Tag: Yerevan

EVN Report's Editor-in-Chief Maria Titizian speaks with political scientist and international security expert Dr. Nerses Kopalyan, author of the monthly series "EVN Security Report". The security context in December showed that regardless of negotiations or the general contours of a potential peace treaty, actual and sustainable peace with the Aliyev Government will remain elusive. This month’s security report introduces the concept of ontological security.

The vast majority of air pollution in Armenian cities is from transport emissions, and both the concentration and quantity of automobiles in Yerevan prevent residents from living in an environment with clean air.

Baku does not want an equitable peace, the West struggles to advance the negotiations, and Moscow prefers freezing the process to create a new status quo it can control. Yerevan will need to enhance its bargaining abilities by engaging in asymmetrical aggressive bargaining.

Residents of Yerevan will no longer be able to take advantage of an income tax refund system for mortgages that allowed middle-class families to purchase homes. The Government justified the move in order to boost construction in the regions.

While the actors have changed and the Old World framework was replaced by a New World format comprised of 21st century individuals, the recent Global Armenian Summit missed the mark, writes Gaidz Minassian.

When proper enforcement of safety regulations is delayed, it can result in tragedy. This is exactly what happened on August 14, 2022, when a warehouse at a market in Yerevan caught fire and exploded, leaving 16 people dead and 60 injured.

If the EU is honest in its commitment to make peace possible in the South Caucasus, then it needs to address Baku’s ongoing anti-Armenian rhetoric and policy of creating permanent tensions on the borders to pressure Armenia for further concessions.

This next installment in a series of articles on Yerevan looks at issues concerning the transportation infrastructure, most importantly, the need for a modern public transport system, something that has plagued the capital since independence.

Azerbaijan’s motivations, strategy, manipulation, and attempts to legitimize its every military aggression against Artsakh are gross violations of the November 9, 2020 tripartite statement that ended the 2020 Artsakh War.

Բաքվի կողմից 2020-ի նոյեմբերի 9-ի եռակողմ հայտարարության կոպիտ խախտումները ներկայացնող հոդվածի ՁայնաԳիրը։

Russia’s war against Ukraine has thrust the South Caucasus into a contest for control over transport routes. Despite being landlocked, Armenia remains at the center of Russian-Turkish ambitions to deepen cooperation.

After losing his job, photojournalist Vaghinak Ghazaryan, started driving a taxi. Combining his love of cars with his love of photography, he began capturing images of his passengers through the rearview mirror.

In EVN report’s news roundup for the week of June 24: An Armenian soldier is shot dead by Azerbaijani Armed Forces in Armenia’s Gegharkunik region; Artur Vanetsyan, head of the Fatherland Party and leader of the “I Have Honor” bloc resigns his seat in parliament; while in Baku, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says the OSCE Minsk Group ceased its activities because of the U.S. and France plus more.

The first in a series of articles about the challenges facing Armenia’s capital city, Yerevan, examines the issues of urban planning and development.

The first episode in the series focuses on Soviet Armenian statesman Aleksandr Myasnikyan. An Armenian from Nor Nakhijevan (Rostov-on-Don), Myasnikyan was sent to Armenia by Lenin in 1921. His mission was to implement a more moderate approach toward governance, in line with Lenin’s New Economic Policy (NEP). Myasnikyan inaugurated the NEP era in Armenia, allowing the republic to rebuild and stabilize after the 1915 Genocide and the experience of the First Republic. The series is hosted by historian Pietro A. Shakarian and produced by Sona Nersesyan.

Արևելահայերենի և արեւմտահայերէնի փոխհարաբերակցության մասին զրուցում են Ռուբինա Մարկոսեանը, գրական գործակալ Արևիկ Աշխարոյանը, ճարտարապետ Մովսէս Տէր Գէորգեանը և արաբագետ, լեզվաբան Մարատ Յավրումյանը:

In EVN Report’s news roundup for the week of May 20: the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan to meet in Brussels next week with European Council President Charles Michel; while in Moscow participating in a meeting of CSTO leaders, Armenia’s Prime Minister Pashinyan calls out the rapid reaction mechanisms of the organization; opposition protests and acts of civil disobedience continue for the third week in a row in Yerevan.

In the wake of lingering concern over the events unfolding in Ukraine following Russia’s February 24 invasion and its defeat in Artsakh in 2020, how can Armenia pull itself out of this chain of elevated conflicts?

