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THE SUNSET OF RUSSIAN CIVILIZATION – 2022-1

Gevorg S. Khoudinyan
The current deadly battle between Russia and Ukraine – the sons of Ruthenia founded by chieftain Rurik of the Scandinavian Rus (Ros) tribe in 862, is a clash of centuries-old archetypes that will pave the way for the clarification of the eastern borders of Western civilization.

Though Francis Fukuyama, recently inspired by the events in Ukraine, tried to find a modern value system in the causes of this bloodshed and described what was happening as a qualitatively new milestone in the triumph of the idea of freedom, we stick to the viewpoint expressed by “Vem” still at the beginning of 2014 – in the days of the Russian-Ukrainian first war, that the well-known London plan was launched to bring the “birth of the Cossack tribe” free Russians – Ukrainians, against Russia so as to put the latter, considered to be invincible, in a hopeless situation thanks to the persistent efforts of the Jewish-Turkish lobby deeply rooted within Russia.

The article presents the main stages of the implementation of that program and the levers and mechanisms of its key players to influence the Russian political leadership.

According to the author, since the 18th century, the Russian Empire had become stronger and had entered the arena of European and world politics through successive cycles of its rationalization, that is, Russia has developed and flourished as a European power. That is why the doctrine of Eurasianism, re-nominated in the 1990s by London’s prompt in the age of technological society and information, is in fact a vulgar Asianism that undermines the civilizational foundations of its own state.

Therefore, the prospect of the USSR restoration based on such a concept could not have stalled, even after the first “successful joint operation” in 2020 – after the 44-day war in Karabakh, since subsequent events showed that Russia sacrificed its ally for it not only economically, but is not militarily ready for further development of events.

The author considers that in such conditions the Ukrainian political nation is currently trying to become the Europe-directed face of the Russian double-headed eagle, whose Slavonic-Varyag nucleus persistently strives for Europe. Therefore, Ukraine, as a country of free Russians, is waging a life-and-death struggle against Tatar-Slavic Moscow, formed on the basis of the Finno-Ugric substratum.

Whereas, for Russia, to conquer Ukraine means to win itself politically and culturally, that is, in terms of civilization. Therefore, such persistence manifested in the arena of “defeating itself” opens the way of Russia’s suicide.

THE EVALUATION OF THE KARS TREATY OCTOBER 13, 1921 – 2021-4

According to modern historical science of the Republic of Armenia (1991-2021)

Summary

Lilit Hr. Hovhannisyan
The history of the treaties of Alexandropol on December 2, 1920, Moscow on March 16,
and Kars on October 13, 1921, logically related to each other, is the most disputable and the
most difficult in terms of evaluation in the series of the international diplomatic documents on
the Armenian question.

Nevertheless, the most discussed of the above three treaties in Armenian
historiography is the Treaty of Moscow, and the most underestimated – the Treaty of Kars,
although the Armenian-Turkish relations have been regulated by this treaty since October
13, 1921. The military-political conditions and goals of signing the Kars Treaty are
examined in scientific works of G. Galoyan, H. Avetisyan, A. Melkonyan, A. Hakobyan, H.
Hakobyan and in joint study of K. Khachatryan, H. Sukiasyan and G. Badalyan. They
emphasize that the Kars Treaty is not an independent document not only in its essence and
content, but also from the point of view of political and international legal norms because
of repetition and fixation of Moscow Treaty in it. Therefore, since the latter in its turn was
signed in violation [the signatories of the treaty without any authority had interfered in the
territorial integrity of the non-signatory sovereign state (states)] of the basic principles of
international law, so the Kars Treaty does not create any legal obligation for Armenia in the
issue of territorial demarcation.

