history of Armenia. For a more detailed history of Armenia before
the 20th century, see Armenia (region).
The modern republic of Armenia covers only
the northeastern portion of an area historically inhabited by Armenians, whose
ancestors settled in the area of Mount Ararat, in present-day Turkey, in the
late 3000s bc. In the early 1st
century bc Armenian king Tigranes
I formed an empire—the most extensive Armenian realm in history—that stretched
from the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean Sea and included parts of Georgia and
Syria. Tigranes’s empire came under the control of the Roman Empire before the
end of the 1st century, however, and Armenia became a buffer zone—and often a
battleground—in Rome’s campaigns against the Parthians, who ruled over Persia
(present-day Iran).
In the 1st century ad a Parthian-Roman treaty installed the
Parthian Arsacid dynasty as rulers of Armenia. The treaty required the dynasty
to act in allegiance with Rome. In Persia, the Arsacid dynasty fell to the
Sassanids in the early 3rd century. The Sassanids initially seized Armenia, but
the Roman Empire wrested control of Armenia later that century and then restored
the Arsacids to power, crowning Tiridates III as Armenian king. Tiridates
converted to Christianity in the early 4th century and established a state
church. His conversion predated that of Constantine the Great of the Byzantine
Empire (the eastern portion of the Roman Empire), making Armenia the first state
to officially adopt Christianity.
The Byzantine and Persian empires divided
Armenia in the late 4th century, with Persia taking the larger eastern section,
but in the early 7th century all of Armenia came under Byzantine rule. In 653
the Byzantine Empire ceded Armenia to the Arabs, who had already conquered
Persia. Armenia was granted virtual autonomy under Arab suzerainty. In 806 the
Arabs installed a noble Armenian family, the Bagratuni (Bagratid) line, as
governors of Armenia. In 885, one of this line, Ashot I, became the sovereign of
an independent Armenian kingdom, and several additional small independent
Armenian kingdoms subsequently arose. This period of Armenian independence ended
with the conquests of a resurgent Byzantine Empire under Basil II, who ruled
from 976 until 1025. Byzantine control was short-lived, however, as invasions of
the Seljuk Turks (see Seljuks) brought most of Armenia under Turkish
control by 1071.
In the 13th century Armenia fell to the
Mongols, who continued to rule until the early 15th century. The Ottoman Empire
conquered most of Armenia in the 16th century, although Iran (formerly Persia)
continued to hold some Armenian lands. During the next several centuries, these
two powers vied for control over Armenia.
A | Russian Conquest and Ottoman Rule |
In the early 19th century Russian
expansionism extended into the Caucasus. By the late 1820s the Russian Empire
had gained control of Iran’s territories in the South Caucasus. The area of
present-day Armenia thereby became part of the Russian Empire, while the rest of
historic Armenia remained part of the Ottoman Empire. A large number of
Armenians subsequently migrated from the Ottoman Empire to Russian-held
territory.
During the late 1800s Armenian political
groups formed and began agitating for greater levels of autonomy for Armenians,
at times resorting to terrorism. One party, the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation, or ARF (commonly called Dashnaks), sought autonomy for Armenians
within the Ottoman and Russian empires. The Hunchak (“Bell”) party called for an
independent socialist Armenia. The Ottoman and Russian governments responded to
the demands of Armenian nationalists with repressive measures. Ottoman forces
systematically massacred hundreds of thousands of Armenians between 1894 and
1896. The Russian government, although not as repressive as the Ottoman
government, closed Armenian schools and ordered the confiscation of church
property. Armenian nationalists led an armed resistance against the seizure of
church property until Russia put a stop to the practice in 1905.
The worst atrocities against Armenians
occurred in the Ottoman Empire during World War I (1914-1918), when widespread
deportations and massacres eliminated nine-tenths of the Armenians in Anatolia
(present-day Asian Turkey). The Ottoman government accused the Armenians of
being pro-Russian and cited the threat of internal rebellion as justification
for the massive deportations and massacres. Hundreds of thousands of Armenians
were uprooted from their homelands in Anatolia and exiled to the deserts of
present-day Syria. Many Armenians perished from starvation and disease or were
killed by soldiers or civilians during the forced marches. Although the Russian
government and the European powers protested the Ottoman atrocities, they did
not intervene. By the time World War I ended, more than 800,000 Armenians had
died. The massacres continued into the early 1920s, and many Armenians fled to
other countries, including Russia and the United States. According to most
historians, the Ottoman treatment of the empire’s Armenian subjects constituted
the first great genocide of the 20th century. However, the present-day
government of Turkey disputes the characterization of these events as genocide,
arguing that the deaths were the result of civil war, disease, and famine.
See also Armenian Massacres.
B | Short-Lived Independence |
Russia conquered the greater part of the
Ottoman-held Armenian lands in 1916, during World War I. However, after the
Bolsheviks (militant socialists) seized power in Russia during the Russian
Revolution of 1917 and withdrew Russia from the war, the Ottomans reoccupied
their lost territories. The collapse of the Russian Empire during the revolution
helped galvanize popular support among Armenians for the nationalist agenda of
the ARF. In May 1918 the ARF proclaimed an independent Armenian state that
encompassed most of the Armenian lands included in the former Russian Empire.