Baku is consistently thwarting all post-war negotiations and existing formats, as the sole agenda of Aliyev’s regime is the total annihilation of Armenians from Artsakh, and possibly even the Republic of Armenia.

Over a year after Russian troops were deployed to Artsakh, here’s what we know about the Russian presence there, with the historical background for Moscow’s drive for boots on the ground in Artsakh.

In EVN Report’s news roundup for the week of February 25: As Russia launches a full scale war in Ukraine, tensions in the greater region surge; Russia and Azerbaijan sign historic declaration on a strategic alliance; two Azerbaijani MPs cause a scandal in Yerevan during the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly session and Armenia’s government sacks five top military commanders.

The opening of the Armenian section of the Transcaucasian Trail means hikers can now walk the length of Armenia along a specially-constructed footpath that connects the Iranian and Georgian borders, taking in some of Armenia’s most spectacular landscapes and cultural sites on the way.

Միրզոյան գրադարանի պատմությունը սկսվեց 100 գրքից և երևանյան հին բակերից մեկում: Ֆոտոլրագրող Կարեն Միրզոյանը պատմում է գրադարանի կայացման և կից գործող սրճարանի մասին և ոչ միայն:

In EVN Report’s news roundup for the week of November 19: Azerbaijan launches a large-scale offensive on Armenia’s eastern border leading to intense battles; a Russian-brokered ceasefire comes into effect five hours later; one day before the Azerbaijani attack, PM Nikol Pashinyan sacks Defense Minister Arshak Karapetyan; the 29th Eurasian Intergovernmental Session of the Eurasian Economic Union kicks off in Yerevan and more.

There’s a new generation of artists, innovators and entrepreneurs that are writing a new story. One that goes beyond the classical interpretation of art, and dares to explore and combine different mediums at the intersection of art and entrepreneurship.

While Baku prepared for war, Armenia relied on overconfidence, willful ignorance and underestimated the enemy leading to its defeat in 2020. But Azerbaijan, intoxicated by its own victory, will also lose because of Aliyev’s strategic narcissism.

Kond is the oldest surviving vernacular neighborhood in Yerevan. Its significance lies not in the current cultural, social and political interpretations but rather in this district’s capacity to store and transfer information across generations.

A peephole view into the kaleidoscopic distortions of other people’s lives where human interaction is set in ways foreign to you and distant from you yet in your city where the “hero” is your friend. A true, but not a real story from the ninth floor, in building 9a, in the Ninth District, the door without the peephole.

Following the early parliamentary election that saw the Civil Contract hold on to power, upcoming municipal elections will give opposition parties, including those with no seats in parliament, a shot at gaining footholds throughout the country.

A new exhibition by the History Museum of Armenia entitled “Costume: Fragments of Identity” recently opened in downtown Yerevan. The curator of the exhibition, Vigen Galstyan speaks to EVN Report about how in the conceptualization of the temporary exhibit, it became clear how little scholarly research has been done on traditional Armenian costumes from a theoretical, political or social perspective.

Electronic dance music, as a relatively new cultural phenomenon, could have been occupied by women, but even here, the presence of men is predominant and women have to fight for fair representation.

Nikol Pashinyan renewed his parliamentary majority through Sunday’s June 20 early parliamentary election and will keep his position as Prime Minister of Armenia. Harout Manougian translates the election results into seats.

As Armenian citizens head to the polls to vote in an early parliamentary election today, the country is bracing itself for one of the most unpredictable election outcomes since independence. Live updates from Election Day.

The Armenian Genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire over a century ago resulted in the murder of 1.5 million, the uprooting of a people from their ancestral homelands and the loss of invaluable ancient Armenian manuscripts.

A 4.7 magnitude earthquake rattled Yerevan back in February. Although it didn’t cause significant harm to people or structures, it triggered the inescapable question: Can Armenia withstand another major earthquake?

Approximately 11,000 soldiers were injured during the 2020 Artsakh War. As they are healing and trying to reintegrate back into society, they are often facing bureaucratic red tape and an inaccessible physical environment.

Political efficacy has been replaced with a wave of voter alienation among a large percentage of Armenia’s electorate. With snap parliamentary elections set for June 20, these issues will be front and center.