Historians St. and K. Poghosyans, A. Melkonyan, A. Marukyan and A. Papyan
analysed the Kars Treaty from the historical-legal point of view. According to them, the
Armenian part of the Soviet-Turkish border passing through the Akhuryan and Araks rivers
is just a dividing line. It does not have the status of an Armenian-Turkish state border, as
there is no any international treaty on it having legal force. The historians emphasize that
the only de jure border between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Turkey is the
Wilsonian border, and the illegal treaties of Alexandropol, Moscow and Kars cannot be the
basis of a legal border. They also note that in case of a new Russian-Turkish
rapprochement, the «confirmation» of the former USSR border’s Armenian part as an
Armenian-Turkish border will mean from a legal point of view a change of the border
because the de jure border between Armenia and Turkey drawn by W. Wilson still in 1920
differs significantly from the Soviet-Turkish border.

The above-mentioned issues have not only scientific but also political significance, as
at present Russian-Turkish relations continue in the Kemal-Bolshevik spirit, keeping
Armenia in the shackles of Alexandropol, Moscow and Kars treaties.

After the joint aggression of Turkish-Azerbaijani armies and international terrorist
groups against the Artsakh Republic in 2020, the Armenian side, appeared in the Turkish-
Azerbaijani-Georgian-Russian «tongs», is facing the imperative of adopting a new
negotiation strategy with the mentioned states having as a primary task the avoidance of
repetition of the Kars Treaty. The Armenian diplomacy must be able to refrain from
excessive haste, to act from the position of the Armenian claims under international law,
also defend the Armenian state interests in direct and mediated discussions in the legal field
on issues related to the borders, territorial integrity and status of the Republic of Armenia
and Republic of Artsakh. And this is possible only in the case of restoration of the
international personality and economic-military potential of the Republic of Armenia got
loose by the Artsakh 44-days war, also the unity and comprehensive cooperation between
the Republic of Armenia, Republic of Artsakh and Armenian Diaspora Javakhk.

IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS OF THE KARS AGREEMENT ON OCTOBER 13, 1921 – 2021-4

Summary

Armen Ts. Marukyan
The Kars “Treaty” of 1921 was signed with a gross violation of the norms and
principles of international law. The document signed in Kars made an attempt to “legalize”
the previous Bolshevik-Kemalist deal in Moscow, which gives reason to consider the
document signed in Kars as an annex to the illegal Moscow Treaty.

The issue of the final recognition of the document signed in Kars by Armenia still
remains topical for Turkey. It is no coincidence that this issue in a veiled form was reflected
in the Armenian-Turkish protocols signed on October 10, 2009 in Zurich, which were later
rejected by Armenia. The protocol “On the establishment of diplomatic relations between
the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Turkey” states that “the signatories reaffirm
the mutual recognition of the border existing between the two countries, established by the
relevant treaties on the basis of international law”.

The signing of the Kars document led to significant losses of the Armenian
territories, caused serious security problems, demographic problems and psychological|
complexes, the consequences of which Armenia and the Armenian people continue to feel
to this day. Before taking any steps to neutralize the grave consequences of the Kars
document, Armenia should carry out consistent political and diplomatic work, taking into
account geopolitical and regional processes.

It is no secret that influential powers use the norms and principles of international
law in their interests and goals, sometimes violating or interpreting them in their favor.
Even if influential actors of international relations try to justify their actions by the norms
and principles of international law, the Republic of Armenia, as a subject of this law, is
simply obliged to take advantage of the possibilities of international law, defending not
only its own interests, but also the legal rights of the entire Armenian people.

