by Genine Babakian
As a mathematics professor, Mikit Kazarian may not have been the most obvious candidate for Chief of Staff at the Armenian Embassy in Moscow, but upon assuming the post two years ago he quickly rose to the task.
"It's a lot like learning how to swim," says Kazarian of his transition to the diplomatic service. "If you come across a man who can't swim - throw him in the water. He'll learn."
He was, admittedly, unaccustomed at first to rubbing elbows with high level dignitaries, but he adopted a straightforward approach which belies his lack of experience as a diplomatic. "I represent Armenia," Kazarian says matter-of-factly, "and there is work to be done."
And with the fracturing of a giant the size of the Soviet Union, there was more work than even Kazarian had anticipated. During his first year and a half on the job he considered himself lucky to get out of the office before midnight.
The Armenian Embassy, located at 2 Armyansky (Armenian) Street, is housed in the former Armenian University of Moscow, which was built in the middle of the 19th century and closed in 1921 by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. As with many republics of the former Soviet Union, Armenia does not have official embassy status yet; it is still registered as a permanent representation.
"The old ties are not completely gone, and the new ones are not completely formed," says Kazarian, describing the transitional phase.
Under Soviet rule, the representative offices acted as a liaison to Moscow and facilitated trade and other cooperative agreements among the other Soviet republics. And while the Embassy plans to maintain its contacts with the newly independent countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, it has added a host of new activities to its agenda.
The Embassy's chief task was shifting its main focus from the economic to the political arena as it expands relations with countries outside the CIS. The Moscow team has already helped negotiate the opening of embassies in the U.S., England, France, Egypt, and Iran, and is currently negotiating with other countries, according to Kazarian.
While Kazarian seems comfortable in his new career, he does not give up hope that one day he'll return to mathematics. "I feel as if I'm on the barricades here," Kazarian says. "When life becomes more peaceful, maybe I'll go back to my old life. It's easier."
