Over the 35 years of ‘independence’, traditional ideological splits have not formed in Armenia. Here, the Communist Party preaches Christianity, while the ruling party simultaneously raises taxes and renounces social obligations. There is no ‘left’ and ‘right’, there is not even a meaningful split along the line ‘with the West – with Russia’. At the same time, there is no general reality. But there are 25 ‘political forces’ that took part in the staged early elections in 2021.
Tragically, with the loss of the third pillar of the once-proclaimed trinity of ‘Armenia-Spyurk-Artsakh’, different parts of the Armenian world and the Armenian society have not only drifted apart, but have also lost the fragile consensus on why the Armenian state is needed and whether it is needed at all. Armenia and the Armenian world have divided into bubbles that are uncomfortable for each other and do not want to hear each other. Those who could break through their transparent walls, the future Armenian aristocracy, also prefer to lock themselves in one of the two.
The first bubble is festive, but illusive
This is Yerevan and its glittering storefronts. These are noisy cafes where people discuss where it is better to celebrate the New Year – in Dilijan, Tbilisi or Dubai. Everything here seems ‘like all other people’: cafes, start-up discussions, everyday worries – mortgages, vacations, children. This is Armenia of showcases, festivals, and coworking spaces. This is the Northern Avenue, a few meters from which, somewhere near the Opera, there will always be protesting disadvantaged people – those who have lost their sons, their home, and their means of livelihood. They do not overshadow the general celebration in any way. For, ‘as long as Vienna is dancing, this world will not collapse’ – the famous formula for the Anschluss of Austria by Nazi Germany in 1938. And it has been so for 5 years.
People do not live in complete ignorance in this bubble. They read the news, even though it is ‘harmful to mental health’. Sometimes they donate money to humanitarian needs and discuss politics. But that all is somewhere in the background. In this bubble, the Armenian question is closed after the surrender of Artsakh and there is no trauma of Genocide and exile. This bubble is consistently warm, bright, delicious and, most importantly, safe. At least, it seems that way to its residents. But for some reason, they are also the ones, who are convinced that Armenia is weak and unable to stand up for itself.
This is the ‘Real Armenia’. There is already the ‘crossroads of peace’ around the corner, trade of everyone with everyone, indifference or hatred towards their own, competing with ‘humanity’ towards enemies. They really want to be ‘different’ and ‘repent’ to our neighbours for wanting to remain Armenians in Armenia, to get rid of the ‘complex’ of ‘aggressors’ and ‘occupiers’.
The second bubble is not so bright, but genuine
It is inhabited by refugees from Artsakh, the border villages of Syunik, Tavush and Gegharkunik. In this bubble, fireworks do not cause delight, but fear and tragic memories. It is very difficult to get out of it – there are fallen soldiers, lost monasteries and graves next to the ‘survivors’.
In this bubble, the opposite is true – there are no illusions or hopes. There are no fashion trends in it, but that is why it is a bubble, which also clouds consciousness and gaze. And the harder it is to get out of it and transform worries into constructive potential, especially when this bubble is being carefully hidden from the first one. It is painful, as it reminds people of what it means to be Armenian, that it is a constant struggle and work on oneself. It is much easier to hide it, declare it a leprosy and the source of all ills, while all the best in it – the desire to preserve the Armenian identity and the willingness to endure hardships for the sake of it – is declared a misunderstanding.
Spyurk between the two worlds
The Armenian communities scattered all over the world are a vivid example of how this division actually runs not only through the Armenian world, but also through almost every Armenian. By denying it, by driving it deeper, we only exacerbate the future consequences.
It is hard to deny that, for the most part, Spyurk lives quite casually – rather similar to the first bubble, although some communities have to go through wars and expulsions exactly the same way. The exceptions mostly occur in April, in particular, on April 24 – the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Armenian Genocide. Unfortunately, these exceptions only drive Spyurk into the second bubble, where there is a lot of pain and emotions, yet still no realism and responsibility.
This is a universal issue for many communities – few in the Irish diaspora remember their Homeland apart from the Great Famine and St. Patrick’s Day and have a clear understanding of Ireland and its problems. However, the Irish can afford it thanks to their organised transnational network, where the aristocracy is anchored in the national strategy and aware of the needs and capabilities of the centre of this nation – the Irish state.
