Your Namak for Sunday, October 23
Ruben Vardanyan accepts role of Nagorno-Karabakh state minister, gay couple’s suicide calls attention to LGBTQ+ rights in Armenia, and Iran opens consulate in southern Armenia.
This week, we are celebrating Namak’s first birthday! We would like to extend our deepest gratitude to our readers around the world, who have helped us create a community around this newsletter. During a year of immense change for Armenia, we have worked to keep our audience informed and connected, while highlighting the stories of remarkable Armenians who inspire us. If you like what we do, please consider sharing this newsletter with your network.
To many more editions,
Astrig and Maral
Ruben Vardanyan Accepts Role of Nagorno-Karabakh State Minister
On October 20, Russian-Armenian billionaire Ruben Vardanyan announced that he has accepted the position of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) State Minister. The prominent businessman and philanthropist will assume the post next month, following weeks of speculation about his recent move to Stepanakert. “I realize that there is no more time to think for a long while, and in this situation I have no other path but to stand by the people of Artsakh and take my share of responsibility for the future of Artsakh,” Vardanyan wrote in a Facebook post. Vardanyan announced last month that he was renouncing his Russian citizenship and relocating to Nagorno-Karabakh.
Young Gay Couple’s Suicide Rattles Armenian Public, Calls Attention to LGBTQ+ Rights
The death of a gay couple by suicide in Yerevan this week sparked outrage and widespread conversation about LGBTQ+ rights in Armenia and the diaspora. On October 20, the young men published a post on Instagram, saying they decided their actions together, before jumping from the Davtashen Bridge. “LGBT people are very familiar with the feeling of being isolated, not understood by family and society,” Pink Armenia, an LGBTQ+ rights group, wrote in a statement. “This tragic case proves once again that LGBT people in Armenia are not safe and protected neither by society nor the state.”
Iran Opens Consulate in Southern Armenia
On October 21, Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ararat Mirzoyan and his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir Abdollahian participated in the grand opening of the Iranian consulate in Kapan. The consulate’s strategic location in southern Armenia, close to the Iranian and Azerbaijani borders, reflects the Iranian government’s investment in the region despite its precarious security situation. “I am convinced that the consulate general will greatly contribute to the further enhancement of contacts between the Armenian and Iranian peoples,” Mirzoyan said. “It will become an indicator of warm relations between two friendly and neighboring countries, a unique milestone for ensuring peace and security in the region.”
U.S. Congressional Democracy Commission Visits Armenia
On October 17, an American Congressional delegation representing the House Democracy Partnership arrived in Yerevan for meetings on strengthening Armenian-American relations. The delegation, consisting of Reps. David Price (D–NC), Diana DeGette (D–CO), Jim Cooper (D–TN) and Andy Levin (D–MI), met with high-level officials and visited the Tsitsernakaberd Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan. The House Democracy Partnership, a bipartisan commission, works directly with parliaments around the world to support the development of effective and independent legislative institutions.
Dispatch from Nagorno-Karabakh: The calm before the storm
“Some people never lose hope and keep on building new things. But it would be a lie to say that the general mood is hopeful in the region.”
I will never forget an interaction I witnessed in Stepanakert in March 2021, during my first trip back to Nagorno-Karabakh after the 2020 war. In a pretty much empty restaurant, a man ordered a coffee. The waitress asked him: “How do you want it?” –– as in, with sugar or not. The man answered: “Like life itself.” She said: “Bitter, then.”
This month, I returned to the regional capital using a new road, constructed by Azerbaijanis, who took control of the Lachin corridor at the end of summer. Everyone is now used to the Russian checkpoints. But there are new details –– the “Z” letter adorned on some of the Russian soldiers’ uniforms, to signal their support for the invasion of Ukraine. For Armenians, life is still bitter.
While there was huge shock in Armenia after the mid-September attacks in the east of the country, after which ceasefire violations occur pretty much every day, the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh is oddly calm.
In Stepanakert, life seems normal. Children go to school, there is a lot of traffic in the city center, the shops are packed with products and the market is full of beautiful pomegranates, persimmons and grandpas playing chess or backgammon. This time, I am even staying in a newly constructed hotel, called “Barev.” Some people never lose hope and keep on building new things. But it would be a lie to say that the general mood is hopeful in the region.
Many displaced Armenians from regions retaken by Azerbaijan during the 2020 war have moved to Stepanakert. Many of them struggle to find work. Houses are still being built for them, with financial support from the diaspora and the Nagorno-Karabakh authorities. So two years later, while houses to host displaced Armenians are not ready yet, deep uncertainty prevails. There is a common impression that right now, it’s the calm before the storm.
Many locals are convinced that even though there is no active fighting in their region at the moment, their future hangs in the balance. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev have expressed their willingness to reach a final peace deal by the end of the year. The Azerbaijani president has said several times that the people of Nagorno-Karabakh are Azerbaijani citizens, whether they want it or not.
Will Nagorno-Karabakh be fully taken by Azerbaijan? If so, through a new war or a signed deal? What will happen to the Armenians living there? Will Russia take over the region? Will the West send an international peacekeeping mission? These questions are on the minds of all the locals. But nobody knows the answers. The uncertainty is crippling.
“Armenia has abandoned us. He [Pashinyan] will sign a deal to give us to the enemy for sure,” says Vrej, a 25-year-old refugee from Hadrut now living in Stepanakert. The young man fought in 2020 and was wounded; his father lost a leg in the first war in the 90s. They lost their home and family business during the war two years ago. “I can’t afford it but if I could I would have already left the country,” he says. “I am afraid to build new things and to lose it all, again.”
Many think like him. Another ubiquitous discussion topic is the Russian presence. The peacekeepers are seen as quite passive. But there also seems to be a generational divide. The older people, who have lived in the Soviet Union, watch a lot of Russian TV and do not really use the internet, have a generally more positive opinion of Russia.
“It would be great if we joined the Russian Federation, nobody would attack us. Russia is a very strong country,” says Serouj, one of the many grandpas hanging out on one of the central roundabouts of Stepanakert. His mates nod and agree with him. “It’s our only protection against the Turks and Azerbaijanis,” says his friend Serguei.
But younger people have more mixed feelings. “It’s not Russians that we need, it’s a miracle,” says 19-year-old Nona. “Countries only act out of interest. Russians do not exactly love us, they need our territory for now.” At the same time, Nona is aware that Russian protection is the only way for now. “If they leave, the Azerbaijanis will immediately come and kill us,” she says.
“For now, they are saving us from the Turks and Azerbaijanis… But in the long term… they are aggressors too,” says 21-year-old Azat. Many young people read diverse sources of information online and see what is happening in Ukraine.
“What if we become part of Russia and then they take our men to send them to Ukraine? We do not want that. Even the Russians do not want that war and flee to Armenia,” says a young woman who wishes to stay anonymous.
“I will never become neither Russian nor Azerbaijani. For now, they are here and we survive. Then, we’ll see,” Nona concludes.
To watch: Cette Miss arménienne prend les armes pour défendre son pays, a documentary by Brut about Miss Armenia’s transformation from beauty queen to fighter. This piece is accessible to Armenian and French speakers, and will soon be available in English.
To listen: Bolts, a debut album by British-Armenian music producer Hagop Tchaparian, who expertly combines gritty electronics with nostalgic Armenian sounds from instruments like the qanun and zurna.
To read: Haut-Karabakh: à Stepanakert, une vie en sursis sous l’œil des «casques bleus» russes, an article in French by Namak’s Astrig Agopian, who traveled to Nagorno-Karabakh on assignment for Le Figaro.
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.
Keep up the good work, Astrig & Maral! 👏