The IT sector in Armenia has grown dramatically since the Caucasus country’s independence from the Soviet Union. It is the fastest growing sector of the economy, expanding by an average of 20% annually. Once considered to be a Silicon Valley of the USSR, Armenia has truly launched a triumph of various tech startups that are…
20th century / art / culture / history / literature / Post-Soviet Studies / Russian and Soviet Studies
I prefer to be alone, but next to someone… These are the words that first caught my attention while I was browsing for new, must-read books in a Yerevan bookstore. They were the words of the celebrated Soviet writer, Sergey Dovlatov. I briefly looked through some of his books and definitely decided to buy them.…
20th century / 21st Century / Armenia / Caucasus Studies / culture / East European Studies / Great Patriotic War / history / opinion / Post-Soviet Studies / Russia / Russian and Soviet Studies / Soviet Armenia
On 9 May, people throughout the former Soviet Union, from Russia to Armenia to Kyrgyzstan, commemorated the most well-known and celebrated day of the region – the victory over fascism and Nazism in the Great Patriotic War. The celebration of the 70-year jubilee of the 1945 victory in Moscow was simply exceptional. In fact, it was the…
What shall be after the centennial of the Armenian Genocide? Perhaps, we will not know it in the coming years. We may not feel it even within this decade. But clearly the “After Centennial” will be a turning point not only from a purely historical perspective but also, hopefully, in the consciousness of the people.…
“The possibilities for moving forward remain but we should not take matters for granted.” In advance of the Centennial of the 1915 Armenian Genocide, The Abovyan Group sat down with Ara Sarafian, Director of the Gomidas Institute in London, to talk about the Genocide issue, Turkish-Armenian relations, the Kurds, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Hrant Dink, William…
Updated on 16 March 2018 to include the 1920 American map of the proposed boundary between Turkey and Armenia as determined by US President Woodrow Wilson. One of the most enduring myths of Caucasus history involves the little-noticed and oddly placed border between Turkey and Azerbaijan. At first glance at any map, this border is…
By Lilit Grigoryan and Pietro Shakarian Ajara is a unique region in the Caucasus. A state within a state, it is an autonomous republic of Georgia, located in the southwestern corner of the country on the Black Sea coast, with Turkey to the south. It is home to a significant Armenian community and has served…
One of the most fascinating cities in Armenia is the town of Meghri. Situated on the Iranian frontier 230 miles away from Yerevan, in the southern extremity of Armenia’s historic Syunik province, Meghri is a town of 4,600 people. It can take several hours to reach Meghri, at least six if traveling by taxi and…
Many of you know the all-too-famous statue of Lenin that used to adorn Republic Square (previously Lenin Square) in Yerevan. It stood ad locutio in the southwestern corner of the square from 1940 to 1991, when it was ceremoniously removed from its pedestal and deposited, along with its era, in the History Museum of Armenia. Legend has…
…here are two articles from the New York Times archives on architecture in Georgia. In one, written in 2013, the author asks whether Tbilisi’s new skyline (along with the modern marvels cropping up in Kutaisi and beyond) are “slapdash commercialism ruining the culture’s authentic history or a step toward a more progressive society.” In his…
Recently, there has been a major controversy in Armenia over a proposal to build a statue of the Soviet statesman and Bolshevik revolutionary Anastas Mikoyan in Yerevan. Some Armenians regard Mikoyan as a remnant of the country’s Soviet past from which they want to move beyond. Others ponder possible political motives behind this sudden proposal.…
In 1967, Yerevan gained a number of public statues and memorials. This year marked 50 years of Soviet Armenia, and an obelisk devoted to the anniversary rose along the curves of Saralanji Avenue in commemoration. In the neighboring Victory Park, devoted to World War II remembrance, Mother Armenia also raised her sword in 1967. These…
In the spring of 2013, major news outlets in Russia, the Caucasus, and the U.S. were abuzz with the news about “Stalin’s long shadow” (NYT), alarmed that “Stalin lives on” (Tert), and that he is “more popular in Russia now than at the end of the Soviet Union” (HuffPost). These articles referred to a survey,…
by Sergey Sargsyan There is theory that the nations that have gone through relatively harder times like genocide and exile have shaped a deeper sense of humor in response to their tragedy. This is often applied to Jews and Armenians as the two nations with a history of much pain. I think that this theory…
– How did you find out that you are a good man? – Good man? Others told me and I quickly agreed! The 29th of April is the birthday of Valentin Podpomogov, an art director, painter, actor, operator and honored artist of the Armenian SSR. Recently there was a memorable evening devoted to Podpomogov’s 90th…
The Abovyan Group (Աբովյան խումբ) 