Tweet
Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations
Not in the least bit! No matter how one looks at it, as long as it's done rationally and objectively, Christianity saved us from annihilation.
You mean to tell me non-Christians make better soldiers? The best warriors in world history have come from Christian societies. Last I checked battle-happy Russkies were also Christians... What about the Serbian Chetniks? What about the European Christians during the Crusaders? What about the excellent warriors of Napoleon? The Polish Hussars? The Austrian-Hungarian Empire? The Czarist Russian Empire? What's more, Nazi Germany was quite Lutheran throughout the Second World War. Blaming Christianity is both foolish and grossly inaccurate.
The problem we Armenians have today is the absence of a pan-national awareness within us, the lose of our Christian zeal and the lose of our warrior mentality. Our problem is cultural. This is because the warrior, spiritual and intellectual cream of our nation was gradually eradicated throughout the last one thousand years. There are four fundamental reasons why we are the way we are today: First, Byzantine incursions about a thousand years ago that eventually proved to be our first genocide. Second, six-eight hundred years of living as Ottoman/Persian/Russian/Soviet subjects. Third, the Armenian Genocide. And fourth, our Asiatic/Middle Eastern/Western upbringing. Generally speaking, as a result of our history, we are today the direct descendants of Turkified Christian peasants of Asia Minor and the Caucasus that somehow rediscovered their national heritage during the past 100-150 years. Blue blood no longer flows in our vains.
When Nazi Germany invaded Russia, every Russian man, women and child resisted. They did not seek to leave for more peaceful or prosperous lands, they resisted in the tens of millions. They suffered gargantuan losses as a result. But they won. That is respectable. That is honorable. That is patriotism. When Nazis lost the war, and Germany was utterly/completely devastated, instead of seeking greener pastures, millions of Germans instead rebuilt their cities, rebuilt their towns and villages, rebuilt their industry, rebuilt their lives - without complaining, without begging. As soon as Communism collapsed and left Armenia is a desperate economic situation a million Armenians (1/3 of the population) were already planning on abandoning their homeland. During the height of the Artsakh war, as relatively small numbers of Armenians in Armenia were volunteering to help the war effort - vast droves of men, women and children were waiting on Visa lines at the American embassy... And where were the big talking "proud" Armenians of the diaspora? Other than a handful of diasporans sending pocket change as aid, and a handful of daring men from the Middle East, what did the vast Armenian diaspora do? The answer is - nothing. Had it not been for the die hard mentality of Armenians in Artsakh and Russian support Armenians today would be lamenting over yet another genocide. During the First World War when small bands of Ottoman troops and Kurdish brigands were slaughtering Armenians left and right in Asia Minor the vast majority of Armenians were either fleeing or rolling over and dying. Realize that the brave Armenian fighters that resisted Turks at the time represented only a 'minuscule' segment of the Armenian population found within the Ottoman Empire. Bands of Armenian fighters at the time never numbered more than several hundred - at most. Had the Armenian "nation" stood up against the weak Ottoman government at the time there would not have been a genocide to cry over and we would most probably have had a nation ten times larger than it is today.
Nonetheless, we do see remnants of our heroic past at certain times, like the great Armenian war heroes during the Second World War and the heroic resistance our brethren in Artsakh expressed against the Turk ten-fifteen years ago. These are little reminders of what we once were and what we can be. I remain confident that we will be able to rekindle our ancient warrior/spiritual/intellectual spirit, but this will require a conscious effort on the part of our authorities and our parents.
Very sad, but very true.
The biggest quest/goal in a 'traditional' Armenian man's life is to grow a belly, drive a Mercedes Benz (or BMW) and bring home an obedient virgin for his mother... I may be generalizing a bit here, but I am sick and tired of the Islamic/Asiatic behaviors many of us Armenians call national tradition.
Originally posted by gmd
View Post
You mean to tell me non-Christians make better soldiers? The best warriors in world history have come from Christian societies. Last I checked battle-happy Russkies were also Christians... What about the Serbian Chetniks? What about the European Christians during the Crusaders? What about the excellent warriors of Napoleon? The Polish Hussars? The Austrian-Hungarian Empire? The Czarist Russian Empire? What's more, Nazi Germany was quite Lutheran throughout the Second World War. Blaming Christianity is both foolish and grossly inaccurate.
The problem we Armenians have today is the absence of a pan-national awareness within us, the lose of our Christian zeal and the lose of our warrior mentality. Our problem is cultural. This is because the warrior, spiritual and intellectual cream of our nation was gradually eradicated throughout the last one thousand years. There are four fundamental reasons why we are the way we are today: First, Byzantine incursions about a thousand years ago that eventually proved to be our first genocide. Second, six-eight hundred years of living as Ottoman/Persian/Russian/Soviet subjects. Third, the Armenian Genocide. And fourth, our Asiatic/Middle Eastern/Western upbringing. Generally speaking, as a result of our history, we are today the direct descendants of Turkified Christian peasants of Asia Minor and the Caucasus that somehow rediscovered their national heritage during the past 100-150 years. Blue blood no longer flows in our vains.
When Nazi Germany invaded Russia, every Russian man, women and child resisted. They did not seek to leave for more peaceful or prosperous lands, they resisted in the tens of millions. They suffered gargantuan losses as a result. But they won. That is respectable. That is honorable. That is patriotism. When Nazis lost the war, and Germany was utterly/completely devastated, instead of seeking greener pastures, millions of Germans instead rebuilt their cities, rebuilt their towns and villages, rebuilt their industry, rebuilt their lives - without complaining, without begging. As soon as Communism collapsed and left Armenia is a desperate economic situation a million Armenians (1/3 of the population) were already planning on abandoning their homeland. During the height of the Artsakh war, as relatively small numbers of Armenians in Armenia were volunteering to help the war effort - vast droves of men, women and children were waiting on Visa lines at the American embassy... And where were the big talking "proud" Armenians of the diaspora? Other than a handful of diasporans sending pocket change as aid, and a handful of daring men from the Middle East, what did the vast Armenian diaspora do? The answer is - nothing. Had it not been for the die hard mentality of Armenians in Artsakh and Russian support Armenians today would be lamenting over yet another genocide. During the First World War when small bands of Ottoman troops and Kurdish brigands were slaughtering Armenians left and right in Asia Minor the vast majority of Armenians were either fleeing or rolling over and dying. Realize that the brave Armenian fighters that resisted Turks at the time represented only a 'minuscule' segment of the Armenian population found within the Ottoman Empire. Bands of Armenian fighters at the time never numbered more than several hundred - at most. Had the Armenian "nation" stood up against the weak Ottoman government at the time there would not have been a genocide to cry over and we would most probably have had a nation ten times larger than it is today.
Nonetheless, we do see remnants of our heroic past at certain times, like the great Armenian war heroes during the Second World War and the heroic resistance our brethren in Artsakh expressed against the Turk ten-fifteen years ago. These are little reminders of what we once were and what we can be. I remain confident that we will be able to rekindle our ancient warrior/spiritual/intellectual spirit, but this will require a conscious effort on the part of our authorities and our parents.
Despite the often exaggerated tempers of Armenians in my experience most Armenians I have known are anti-gun, anti-military, and anti-doing anything outdoors.
The biggest quest/goal in a 'traditional' Armenian man's life is to grow a belly, drive a Mercedes Benz (or BMW) and bring home an obedient virgin for his mother... I may be generalizing a bit here, but I am sick and tired of the Islamic/Asiatic behaviors many of us Armenians call national tradition.
Comment