Armenia

May 24th, 2011

Research Project

Research Project on Armenia

Country Background:

Armenian traditions say the nation was founded by Hayk, a descendant of Noah whose Ark grounded on nearby Mt Ararat. The Armenian name for Armenia, “Hayastan” (the “land of Hayk”) reflects this legend.

Armenia takes great pride on being the first nation to formally adopt Christianity in the early fourth century around 301 AD. The Armenians were ruled by various empires over the years including the Roman in 64 BC, Byzantine, Arab, Persian, and Ottoman. The first Armenian state was founded in 190 BC. During World War I the western part of Armenia, Ottoman Turkey instituted a policy of forced resettlement along with other bad practices that resulted in approximately 1 million Armenian deaths. This is known as the Armenian Genocide which to this day, is being fought in the Armenian community to be recognized. The Turkish still refuse to acknowledge that nothing was done wrong and the deaths were warranted. Yerevan wants Turkey, and the world, to recognize the deaths as genocide, and some countries have done so. However, Turkey says that there was no genocide and that the dead were victims of World War I, and that ethnic Turks also suffered in the conflict. The governments of the two countries agreed to normalize relations in October 2009, although Turkey has said opening the border will depend on progress on the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute.

The eastern part of Armenia was ceded by the Ottomans to Russia in 1828 and later declared independence in 1918 but was conquered in 1920 by the Soviet Red Army. Armenia and Azerbaijan began fighting over the land in 1988, with both countries attaining independence from the Soviet Union on September 21st, 1991. Turkey closed the border with Armenian in 1994 however in 2009 Armenian leaders started to pursue rapprochement with Turkey. This in hopes will reopen the border.

More than 99% of voters supported independence, reflecting...