Your Namak for Friday, April 1
Military situation in Nagorno-Karabakh remains tense, Pashinyan signals readiness for peace deal and gas supply restored in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Hi there, here’s your weekly briefing of Armenian news in English, curated, reported and fact-checked by journalists Astrig Agopian and Maral Tavitian.
Military Situation in Nagorno-Karabakh Remains on High Alert
The military situation in Nagorno-Karabakh remains tense following recent attacks by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces against border communities. On March 26, President of Nagorno-Karabakh Arayik Harutyunyan signed a decree modifying the terms of ongoing martial law in the region, temporarily imposing new restrictions on freedom of movement and assembly. The provisions include a complete prohibition on protests and any activities “spearheaded against the defense capacity and security of the Artsakh Republic.”
In a statement, the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Information Center reported that Azerbaijani servicemen had not retreated from their advance into the strategic Karaglukh mountain in Nagorno-Karabakh’s eastern Askeran region. Negotiations led by the Russian peacekeeping contingent have not succeeded in removing Azerbaijani forces to their original positions prior to last week’s incursions, in which three Armenian servicemen were killed and 15 wounded.
Nagorno-Karabakh Gas Supply Restored
On March 28, the gas supply was restored in Nagorno-Karabakh following a lengthy shutdown that deprived more than 100,000 people of access to heating and hot water. Since March 8, the Azerbaijani authorities had prevented repairs on a damaged pipeline that supplies gas to Nagorno-Karabakh’s entire Armenian population, causing a humanitarian crisis as residents struggled to stay warm in freezing weather and essential services could not operate. In a statement, the Foreign Ministry of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) described Azerbaijan’s actions as “humanitarian terrorism.”
Pashinyan Signals Readiness for Peace Deal with Azerbaijan
In a government address on March 31, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said he stands ready to negotiate a peace agreement with Azerbaijan based on mutual recognition of each other’s territorial integrity. He also emphasized that no comprehensive settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict could be reached without guaranteeing the rights of the region’s Armenian population. “Azerbaijan’s position is that there is no Nagorno-Karabakh issue, it is already solved,” Pashinyan said. “In essence, Azerbaijan is trying to annihilate all Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh, and thus consider the issue closed.” Pashinyan will meet in Brussels with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on April 6 in talks hosted by European Council President Charles Michel.
Minister of Emergency Situations Arrested in Corruption Probe
On March 30, Armenian Minister of Emergency Situations Andranik Piloyan was arrested in connection with an ongoing corruption investigation into his official conduct. Two days prior, Armenia’s Anti-Corruption Committee (ACC) and National Security Service (NSS) jointly searched Piloyan’s office at the ministry headquarters in Yerevan. The ACC charged Piloyan with three counts of large-scale bribery and asked a court to place him in pre-trial detention.
Anatole Arakelov and Maretta Ayvazyan: Meet two Ukraine-based artists navigating their Armenian and Slavic identities in wartime
“This is the second time we face war already, it’s not my first war — I knew what to do.”
Anatole Arakelov and Maretta Ayvazyan immediately catch your attention with their impeccable and trendy style. The young couple has been based in Lviv, a city in the northwest of Ukraine, for one year. They are very enthusiastic to show visitors the Armenian heritage of the city, which dates to Medieval times.
Wandering around Virmenska Street (which means Armenian in Ukrainian), passing in front of the Parajanov, Kilikia cafes and the Armenian church, the two artists look for inspiration.
Anatole and Maretta met in Armenia in 2020, while they were both interning in local organizations through the Birthright Armenia program. “We were introducing ourselves and when I heard he was Ukrainian and spoke Russian, I was like, ‘Okay great finally someone I can talk to about how I feel about Russia,’” Maretta says.
The illustrator and graphic designer was born and raised in Krasnodar, in southern Russia. Her family is originally from Azerbaijan and fled persecution against Armenians in that country. “I would define myself as an Armenian with a Russian passport, living in Ukraine,” Maretta says.
The 26-year-old makes colorful caricatures, drawings and graphic designs, inspired by her Armenian roots, as well as Eastern European and Russian politics.
Although she holds a Russian passport, Maretta says she never felt Russian. “Teachers, students, everybody always reminded me and made it very clear that for them I was Caucasian and not Slavic growing up,” she explains. Even in the current context, she says she feels more accepted in Ukraine.
“I had been living here for several months before the attack happened, and people were friendly,” Maretta says. “Nobody said anything about my Russian passport, because they understood I was Armenian and did not support the Russian aggression.”
Maretta believes Armenians and Ukrainians have more in common than they realize. “We are all trapped in a toxic relationship with Russia,” she says.
In some of her work, she denounces prominent Russian or Belarusian political figures. With her family left in Russia, Maretta’s outspoken art causes some tension. “My mother wants me to stop, she says it’s dangerous,” Maretta says. “She also tends to read the Russian media only and believe everything they say. It’s not that she does not believe me when I tell her what is actually happening here on the ground in Ukraine, but it’s complicated.”
Anatole was born and raised in Zaporizhzhya, Ukraine, to an Armenian-Ukrainian father and a Russian-Polish mother. His parents met in the Azerbaijani capital and left for Ukraine during the 1991 Baku pogroms. The 27-year-old began relating to his Ukrainian identity in 2014, during the Euromaidan protests. “It was like a wake up call for me. My relationship with Ukraine changed,” he says.
After living in the United States and traveling through Europe, he decided to explore his Armenian roots. But his move to Armenia in September 2020 meant living through the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War. “This is the second time we face war already, it’s not my first war –– I knew what to do,” Anatole says.
So when war came to Ukraine, it was painful, but Anatole immediately sprung into action. “We prepared our documents, food, water, money and everything. We looked for the shelters. People started to flee from Kharkiv, Kyiv, Mariupol. We hosted many people who were heading to Poland. A family is still with us,” he says.
Art helps both Maretta and Anatole express themselves and stay sane in the context of war. It also allows them to make sense of their multicultural and complex identities. Anatole likes to reference the famous Armenian filmmaker Sergei Parajanov –– “He was Armenian, born in Georgia, lived in Ukraine, and most of all he was a great artist.”
Despite the sirens day and night, the strikes that hit Lviv, Maretta and Anatole are determined to stay in their city. They also plan on traveling back and forth to Armenia –– war or not.
These interviews were originally published in an EVN Report article on March 22, 2022: “Armenians in Lviv Emboldened to Stay.”
To watch: Gyumri Podcast, a video series and podcast documenting a Yerevan couple’s experience making the move to Armenia’s second largest city. Davo Avetisyan and Christina Soloyan are a delight to follow as they take viewers through the process of building their home –– and explain why doing so outside of the capital was a deliberate choice.
To listen: Kaqavik, a sweet rendition of the classic Armenian folk song by pop duo Garik and Sona. Many readers might already be familiar with this beloved tune, but in difficult times, we always need a reminder of music that makes us happy.
That’s it for today, see you next week!
Questions? Story ideas? An urge to say barev/parev? You can send us a secure email at namaknews@protonmail.com.