Reflection
2023 started with the ongoing blockade of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) by Azerbaijan and concluded with the total ethnic cleansing of the Artsakh Armenians. We had to bear witness to the forced displacement of our compatriots and the haunting images of an endless sea of cars inching their way to Armenia will forever be etched in our collective memory. In this year’s last magazine issue titled “Reflection”, we present a compilation of articles penned by our impressive roster of writers that includes experts and scholars. These articles delved into a range of topics such as security, defense, human rights, geopolitics and more, providing a thoughtful retrospective on the challenges and developments of the past year.
Cover illustration by Harut Tumaghyan
This was the year we were forced to confront our worst collective nightmare. One that fractured lives and shattered assumptions about ourselves. What is the path forward?
The general state of flux and lack of clarity following the collapse of Artsakh—including the peace process—has produced a great deal of uncertainty, precipitating important questions about nationhood, state-building, and how to move forward. Armenia must assess the challenges, threats and risks of its security environment and clarify a new architecture that reflects state and national interests.
In anticipation of violence while discussing peace, in the face of loss and defeat, amid historical shifts in regional and international realities on one hand, and the imperative to be resilient on the other, perspective can emerge from lucid discourse and subject-specific insight.
To be law-abiding, one must have a comprehensive understanding of the law, and to safeguard your rights, familiarity with current legal norms is essential. There are no set regulations on how frequently laws can be amended. However, in the dynamic landscape of politics and society, legislators should continually adjust regulations to align with current realities. The legitimacy of public expectations is jeopardized not by the quantity, but by the quality of changes.
Not everything has its place and not everything’s function or dysfunction can be fine tuned for a description. Raw & Unfiltered is that space on EVN Report, where some of the most critical stories, some of our most dysfunctional, domestic and utilitarian elements coexist alongside narratives, history and the hypothetical much like a society, any society, a catch-all drawer of Armenia, its past, the Armenian diaspora, the histories of both.
The IT sector in Armenia is a strategic direction for the development of the country thanks to the relatively high level of scientific and educational potential of the population. Creative Tech is an attempt to take a pragmatic look at the tech industry including the science and innovation landscape. To emerge as a serious player in the global tech sector, Armenia needs to foster an environment that allows technology companies to achieve their business goals.
The articles in this section of EVN Report attempt to turn the tide and give a much-needed critical spotlight to the forgotten, ignored, misunderstood, unseen, silenced and even derided cultural phenomena that weave the fabric of our collective past and present. From the mundane to the extraordinary, the topics addressed here reveal the remarkable dynamism of both historical, as well as contemporary Armenian social practices.
EVN Report’s mission is to empower Armenia, inspire the diaspora and inform the world through sound, credible and fact-based reporting and commentary. Our goal is to increase public trust in the media. EVN Report is the media arm of EVN News Foundation registered in the Republic of Armenia in 2017.