Armenia fought short and ultimately unsuccessful wars against Georgia and
Azerbaijan in an attempt to secure predominantly Armenian-inhabited territories,
such as the region of Nagorno-Karabakh held by Azerbaijan.
In the August 1920 Treaty of Sèvres
between the Ottoman Empire and the World War I Allies, the Ottoman government
agreed to the partitioning of the empire and recognized Armenian independence.
Meanwhile, however, Turkish nationalist leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk had
reunited the Turkish national movement in the Ottoman lands and had set up a
provisional government in Ankara. In September the new Turkish government
rejected the Treaty of Sèvres and invaded Armenia. The Bolsheviks also invaded
Armenia, thereby preventing the Turkish troops from establishing full control
over the country.
C | The Soviet Period |
Armenian nationalists entered a political
agreement with the Bolsheviks in December 1920, forming a new coalition
government that then proclaimed Armenia a socialist republic. In an agreement
signed the same month, Bolshevik-controlled Azerbaijan agreed to make the
territories of Naxçivan and Nagorno-Karabakh part of Armenia. In early 1921 the
Bolsheviks took complete control of the government, expelling the Armenian
nationalists. Together with Georgia and Azerbaijan, which had also come under
Bolshevik control, Armenia was incorporated into the Transcaucasian Soviet
Federated Socialist Republic (SFSR) in March 1922. In December the
Transcaucasian SFSR became one of the four original republics of the Bolsheviks’
new state, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Despite the earlier
agreement, the Soviet authorities placed the territories of Naxçivan and
Nagorno-Karabakh under Azerbaijani governance.
The new Soviet Communist regime sought to
neutralize nationalist sentiment in Armenia. The ARF was outlawed in 1923, and
the Armenian Communist Party was the only party allowed to function. Leaders of
the Armenian Church were persecuted, churches were closed, and church property
was confiscated. Beginning in the late 1920s many Armenian nationalists and
others suspected of opposing the Soviet regime were executed or deported to
labor camps. The purges intensified in the mid- and late 1930s, when the Great
Purge masterminded by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin extended throughout the entire
Soviet Union. Also in the mid-1930s the Soviet regime banned literature by
19th-century Armenian authors, such as Hakob Melik-Hakobian (pen name,
Raffi).
The Soviet regime also implemented
policies to fully integrate and centralize the economy of the Soviet Union.
Armenia soon became one of the USSR’s primary sources of copper. During the
1930s new industries such as chemical-manufacturing plants were rapidly
introduced in Armenia, while private farms were forcibly combined into large
state-owned farms. The collectivization of agriculture met with fierce
resistance among the peasantry, which initially slowed the process. By 1936,
however, the revolts were largely subdued by force. That year the Transcaucasian
republic was dismantled, and Armenia became the Armenian Soviet Socialist
Republic (SSR) within the USSR.
Soviet authorities began to allow some
leniency in the cultural sphere during World War II (1939-1945). The Communist
government, although officially atheistic, called upon the Armenian Apostolic
Church to rally the Armenian people behind the Soviet war cause. Some
expressions of nationalism were tolerated, especially after the death of Stalin
in 1953. However, substantial political and social reforms did not take place
until several decades later.
In the mid-1980s Soviet leader Mikhail
Gorbachev introduced glasnost (Russian for “openness”), a reformist
policy that allowed controversial issues to be discussed publicly for the first
time in Soviet history. Armenians initially took advantage of glasnost to
demonstrate against environmental problems in their republic. Historical and
political grievances then became the focus of public unrest. In February 1988
crowds of as many as 1 million people took to the streets in Yerevan to rally
for Armenia’s annexation of the Azerbaijani region of Nagorno-Karabakh, where
the predominantly Armenian population had already begun a secessionist
movement.
In December 1988 northern Armenia was
devastated by an earthquake that killed 25,000 people and left more than 400,000
homeless. Government relief efforts were slow and badly organized. The arrival
of essential supplies such as fuel was delayed by an economic blockade
Azerbaijan had imposed on Armenia in 1989 because of the war in
Nagorno-Karabakh. The war also hindered efforts to reconstruct Armenia’s
earthquake-damaged infrastructure. In late 1989 the Armenian Supreme Soviet
(legislature) declared Nagorno-Karabakh to be part of Armenia. The Soviet
authorities did not support the declaration, ruling it was
unconstitutional.
D | Armenia Since Independence |
In September 1991 Armenian residents
voted overwhelmingly to secede from the USSR, and the Armenian Supreme Soviet
declared Armenia’s independence. The following month Levon Ter-Petrossian, head
of the Pan-Armenian National Movement (PNM) and former chairman of the Armenian
Supreme Soviet, became the first popularly elected president of an independent
Armenia. The USSR officially ceased to exist in December.