THE SYMBOL OF ARMENIAN-KURDISH ALLIANCE – 2021-4

Newfound documents about the life and activity of Artashes Muradyan

Aram S. Sayiyan
In 1926-1930 in Kemalist Turkey, another Kurdish uprising broke out on Mount
Ararat. One of the key leaders of this uprising was Zilan Bey – in fact, a member of the
Armenian Revolutionary Party Dashnaktsutyun Artashes Muradyan, who, on the
instructions of the party, in the fall of 1927 became the representative of the Armenian
side in Ararat under the pseudonym Zilan Bey. In a very short period of time, he
managed to resolve all controversial issues between the Kurdish tribes and rally them
around the proclaimed Ararat Republic. Thanks to this, the Kemalist authorities did not
manage to bring feuds into the ranks of the Kurdish rebellious tribes before his arrest in
the summer of 1929 and win over at least one tribe to their side. Kurdish units inflicted
heavy defeats on the Turkish army for three years, and in the summer of 1929 they
managed to capture the city of Igdir and reach the Soviet-Turkish border. This very
seriously alarmed the Soviet military-political leadership, which saw this as a real
threat to their power in the South Caucasus. It was decided in Moscow that the Ararat
uprising was planned by the British with the aim of taking over the Baku oil. The use
of the Kurdish question against the British interested the Soviet military-political
leadership for both defensive and offensive purposes. In the expected war with Great
Britain, Iranian and Iraqi Kurdish tribes were supposed to attack British military
airfields in Iraq and destroy distant bombers, preventing them from bombing Baku. As
for the offensive goal, it was planned to send armed detachments of Kurdish tribes of
southeastern Iran to India during the war with Britain, and to send the Kurds of
northwestern Iran to Iraq by tying the hands of the British and preparing a springboard
for the offensive of Soviet troops in these areas.

Moscow believed that ARF Dashnaktsutyun was the organizer of this plan, and
the Kurds were a striking force. To destroy these plans, the OGPU decides to eliminate
Zilan Bey. They manage to lure Artashes Muradyan to the Soviet-Turkish border and
arrest him. But different versions of Muradyan’s arrest suggest that Artashes Muradyan
was recruited by the OGPU even before the uprising in Ararat, and now, when the
victories of the Kurdish detachments and the proclamation of the Ararat Republic
contradicted the interests of Moscow, he was recalled under the guise of arrest and the
uprising was left decapitated. Ruben indirectly confirms this theory, who in his letter to
the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Envoy of the USSR in Egypt N. V. Novikov
wrote that Artashes Muradyan went down to the border river in order to receive
military weapons from the Soviet. His immediate supervisor, Yeghishe Ishkhanyan,
also suspected him of treason, but the investigation into this case found A. Muradyan
absolutely innocent. Most likely, the Bolsheviks managed to lure him into a trap using
his family ties. It is likely that the OGPU threatened with reprisals against the
Muradyan family and he was forced to surrender to the Soviet punitive organs.

In Soviet times, his fate was unknown and only after the collapse of the USSR, it
became known from declassified documents that he was shot in one of the gulag camps
in the Arkhangelsk region in 1938. The place of his burial is still unknown. Together
with him, members of his family and close relatives were also repressed, most of
whom also died in places of detention. The Bolshevik punitive organs did not spare his
young children by arresting Muradyan’s wife, Margarita, or his elderly brother Levon
and father-in-law Grigor, whose graves are also unknown. Artashes Muradyan to this
day is one of the honored national heroes for most of the Kurds and an unjustly
invaluable figure for the Armenian nation.

A VALUABLE MONOGRAPH – 2021-4

Seyran Grigoryan, Vahagn Davtyan’s Poems, Yerevan, Armav Publishing House, 2021, 458 pages

Summary

Zhenya A. Kalantaryan
The review analyzes and evaluates the peculiarities, principles and criteria of
the method used by S. Grigoryan–the author of the mentioned book. It is observed
that Grigoryan necessarily takes into account both the time of writing the poem and
the time the poem covers, trying to uncover the linkаgе between the past and the
present. One of the important merits of the monograph is the search for the bases of
the structural and lexical layers of the poems in historical and folklore sources.
According to the literary critic, Davtyan builds his poems mostly on a folklore
basis, as a result of which poems reflect the folk worldview.

The article comments on the comparisons made by the author of the book with
the historical and folklore sources of the poems, as well as similar works by
previous poets. It is noticed that some cases of stylization, imitation, repetition
revealed by the literary critic, according to his own observation, Davtyan used for
his own interpretation of the material, thus bringing his personality onto the
material.

