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…
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…
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,…
The 2014 Sochi Oympics in Russia are due to start just a week from this Friday. Yet, when I was in Yerevan recently, I was somewhat surprised to see a total absence of discussion on the upcoming games. After all, Yerevan is located only 500 miles away from Sochi. Would not the Armenians stand to…
by Sergey Sargsyan Well, this is my first article here and I’m very excited as I write about geopolitics – a word that I have learned at a relatively late age, so please don’t judge too harshly. The focus of my piece will be the ongoing tug-of-war between Russia and the European Union over the…
“Making people laugh, even if it’s just a little, is a psychological need for comedians. I seek to satisfy this need.” When speaking about civil society, it is important to mention the people who help forge this environment in Armenia today. One such individual is Sergey Sargsyan, co-host of the ArmComedy Project (the Armenian version of…
The Abovyan Group (Աբովյան խումբ) 