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Re: Life in Armenia
THE CREATION OF ARMENIA
By Jirair Tutunjian, Toronto, 11 May 2014
When considering Armenia's recent and somewhat reluctant alliance
with Russia it's important to remember that today's Armenia is mostly
a Russian creation.
Following more than a century of desperate lobbying by Armenia,
tsarist Russia's army finally moved deeper into the Caucasus, in the
early 19th century, and liberated most of the region from Turkic
and Persian rule. What we now call modern Armenia was occupied by
Russia and was named "Armenian Province". Thus for the first time,
since 1375, Armenia appeared on maps as a political entity. Soon
after ultranationalist and narrow-minded Tsar Nicholas I changed the
region's name to "Yerevan Province", but it was now recognized that
the region was Armenian, although the majority of population was
non-Armenian due to foreign occupation.
These and many other facts about the roots of modern Armenia were
limned by Dr. George Bournoutian in his talk titled "Russo-Iranian
Relations and the Formation of the Modern Armenian State" at AGBU's
Alex Manoogian Cultural Centre in Toronto on May 9. Dr. Bournoutian
is on a book tour about his recent "From Tabriz to St. Petersbourg".
Attendees at the standing-room-only event were also regaled by exciting
mini-sketches of Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, the slaying
of Sayat Nova, Shah Fath Ali who had 145 children, a eunuch shah, and
Generals Tsitsianov and Paskievich. Attendees also took away stories
about the several Russo-Persian and Russo-Turkish Wars, about the
bravery of Armenian volunteers, the Karapagh meliks, the colorful
Armenian, Russian, and Persian characters who were involved in the
transformation of Southern Caucasus, and the several repatriations
of Armenians from Persia, Ottoman Turkey and Russia.
One of the most dramatic stories Dr. Bournoutian told was that of the
pro-Armenian Russian Ambassador Alexander Griboyedov who was sent
by Tsar Nicholas I, in 1829, to Persia to ratify the recent treaty
between Russia and Persia. A larger-than-life character, Griboyedov
was a famous playwright, poet, composer, and friend and rival of
Alexander Pushkin.
One of Griboyedov's duties was to assure the return of Christian
prisoners taken by the Persians during their recent war with Russia.
An unexpected conflict flared up when an Armenian eunuch escaped
from the harem of Fath Ali Shah and two Armenian girls escaped from
the harem of the shah's son-in-law. All three sought refuge in the
Russian embassy. The shah demanded that the Armenians be returned. When
Griboyedov refused, Persian mobs, incited by the mullahs, attacked the
Russian embassy. Griboyedov and his Cossacks put up a brave fight but
were killed along with the 45-member staff. Griboyedov was 34. The
Armenian eunuch was also killed. The fate of the two girls remains
unknown. The young ambassador's body was taken to Tbilisi where
it's buried.
Fearing a massive Russian retaliation, the shah sent a 40-man
mission to Moscow, carrying fabulous gifts, including vast carpets,
manuscripts, and a large diamond. With peace established between the
two empires, the Yerevan Province, now largely inhabited by Armenians,
became a backwater. It remained so for the next 80 years, said Dr.
Bournoutian, and became important only in Soviet times. He pointed out
that while there were many obvious negative aspects to Soviet rule,
one should not forget that present-day Yerevan is a legacy of the
Soviet Era, and that scientific and artistic life bloomed in that
period as opposed to the post-independence era.
THE CREATION OF ARMENIA
By Jirair Tutunjian, Toronto, 11 May 2014
When considering Armenia's recent and somewhat reluctant alliance
with Russia it's important to remember that today's Armenia is mostly
a Russian creation.
Following more than a century of desperate lobbying by Armenia,
tsarist Russia's army finally moved deeper into the Caucasus, in the
early 19th century, and liberated most of the region from Turkic
and Persian rule. What we now call modern Armenia was occupied by
Russia and was named "Armenian Province". Thus for the first time,
since 1375, Armenia appeared on maps as a political entity. Soon
after ultranationalist and narrow-minded Tsar Nicholas I changed the
region's name to "Yerevan Province", but it was now recognized that
the region was Armenian, although the majority of population was
non-Armenian due to foreign occupation.
These and many other facts about the roots of modern Armenia were
limned by Dr. George Bournoutian in his talk titled "Russo-Iranian
Relations and the Formation of the Modern Armenian State" at AGBU's
Alex Manoogian Cultural Centre in Toronto on May 9. Dr. Bournoutian
is on a book tour about his recent "From Tabriz to St. Petersbourg".
Attendees at the standing-room-only event were also regaled by exciting
mini-sketches of Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, the slaying
of Sayat Nova, Shah Fath Ali who had 145 children, a eunuch shah, and
Generals Tsitsianov and Paskievich. Attendees also took away stories
about the several Russo-Persian and Russo-Turkish Wars, about the
bravery of Armenian volunteers, the Karapagh meliks, the colorful
Armenian, Russian, and Persian characters who were involved in the
transformation of Southern Caucasus, and the several repatriations
of Armenians from Persia, Ottoman Turkey and Russia.
One of the most dramatic stories Dr. Bournoutian told was that of the
pro-Armenian Russian Ambassador Alexander Griboyedov who was sent
by Tsar Nicholas I, in 1829, to Persia to ratify the recent treaty
between Russia and Persia. A larger-than-life character, Griboyedov
was a famous playwright, poet, composer, and friend and rival of
Alexander Pushkin.
One of Griboyedov's duties was to assure the return of Christian
prisoners taken by the Persians during their recent war with Russia.
An unexpected conflict flared up when an Armenian eunuch escaped
from the harem of Fath Ali Shah and two Armenian girls escaped from
the harem of the shah's son-in-law. All three sought refuge in the
Russian embassy. The shah demanded that the Armenians be returned. When
Griboyedov refused, Persian mobs, incited by the mullahs, attacked the
Russian embassy. Griboyedov and his Cossacks put up a brave fight but
were killed along with the 45-member staff. Griboyedov was 34. The
Armenian eunuch was also killed. The fate of the two girls remains
unknown. The young ambassador's body was taken to Tbilisi where
it's buried.
Fearing a massive Russian retaliation, the shah sent a 40-man
mission to Moscow, carrying fabulous gifts, including vast carpets,
manuscripts, and a large diamond. With peace established between the
two empires, the Yerevan Province, now largely inhabited by Armenians,
became a backwater. It remained so for the next 80 years, said Dr.
Bournoutian, and became important only in Soviet times. He pointed out
that while there were many obvious negative aspects to Soviet rule,
one should not forget that present-day Yerevan is a legacy of the
Soviet Era, and that scientific and artistic life bloomed in that
period as opposed to the post-independence era.
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