The critique assesses S. Grigoryan’s comprehensive approach in revealing
both inter- and intra-genre features of the poems. The author of the monograph
examines the poems and comes to convincing conclusion comprehensively
drawing from all the branches of philology, including the history of literary history,
literary theory, literary criticism, textualism, etc. The monograph is deemed to be a
noticeable contribution to modern Armenian literature.

THE CHILDREN’S LITERATURE OF THE GIFTED SATIRIST – 2021-4

Albert Makaryan, Astghik Soghoyan, Hakob Paronyan as a children’s writer, Yerevan, “Armav”, 2021, 188 pages

Summary

Nvard Kh. Vardanyan

Armenian literary criticism is enriched with a valuable study. Most recently,
a remarkable monograph entitled “Hakob Paronyan as a children’s writer” was
published. The authors of the book are well-deserved scientists – Albert Makaryan,
the author of several monographs dedicated to the examination of H.Paronyan’s
works and Astghik Soghoyan.

The monograph is the first complete attempt to present the great Armenian
satirist Hakob Paronyan as a children’s writer. For the first time, the children’s
periodical founded by Paronyan, that is, the illustrated bi-weekly magazine
“Theater: Friend to Children” and the children’s literature published in its pages are
studied.

In the four chapters of the book the history of the publication of the
periodical is examined, the genres of children’s literature are studied. The study
clarifies that all the materials published in the periodical are entirely Paronyan’s
creations though they are signed by different pen-names. They were mainly
intended to admonish and instruct the children, so the themes are of cognitive,
morally philosophical, educational, instructive and pastime nature.

It is obvious that as children’s writer Paronyan prefered realistic genres
(realistic tale, tale-story, story, instructive stories and etc.) wishing to present to the
little reader the real notion of life and not to decive them by false stories and unreal
miracles. This principal is seen in elaborations of two fairy tales. For instance, the
tale “Red Varduk” has no happy end, which mostly underlines its instructive
nature. The authors of the study have also turned to the unique approaches to
education conditioned by gender.

The monograph is a new and fresh word in the field of Paronyans’ study: it
will surely be useful for th specialists in literature, literary theorists and for the
broad range of the readers interested in philology and children’s literature.

A MAN WHOSE LIFE WAS A DEDICATION – 2021-4

In memory of Ali Ertem

Summary

Ashot N. Hayruni

On December 2, 2021, Ali Ertem, a Turkish human rights advocate, publicist,
political figure and a sincere friend of the Armenian people, after a battle with
deadly illness, passed away. On September 26, 1998, in the German city of Mainz
Frankfurt, Ertem established “The Association of People Opposed to Genocide”, a
civic organization, which under his leadership included leading Turkish and
Kurdish intellectuals and played an active and multifaceted role throughout the
international community, most notably bringing public attention to the problem of
recognizing and condemning the Republic of Turkey for its role in the Armenian,
as well as other genocides. This activity, which was accompanied by a persistent
and resolute struggle against Turkish denial, has borne fruit over the years through
numerous and varied events and initiatives: conferences and public debates with
renowned scholars, photo exhibitions, various commemorative events,
presentations of new scientific works on genocide, public protests against denial,
petitions, appeals to governments and parliaments of Turkey and other countries, at
the same time, showing an active position on new political developments and
comprehensive support for initiatives by other organizations and individuals to
recognize and condemn the genocide.

Ali Ertem’s untimely death caused a great loss to the fighting humanism, of
which he was the classic representative. His death orphaned many ideas and
programs, which he did not manage to implement. There is no doubt, however, that
Ali Ertem’s work will live on; the seeds he sowed will always bear fruit. “The
Association of People Opposed to Genocide”, which he founded and led, is full of
determination to continue its great mission after the death of its leader.

The article also presents the statement issued by “The Association of People
Opposed to Genocide” on the occasion of the death of Ali Ertem, as well as the text
of his report to the international conference entitled “Azeri-Turkish Aggression and
Artsakh’s Struggle for Independence” organized by YSU on November 8, 2020.

