Armenia / Georgia

by Richard Giragosian For nearly a decade and a half, Armenia enjoyed a period of relative stability in the region, with little or no abrupt shifts or sudden threats to security. In fact, since the 1992 ceasefire with Azerbaijan, it has been only inner turmoil that has threatened stability—from routinely failed elections, to an act of terror (parliament 1999), to last spring's horror in the streets of the capital.

A city blinded by death looked for the light of life and Gyumri found it in culture, soon after December 7, 1988.

by Alexander Iskandaryan and Vicken Cheterian For a long time to come, the Armenian public will associate the presidency of Robert Kocharian, the second president of independent Armenia, with the final act of his presidency: the violent police repression of opposition protests against alleged fraudulent elections.

by Aris Ghazinyan As the world's attention has been drawn to Georgia and the tension that fighting there has created between the US and Russia, the Armenian community of Georgia is reminded of its awkward place in a republic that has reason to shun any friends of Russia, including neighboring Armenia.

by Naira Bulghadaryan In the Armenian province of Lori, 58-year-old sculptor Bogdan Hovhannisian connects his homeland's history to those outside it through his craft.

by Naira Hayrumyan As Russian tanks rolled into Georgia this August, the impact of unrest in that country's "enclaves" was felt across the plains of Armenia and into the mountains of Nagorno Karabakh, where 20 years ago Karabakhtsis first felt the horror of war.

by John Hughes While the home team wilted 0-2 to arch-rival Turkey, the statesmanship image of Sargsyan was raised in the eyes of regional and international leaders looking for any sign of diplomatic progress in a neighborhood made more unstable by the recent spilling of bad blood between Georgia and Russia.

by Gayane Mkrtchyan Editor's Note: The first thing an outsider learns about Gyumri is that its people enjoy telling jokes, tall tales, are famous for teasing, and known in Armenia for their "big mouths." They are known for their art, for their culture, for their humor and hospitality. Since an awful winter day 20 years ago, that jovial spirit has been challenged. On December 7, 1988, the world beyond the reach of strictly guarded and sanitized propaganda of Soviet "pravda" heard the awful truth of a province (Shirak) struck with around 25,000 dead.

by Richard Giragosian Faced with the challenge of proving his own legitimacy and mending the wounds of an injured republic, Armenian President Serge Sargsyan endures lingering doubts and continued challenges amid unresolved political shortcomings.

by Armine Avagyan In the southern Armenia town of Kapan in the Syunik province, municipal administrator Edik Mirzoyan sees growth in the region reflected through the visitors he receives as part of his local government duties. It used to be, Mirzoyan says, that most people sought financial aid or employment from the municipality. But now they have different needs. A handful ask for jobs, he says, "and the rest either are privatizing property or want to buy land for construction."

by Gayane Abrahamyan Twenty years ago December 7, the province of Shirak drew the world's attention to the littleknown Soviet Socialist Republic of Armenia when news of horror spread in the wake of an earthquake that killed some 25,000 and left multiple times that number homeless. With the significant anniversary of destruction at hand, the region—and particularly Armenia's second largest city, Gyumri—is still in recovery. Young adults starting new families have come of age in "the disaster zone," which in recent years came to be called the "recovery zone."

by Tony Halpin They were five days in August that shattered assumptions about the Caucasus that have held since the collapse of the Soviet Union and exposed the great-power rivalries that now course through the region. Georgia's attempt to reclaim its breakaway region of South Ossetia ended in humiliating occupation by Russia and triggered the most serious confrontation between the Kremlin and the West since the invasion of Afghanistan almost 30 years ago.