Onnik Krikorian: "Nationalists agitate for Samtskhe-Javakheti"

"Following the arrest of two ethnic Armenians in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region of the Republic of Georgia, nationalist groups in Armenia plan to hold a demonstration outside the Georgian Embassy in Yerevan on Wednesday. While it is unlikely to be well attended, the activity of such nationalist groups has sharply increased since the short war between Georgia and Russia last August. Chances are that this is no coincidence.

Having openly considered the possibility to use the short conflict over South Ossetia to push for separation from Georgia, nationalist think tanks and analytical centers make no secret of their desire to frustrate good relations with Armenia's neighbor and are more noticeable than ever before. "


Onnik Krikorian is a freelance photojournalist and writer from the United Kingdom based in Yerevan, Armenia.

Read the full article on Frontline.


Poster on the way to Garni temple, national monument and important tourist attraction. The map is titled: Colchide, Iberie et albanie. Kolchis refers to the ancient name of West Georgia, known to the Greeks (Golden Vleece, Prometheus), Albania roughly to present Dagestan and Azerbaijan, Iberie to Armenia and most eastern parts of Georgia.

English Wikipedia explains the term "Iberia":
The theme of Iberia (Greek: θέμα 'Ιβηρίας) was an administrative and military unit – theme – within the Byzantine Empire carved by the Byzantine Emperors out of several Armenian and Georgian lands in the eleventh century. It was formed as a result of Emperor Basil II’s annexation of a portion of the Georgian Bagratid domains (1000-1021) and later aggrandized at the expense of several Armenian kingdoms acquired by the Byzantines in a piecemeal fashion in the course of the eleventh century. The population of the theme was multiethnic with the Armenian majority, including a sizable Armenian community of Chalcedonic rite to which the contemporary Byzantines expanded, as a denominational name, the ethnonym "Iberian", a Graeco-Roman designation of Georgians. The theme ceased to exist in 1074 AD as a result of the Seljuk invasions." (Link to Wikipedia)

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Douglas Muir: "Russia has BBFs too"

Douglas Muir compares separatism in the Caucasus to the Balkans. While focusing mainly on the relations of the different states towards Russia, the following passages give a good insight into Armenian-Georgian relations.

"The Armenians are annoyed at the Georgians for their generally shoddy treatment of the Armenian minority in Georgia. More to the point, Armenians generally look down their magnificent noses at Georgians, considering them self-indulgent, emotional, shrill, slovenly, unreliable, and just generally second-rate. Georgians don’t love Armenians either — they consider them sly, stuck-up and grasping. There are no exactly equivalent Western European stereotypes, but if you think “dour Scots versus hand-waving Italians” you’ll get the general idea.

The state of relations between the two peoples is such that, when a rumor arose that the Russians were using Armenian air bases to bomb them, it was immediately and widely believed by the Georgians. (It wasn’t true.)

At the same time, most Armenians have warm feelings towards Russia. Which warm feelings are not entirely requited — Russians don’t view Armenians with a lot of affection and respect — but that’s another story. Imperial Russia rescued them from the Turks, after all, and then the USSR allowed Armenia to industrialize and Armenians to rise almost to the top of the Soviet hierarchy.

There’s a widespread belief in Armenia that Russia tilts their way in the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute… probably not true, but there it is. More to the point, there are a couple of thousand Russian soldiers in Armenia; it doesn’t get a lot of publicity, but they’ve been there since the 1990s, quietly watching Armenia’s border with Turkey. Drive south from Yerevan, and you’ll see their bases, Russian flags and all.

And then of course, there’s Nagorno-Karabakh. The Armenians are grimly determined to hang on to NK. So they have a strong interest in seeing some post-Soviet boundary changes. If Russia claws off South Ossetia and Abkhazia, not just de facto but de jure, that’ll be a powerful precedent in Armenia’s favor.

All that said, Armenia’s position in the recent conflict has been… nuanced. You see, Armenia’s borders with Turkey and Azerbaijan are closed. They have a land border with Iran, but it’s short, and crossed by a single two-lane road that closes every winter. So, pretty much everything that goes in or out of Armenia — including the single rail line, the single highway, the single fiber-optic cable, and the microwave phone link — goes through Georgia. 90% of their imports come in through Georgia, and about 95% of their exports go out that way. The Georgian port of Poti is Armenia’s window on the world. Simply put, Armenia is a man trying to eat, drink and breathe through a fairly narrow hose. If the Georgians were to become sufficiently annoyed, they could devastate Armenia’s economy overnight.

So, while Armenian public opinion is firmly on Russia’s side, the Armenian government is playing it safe. They’re a friendly neutral to Russia, coolly correct to Georgia."

The full article, published August 22, 2008, can be found at A fistful of Euros.

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Armenian traffic policemen / Armenische Verkehrspolizisten

seen in Erivan, September 2008

A funny mixture: Old soviet uniforms and modern cars (here a Toyota Corolla). Armenian on the sides, and "POLICE" on the hood - in a country, where very few people speak English.

Eine seltsame Mischung: Alte sowjetische Uniformen und moderne Autos (hier: Toyota Corolla). Armenische Schrift an den Seiten und "POLICE" auf der Motorhaube - in einem Land, wo nur wenige Menschen Englisch sprechen.

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