TURKEY’S GEOPOLITICAL AMBITIONS (ASPIRATIONS) – 2021-4

And the prospects of forming an anti-Turkish alliance

Summary

Lilit V. Dallakyan

In recent years, trying to rediscover its role in the international arena,
Turkey expanded its influence in the Mediterranean basin, the Middle East and the
South Caucasus, using military, political and economic instruments. However, such
persistent and retrospective efforts led to the emergence of new obstacles and
barriers to Turkish progress, the accumulation of which over time can lead to the
formation of an anti-Turkish alliance.

Turkey is trying to use the so-called “bubble effect” in the international
arena. That is, that state, not having enough power politically and economically,
especially without being a superpower, artificially increases its role in the
international arena, trying to extort dividends from its strategic position and
simultaneous military presence in different regions. Obsessed with the ideas of
Pan-Turkism and neo-Ottomanism, Erdogan is ready to send troops to any part of
the world, because by creating zones of instability, he tries to force the great
powers to take him into account and to make concessions on important issues for
him.Taking into account the serious economic problems as the consequences of the
epidemic, the desire of the superpowers not to get involved in an active military
conflicts, the fear of terrorism and refugees issues, Turkey uses the policy of
blackmail to achieve its goals.Turkey has already created zones of instability in a
number of regions; he is waging a geopolitical struggle against the countries in the
same military alliance with him. They can be divided into three main directions:
the Mediterranean Sea, the Middle East and the South Caucasus. At the same time,
it should be noted that these issues are interrelated.

The increase of the element of nationalism in the content of Turkey’s foreign
policy is closely connected with the circumstances of the coalition with the nationalists
in the domestic political life. As a result, the country’s economic situation is
deteriorating day by day, so the time to extort dividends by speaking in the language of
blackmail with the international community is running out. Meanwhile, Erdogan has
plunged Turkey into such complicated deadlocks in domestic politics, foreign policy,
economy and even in civilazional issues, that his resignation will not be a sufficient
condition for coming out of them soon. But the whole problem is that the Turkish
president has intention to do everything to stay in power by the time of the celebration
of the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Turkey in 2023.

In all likelihood, a stubborn adventure of Erdogan is somewhat fueled by
certain Western powers, which, losing their former geopolitical function, see
Turkey as a tool to deepen confrontations on several playing fields and even a
playing card sacrificed for that purpose.

Therefore, on the one hand, they are now strengthening their defense alliance
with Greece, encouraging the formation of an anti-Turkish alliance already underway
in the Eastern Mediterranean, on the other hand, provoke Erdogan’s majestic winds
and directing him to Crimea, Ukraine and especially Central Asia. This wedge removal
policy is the old and also new methodology of Hitler’s pacification, in the role of which
Erdogan is forgiven for threatening to expel the ambassadors of the leading Western
countries. As the role of the Eastern Hitler assumed by Erdogan is not a direct threat to
the West, but to Armenia, Iran, Russia, and in the prospect for China, at some point, the
formation of an anti-Turkish alliance may unite the parties of the global confrontation,
especially the interests of Russia and the USA, as the Russian-Turkish Munich, which
made Armenia and Artsakh a new Czechoslovakia, has already failed on a global level.
Russia and Turkey have no longer territories to concede to each other, so the field of
their possible anti-western deal has been severely narrowed. Instead, the likelihood of a
deal with the West based on the third is superfluous principle against each other
increased, which could lead to the formation of a broad anti-Turkish collaboration
based on a combination of US and Russian interests.

POET STEPANOS DASHTETSI – 2021-4

Soseh B․ Poghosian (New Jugha, Iran)
Poet Stepanos Dashtetsi from New Jugha lived and worked in the second quarter of
the 17th – the first quarter of the 18th cc. During the forced deportation carried out by Shah
Abbas, his parents have been resettled from Dasht village of the Goght canton to
New Jugha, where he was born. The pseudonym Dashtetsi has been taken from here.