Economist Suren Parsyan writes that due to the pandemic and the post-war situation, Armenia is witnessing a decline in purchasing power, a phenomenon that is having an impact on the real estate market.

With Russia and now Turkey having new footholds in the South Caucasus following the 2020 Artsakh War, will Washington under the Biden administration attempt to counter these new developments?

Literary theorist Tigran Amiryan takes the reader on a journey into the essence of Aram Pachyan's experimental novel "P/F", noting that while it might not appeal to aficionados of fictional prose it will cause an unquenchable thirst for contemplation.

In the past several years, residents of Yerevan have started spending more time in cafes and the outdoors generally. We eat out, take our breaks, work and escape from the cares of our daily lives.

When Armenia declared independence in 1991, there was still a large contingent of Soviet troops in the country. Russian military presence, however, stretches back to the early 19th century and now, after the 2020 Artsakh War, is expanding.

Vigen Galstyan explores the humble charm of Soviet Armenian mechanical clocks in this first instalment of a series of articles about Armenia’s not-too-distant past as a major producer of everyday consumer goods and a hot spot for industrial design in the USSR.

A coalition of 16 political parties and others have been demanding the resignation of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan following the Russian-brokered trilateral agreement that ended the 2020 Artsakh War.

Fleeing the war, the women of Artsakh -- mothers, daughters, sisters and wives -- held a rally in front of the UN building in Yerevan asking for one simple thing, the right to live in peace.

For a week now, Yerevan seems to have changed its colors, its mood and even its soundscape. While the war rages on the front lines, the home front is bursting with support, solidarity and love.

Haik Kazarian, co-CEO and CMO of Smart Apaga, a private waste management service is filling a need in Yerevan - collecting and delivering plastic, paper and glass waste to a number of private recycling companies looking for recyclable material. Over 1000 households and organizations are currently using the services of Smart Apaga, which is also set to launch an app to ensure an even better customer experience and benefits.

Yerevan’s iconic Youth Palace was demolished in 2006. While it still remains unclear who and what will fill the void the Youth Palace left behind, its spirit continues to live in the memories of those whose youth was interwoven with its existence.

Armenia’s Physics Institute with its Cosmic Ray Division is trying to overcome many challenges by collaborating with different international institutes. A new generation of scientists believe that more investment is needed to support research and science.

Armenian authorities have confirmed repeatedly that visa liberalization with the EU is one of the government’s top priorities, however, issues still remain.

Award-winning photojournalist Anush Babajanyan documents the heavy burden of transitioning to distance education during the COVID-19 pandemic for children, parents and teachers.

Armenia produces a lot of garbage. Innovative artists throughout the country are taking that waste and turning it into art.

Architect and planner Sarhat Petrosyan, the former head of the State Cadastre Committee, speaks to EVN Report about the need for reforms in the current model of construction and urban development governance, transparency, corruption risks and more.

When a young woman was found strangled to death in Yerevan, some in Armenian society decided to give themselves the right to discuss what she must have done to deserve such a fate.

The International Republican Institute recently published its fourth public opinion survey since the Velvet Revolution. The survey found that a healthy majority of Armenians believe the country is heading in the right direction.

Development projects are popping up haphazardly in Armenia. Many of them pursued for short-term economic goal under the pretext of development. Without a holistic vision for growth in the country, consequences of decisions taken today will be irreversible for generations to come.

With car imports to Armenia doubling over the past year and a poorly organized public transportation network, there is permanent gridlock in the streets of the country’s capital. Yerevan’s municipality hopes to change all that.

Christopher Atamian reviews “The Structure is Rotten, Comrade,” a new graphic novel by Viken Berberian and Yann Kebbi.

While understanding the historical importance and benefits of bicycles in women’s lives, why are less females riding bikes? Some major cities in the U.S. and Europe have conducted studies to understand this, and the main factor is safety.

Jazz and Armenia have a complicated history. From its early beginnings under Soviet rule to contemporary interpretations of jazz, the genre is part of the fabric of Armenian cultural life.

Are you interested in purchasing a home in Yerevan? If so, Harout Manougian offers some invaluable information and advice and more importantly, tips on how to avoid the inevitable pitfalls in an unregulated real estate market.

In the context of autocratic, oligarchic or committedly neo-liberal regimes which continually propagate a coercive and incarcerating model of urban planning, the multiplication of such spaces as the 2800th Anniversary Park of Yerevan is organic, writes Vigen Galstyan.