Economic conditions in Armenia
deteriorated rapidly in 1992. Azerbaijan’s economic blockade of Armenia, which
closed both a railway link and a fuel pipeline, caused severe food and energy
shortages throughout Armenia. Ethnic-based conflicts raging in Georgia also
impeded delivery of urgently needed supplies to Armenia. Meanwhile, Armenian
refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh and other parts of Azerbaijan flooded into
Armenia, further straining the economy. In massive demonstrations in Yerevan in
1992 and 1993, Armenians protested the continuing energy crisis and demanded
Ter-Petrossian’s resignation.
In 1993 Armenian forces defeated the
Azerbaijani army in several confrontations in Nagorno-Karabakh, which led to
Armenian control of the region and of adjacent areas by August of that year.
Although initial cease-fire agreements failed to hold, a new cease-fire
agreement was reached in May 1994 after protracted mediation by Russia and the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
In July 1994 the political opposition to
the ruling PNM, staged antigovernment demonstrations in Yerevan. Foremost among
the opposition was the nationalist Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF), the
same party that had established an independent Armenian state in 1918. The ARF
strongly supported the Armenian secessionists in Nagorno-Karabakh, whereas the
PNM maintained a somewhat distanced stance toward the secessionists. The ARF
also rejected government efforts to introduce market reforms in the economy and
opposed PNM-supported proposals for a new constitution that envisaged broadened
powers for the president. In December 1994 the PNM-led government suspended the
ARF, accusing the party of terrorism and other illegal activities. (The ARF was
legally reinstated in 1998.)
In July 1995 Armenia held its first
parliamentary elections as an independent country. The Republican bloc, a
coalition led by the PNM, won a decisive victory to claim the majority of seats.
The elections were monitored for fairness by the OSCE but were criticized by a
number of opposition parties, which had been barred from participating. In a
referendum held at the same time, voters approved Armenia’s first post-Soviet
constitution, which granted the president wide-ranging powers. In the
presidential election of September 1996, Ter-Petrossian was reelected to a
second term amid widespread allegations of vote fraud. Popular protests against
the election results escalated into violent clashes with police, followed by a
crackdown on the political opposition.
In March 1997 Ter-Petrossian appointed the
elected president of Nagorno-Karabakh, Robert Kocharian, as prime minister of
Armenia. Kocharian was a supporter of Nagorno-Karabakh’s ultimate secession from
Azerbaijan. Ter-Petrossian announced, however, that he was prepared to accept a
compromise solution proposed by the international community, which would have
left Nagorno-Karabakh formally within Azerbaijan but granted de facto control to
the local Armenians. Ter-Petrossian was forced to resign in February 1998 by
hard-line supporters of Nagorno-Karabakh’s secession.
One month later, Kocharian was elected by
popular vote to succeed Ter-Petrossian after campaigning on a promise to reach a
peaceful resolution in the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute. Despite repeated high-level
meetings between Armenian and Azerbaijani officials, however, the status of
Nagorno-Karabakh remained unresolved. Meanwhile, the economic blockade of
Armenia imposed by Azerbaijan in 1989, and subsequently reinforced by Turkey,
remained in force.
In October 1999 five gunmen opened fire
on a session of the parliament, killing Prime Minister Vazgen Sarkisian,
parliamentary speaker Karen Demirchian, and six other top officials. The gunmen,
who took dozens of hostages, surrendered the next day after Kocharian guaranteed
the assailants that they would receive a fair trial and permitted them to
broadcast a statement on national television. The gunmen’s leader, an
ultranationalist named Nairi Unanian, defended the attack as a patriotic action
and accused the government of following ruinous economic and political policies.
In December 2003 six people were sentenced to life imprisonment for their
involvement in the shootings.
In March 2003 Robert Kocharian was
reelected president with 67 percent of the vote in a runoff election against his
principal challenger, Stepan Demirchian, son of the assassinated parliamentary
speaker. The political opposition alleged Kocharian’s victory was due to fraud
and intimidation, and Western election observers reported widespread voting
irregularities.
Parliamentary elections in May 2003 were
held to coincide with a referendum on constitutional reform, ostensibly
supported by Kocharian. Pro-government parties won more than half the vote, but
the proposed constitutional reforms failed to achieve the required support. A
coalition government was formed between the Republican Party of Armenia, the
centrist Rule of Law Country, and the nationalistic Armenian Revolutionary
Federation. The referendum in favor of constitutional amendments was passed in
2005. In the 2007 parliamentary election the Republican Party led by Prime
Minister Serge Sarkisian won about a third of the vote, more than any other
party. The opposition again claimed fraud, but international observers found
fewer irregularities than in previous Armenian elections.
Under President Kocharian, Armenia
achieved double-digit economic growth. Kocharian was barred by the constitution
from serving a third consecutive term. His strong ally, Prime Minister
Sarkisian, easily won the 2008 presidential election and pledged to continue
with the successful economic policies. His greatest challenge, however, was the
unresolved dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh.
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