Dashtetsi received education at Amenaprkich Monastery of New Jugha, he was a student
of Stepanos Jughayetsi and was specialized in philosophy and theology. After
receiving the primary education in Isfahan, he studied at the high school of Vatican in Rome.

He mastered Old Armenian, Persian, Turkish, Georgian languages, as well as Latin
and Hindi.

In the beginning, Dashtetsi was a priest but later, due to some circumstances, he became a
merchant. He visited many countries: he was in Persia, India, Turkey, Greece, Italy and a
number of European countries. During his travels, he saw and learned a lot, and in this
connection he became circumspect, experienced, patient and wise.

The theological and polemical works of the author are most popular. Meanwhile, his
image as a literary and public figure would be incomplete without studying his poetry.

In the article we have examined Dashtetsi’s poems, which have been divided into
three groups: a) satirical and condemnatory; b) instructive and philosophical; c) love.

In the poems of the first group, he, ridiculing and condemning, points to the common
delusions among the inhabitants of New Jugha: hypocrisy, greed, worship of everything
foreign, ignorance and envy. In the poems of the second group, he tries to enlighten the
society through moral teachings. His poems on these two main topics are written mostly in
the eastern form of Tajnis in the New Jugha dialect.

Love songs stand out among the poems of Dashtetsi. They continue the traditions of
the medieval poetry with their depiction of the external appearance of the object of love and
suffering caused by the devotion of a lover.

17 poems of Stepanos Dashtetsi that have reached us with their content, form and
language are of great value both for the Armenian literary criticism and for the
dialectology, as well as for the study of the history of Armenian culture.

THE ILLUSTRATIONS OF CILICIAN HANDWRITTEN BIBLES IN THE 1250-1350s – 2021-4

Ovsanna P. Keshishyan
Handwritten Bibles, created in Cilician Armenia, play a crucial role in the
artistic decoration of the Armenian-language Bible. Cilicia plays a paramount role
not only in the illustration of handwritten Armenian Bibles, but also, first of all, in
their first full edition, made by Catholicos Nerses Lambronatsi at the end of the
12th century (1153-1198).

Before the creation of the first Bible in the Armenian language that has
reached us (Bible from Yerznka, 1269, Jerusalem N 1925), the first full
replications of complete Bibles had already started in Cilicia, which, unfortunately,
have not been preserved.

The role of the activity of the school of Archbishop Hovhannes – the
brother of King Hetum I, formed in the second half of the 13th century, is
especially invaluable in the formation of the illustration system of handwritten
Bibles. In the manuscripts, created here in the 1260-70s (Matenadaran N N 4243,
345), the almost completely formed illustration system of Cilician Bibles can
already be seen, which becomes a basis for further biblical illustrations not only in
Cilicia, but also in Armenia itself. To a certain degree, they carry the influence of
the Byzantine book art.

The Latin influence increases in the period after the activities of
Archbishop Hovhannes. Among biblical manuscripts carrying this influence are
Bibles of 1295 (Matenadaran N 180) and N 179 of King Hetum II, copied by writer
Stepanos Goyneritsants, where chapter separation is carried out with both
Armenian and Franc numeration systems cuncurrently.

In the 14th century, the Cilician Bibles enter a new stage. The manuscript
style changes, leaning more towards the national, geometrically flat-figure
direction, at the same time, a new creative approach can be seen. Sargis Pitsak
plays a significant role in the creation of Cilician biblical miniatures of the period.

Among the manuscripts illustrated by him, interesting is the Bible N
1508/1 (Venice), where, among the decorations of Psalms and Genesis title pages,
we can see the busts of coronary king David and God-Father, rare here.

Another unique Cilician Bible is kept in Hermitage (VP-1011). In the first
part of Bible miniatures we can see Moses’s illustrations, and in the further parts –
Old Testament kings, the illustrations of whose majority appear for the first time.