From those who survived the Armenian Genocide to those who moved to Soviet Armenia during the Great Repatriation of the 1940s, Western Armenians contributed to Yerevan’s incredible rise as a major city, turning it into the heart and soul of the Armenian nation.

What happens when we search Armenian artists from the 20th century on the Internet? If we’re lucky, we might find a video or two and bits of information. It’s not because Armenia doesn’t have its legacy in folk music, jazz or classical music but because the tunes have been locked away in archives, something that is about to change.

What is Your Yerevan Like? Could it be with palm trees and the sea somewhere not so far from Charbakh? It is for Sergey, a street artist with a vision for one of the oldest neighborhoods in Yerevan.

This is a film about the Velvet Revolution, which took place in April-May of 2018 in Armenia from the perspective of Anna Hakobyan, the wife of Nikol Pashinyan, the man who led the nationwide movement that drastically changed the country's political landscape. The film portrays the personal side of Pashinyan’s political life and career.

There is art underground. It is beautiful and that is probably why it is hidden. Meet Armenia's underground musicians through EVN Youth Report's series.

Was there just cause for the Velvet Revolution on substantive or procedural grounds? Dr. Simon Clarke applies a number of principles to the events that took place in Armenia earlier this year to determine whether the revolution was justified.

A prominent Armenian Bolshevik activist and head of the Baku Commune Stepan Shahumyan’s ghost now wanders through his native Caucasus. Armenians have largely forgotten his century-old verbal attacks on nationalism and insistence on internationalist fraternity of peoples, yet his statues remain and streets, villages and towns are named after him in Armenia and Artsakh.

Artists giving up on art as a profession is not a new story, in fact it's as old as time itself. Young aspiring artists in Armenia also face insurmountable challenges, and while they may not be creating works of art, they continue to dream.

With snap parliamentary elections around the corner and if all indicators hold true, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s Civic Contract party remains poised to sweep the vote. The question that the prime minister will have to consider is whether he wants to rule or govern.

Cross-border cooperation among environmental groups is imperative to ensure real environmental protection globally. Drawing examples from Armenia and Lebanon, Sophia Manukyan delves into the world of high-stake investments and assistance in heavy metal mining and waste management.

Departing U.S. Ambassador Richard M. Mills in an exclusive interview with EVN Report speaks candidly about his three and a half years in Armenia, the Velvet Revolution, Artsakh, the region and more.

First Deputy Prime Minister Ararat Mirzoyan sat down with EVN Report to talk about the challenges facing the new government as they prepare, among other things, to introduce reforms to the Electoral Code, make amendments to the Constitution to pave the way to snap elections and the potential introduction of transitional justice to deal with the sheer volume of corruption cases.

Norik Gasparyan, a journalist from Tbilisi writes about the differences and similarities of two revolutions that took place 15 years apart in the South Caucasus: the Rose Revolution in Georgia and the Velvet Revolution in Armenia.

If we look at how many monuments have been erected in Yerevan and how many were dismantled, we’ll have an extensive overview of the political currents and ideological tendencies that swept through the country since independence. As per the list provided by Yerevan Municipality, 51 statues and busts were erected in Yerevan since 1991.

In this second of a two-part series, Mikayel Zolyan looks at the external threats to the Armenian revolution. He writes that while security concerns continue to be real, the Armenian government and society need to make sure that the government system is well-functioning and ready to face external challenges.

Policies of previous administrations were not shaped by ideology, but rather, by a drive to consolidate illegitimate power through patronalistic politics. Nerses Kopalyan argues that the political ideology of Nikol Pahsinyan’s new government is aggressive centrism.

In the first of a two-part series, Mikayel Zolyan looks as the internal threats facing Armenia’s new government following the Velvet Revolution - the continued resistance of the remains of the ancien régime and potential radicals within the revolutionary camp.

Arpine Haroyan looks back at how an avant-garde art movement called Futurism impacted the work of a number of young Armenian intellectuals in Constantinople, Tbilisi and Yerevan at the turn of the 20th century.

As a participant and observer in every protest starting with the Karabakh Movement in 1988, Lusine Hovhannisyan writes that while Nikol Pashinyan gifted Armenians victory in 2018, the people now find themselves nervous about every decision, every appointment, every opinion being expressed.