The Armenian ‘founding fathers’, in particular Levon Ter-Petrosyan and Robert Kocharyan, chose a different path – the path of alienation of the Armenian communities from Yerevan. Their protégés in Stepanakert were doing the same thing. Contradictions between the traditional parties (Dashanaktsutyun, Hnchak and Ramkavar) were devouring the community from the inside. Now, as a result of this alienation, Spyurk has to form ideas about Armenia and the Armenian politics from Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) – the main sponsors of polarisation around the world. It is difficult to understand what is really happening and to mobilise when, on the one hand, you are being pushed by the algorithms of the social networks, and on the other – by the so–called ‘diaspora parties’.
Some see only fragments of successful urban life and think that Armenia is literally 15 years behind Silicon Valley – leaving only issues with constant power outages to be resolved. Others see only footage from protests, funerals, and destruction, and come to the conclusion that everything is hopeless. Both of them, unknowingly, often engage in a dialogue with fakes and trolls, forming an opinion about the Armenians of Armenia on someone’s political order. Mentoring support of start-ups, donations to disadvantaged families, and eternal sorrow not only cannot save the Armenian state from ultimate dismantling, but also create the false illusion that it is not necessary (or possible).
As a result, many Armenians abroad find themselves in a state of cognitive dissonance – they simultaneously feel guilty, ashamed, helpless, and distant. This makes identity a source of pain rather than belonging, and only exacerbates the trauma of the Genocide for those who could now build a new Armenian nation and direct its traumas to creation, rather than destruction and separation. It is more difficult to scroll through social networks and read the news with this identity. It is painful to read comments and realise how low the once heroic society has fallen. It no longer causes such pride as in the 90s, when, for the first time in a long time, Armenia did not lose, but regained a piece of its historical homeland – Artsakh.
At the same time, Spyurk continues to be replenished – by those, for whom the first bubble of well-being is too small and who want to explore bigger markets, and by those who can no longer survive in Armenia, which is not only ruled by the Turkish commandant, but is also getting way too expensive to live in. This means a demographic catastrophe for Armenia – and new disappointments for Spyurk.
What does this entail for the Armenian world?
Those who choose to live in the first bubble, Pashinyan’s ‘Real Armenia’, have found a very convenient position where they stigmatise everyone and everything. They blame the people of Artsakh for the fact that Armenia did not become a ‘crossroads of peace’ 30 years earlier and cannot become one now, while they reside in the Republic. In the meantime, Spyurk enjoys a ‘comfortable life’ abroad. Thus, they deprive the vast majority of the Armenian world, the guardians of culture, the centres of the Armenian history and statehood – Artsakh and Western Armenia – of the right to participate in decision-making regarding the Armenian future.
In turn, Spyurk prefers to look for the culprits among the residents of Armenia, who tolerated corrupt and poor-quality rule that squandered the enormous resources of foreign communities earned by hard work. Because of their bitter fate, the people of Artsakh are offended by the whole world, which includes Armenia and the Armenian world.
Being a victim is convenient. But once we make such a choice, we lose our subjectivity and can no longer make any choice in future. Turkish commandant Pashinyan deliberately imposed this status on the Armenian world at the cost of thousands of lives, delegitimised all the foundations of the Armenian existence. Thus, individual representatives of the above-described bubbles stopped seeing each other not only as Armenians, but also as people. It is well known that dehumanisation is the first step towards violence. The Turkish world, built on the systemic hatred towards Armenians, and its viceroy in Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, know this better than anyone else.
It is inconvenient only for the Armenian soldier. He equally protects the raging crowds in the Beatles pub and the refugees sleeping in tents. He has been defending the borders of the Armenian world for 35 years and deserves a reliable back in Yerevan – the national aristocracy. He deserves people, who are able to bring Armenians out of their bubbles, of constant stress and oppression, who are ready to sacrifice the private in the name of the common, realising that the private is doomed without the common. He deserves people, who will not whet the appetite of the Turkish world by leaving the Armenian soldier one-on-one with it – with an order not to shoot back.
We should not choose between pain and comfort, between the past and the present. It is a false choice and a luxury we can’t afford.