Visual artist Ruben Malayan’s poster art that he created during the Velvet Revolution in Armenia is a fusion of his passion for calligraphy and the momentous events sweeping across the country.

In this new piece, Mikayel Zolyan writes about the similarities and differences between the 1988 Karabakh Movement and the 2018 Velvet Revolution - what it meant for people then and now and lessons to be learned.

One of the most effective ways for authorities to control freedom of speech is to adopt and implement laws and other legal mechanisms that try to curb the work of the media. Shushan Doydoyan takes a looks at recent amendments in the RA law that have served this purpose.

As Armenia's parliament elected Serzh Sargsyan as Armenia's prime minister today and as tens of thousands gathered in Republic Square in protest - here is a look back on the events of the last 48 hours through the lens of photojournalist Eric Grigorian.

While parliament prepares to elect the country’s new prime minister on April 17, thousands of Armenians poured out into the streets of the capital, exercising acts of civil disobedience. Clashes with security forces led to dozens of injuries. A recap of the day’s events.

Demonstrators led by Nikol Pashinyan, leader of the Civil Contract party, have shut down a major square in Yerevan, paralyzing the downtown core of the capital to protest former President Serzh Sargsyan’s candidacy for the office of prime minister.

On March 1, 2008, police units move in to put an end to ongoing protests disputing the results of the February 19, Presidential Elections in Armenia. In the aftermath ten people are dead, hundreds were injured. The reality before and after March 1st as seen through the lenses of the members of the 4Plus photo collective.

City councillor Marina Khachatryan was attacked by a group of male colleagues when she attempted to hand a glass jar of raw sewage to Mayor Taron Margaryan to highlight the issue of seeping sewage in the Nubarashen district of the capital city.

The Karabakh Movement was a crystallizing moment in the collective and historical memory of the Armenian nation. In this first in a series of articles about the Movement, EVN Report presents a chronology of the events of 1988 which eventually paved the way to independence.

Grand Hotel Yerevan was not only the first large-scale public building constructed in Yerevan, it also played a significant role in the cultural renaissance of the capital city. Arpine Haroyan weaves together the fascinating history of the landmark hotel through the voices of its illustrious residents.

At the height of the Erebuni siege last year by the Daredevils of Sassoun, a group of journalists were allowed into the compound. "Misplaced Fear" is a journalistic and a photographic essay by Roubina Margossian, who was working for CivilNet at the time and provides an inside view of the events that day and also reflects on developments of the past year.

The four tragedies of Maro Alazan based on her unpublished memories- Genocide, Soviet prison, exile and return from exile. The untold story of an incredible woman and her resilience in life and love.

The Yerevan City elections, held on Sunday, May 14, produced more questions than answers as the ruling Republican Party of Armenia claimed a decisive victory with over 70 percent of the vote. Political consultant Arin Keshishian writes about his observations of the municipal elections for EVN Report.

Being an observer of elections is not an easy job. Being a young citizen observer during the parliamentary election in Armenia was an experience that Lusine Sargsyan won't soon forget.

Political pundits will analyze the April 2 Parliamentary Elections for weeks and months to come. The results, however, were not surprising. What are the programs and policies that need to be implemented to prepare the country for the next election cycle?

Political Scientist Yevgenya Paturyan considers the choices voters have ahead of the parliamentary elections, a mere three days away. She says that even though there may be a dearth of the perfect candidate, action is always better than inaction.

The Diaspora has been an inherent component of Armenian reality since antiquity. Its enduring roots, affluent heritage and indispensability to the Armenian nation is difficult to challenge. This article examines the global entrepreneurial endowment of the Diaspora, how it developed and what its role can be today for the Republic of Armenia.

This special section is a historical overview of the disputed region of the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh Republic, NKR), one of the last unresolved conflicts in the former Soviet space.

Arto Vaun writes about the passing of Artur Sargsyan, the man who broke through heavy police barricades to deliver food to the Sasna Dzrer and in doing so, became something of a legend.

Since 2014, Armenia has confronted a number of crippling domestic and external challenges. The major cause for the present situation is the absence of free and fair elections, writes Armen Grigoryan.

Armenia is situated in a volatile region with 80 percent of its borders sealed. This article by Vahram Ter-Matevosyan examines the foreign policy programs of the nine political parties and blocs running in the parliamentary elections.