Armenia: Political System
Political system
The official name of the country is:
| Republic of Armenia Hayastani Hanrapetut’yun |
According to EQUZHOU.NET, Armenia, which has been an independent republic since September 21, 1991, is ruled by a President and the National Assembly. The members of this unicameral parliament are elected every four years. The most influential parties in the National Assembly are currently the Republican Party and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, founded in 1890. Under the President stands the Prime Minister, who – enshrined in constitutional law since January 2006 – is appointed by the President but confirmed by Parliament. See AbbreviationFinder for more information about Armenia politics, and acronyms as well.
The war over the Nagorno-Karabakh region with Azerbaijan is an important part of Armenian foreign policy, which is being waged without concessions. In 1998 the first president of the country, Levon Ter-Petrosyan, lost his head when he was ready to make concessions to Azerbaijan. Robert Kocharyan, who acted against the peace plan proposed by international mediators, won the early presidential elections in 1998 and was re-elected in 2003.
Other important foreign policy goals of the country are ensuring national security, improving the development of economic relations and, last but not least, worldwide recognition of the genocide of the Armenians. In order to achieve these goals, the country attaches great importance to good relations with the USA, Russia, the EU and Iran. Due to the historical circumstances, there are currently no official diplomatic contacts with Turkey, especially since Turkey makes the republic’s withdrawal from Nagorno-Karabakh a condition for a diplomatic dispute with Armenia. (Status 02/2008)
National anthem
Armenia’s national anthem is called “Mer Hayrenik”, which means “Our Fatherland” in German. The text is penned by Mikael Nalbandian (1829–1866) and the melody goes back to Barsegh Kanachyan (1885–1967).
| In the original Armenian version | Latinized Armenian text | In the English translation |
| Մեր Հայրենիք, ազատ, անկախՈր ապրէլ է դարէ դար
Իւր որդիքը արդ կանչում է Ազատ, անկախ Հայաստան:Ահա ՝ եղբայր, քեզ մի դրօշ, Որ իմ ձեռքով գործեցի Գիշերները ես քուն չեղայ, Արտասուքով լուացի:Նայիր նրան երեք գոյնով, Նուիրական մէր նշան, Թող փողփողի թշնամու դէմ, Թող միշտ պանծայ Հայաստան:Ամենայն տեղ մահը մի է Մարդ մի անգամ պիտ՚ մեռնի, Բայց երանի՚ որ իւր ազգի Ազատութեան կը զոհուի: |
Mer Hairenik, azad angakh,Before aprel eh tareh tar
||: Ir before tika art kanchume eh Azad, angakh haiastan.: || Aha yeghpair kez mi drosh, Wor im tzerkov kordzetzi ||: Gischerne yes koon chega, Arzunknerov lwazi.: || Nayir neran yerek gujnow, Nuviragan mer nushan, ||: Togh poghpoghi duschmani tem, Togh meesht bandza Haiastan.: || Amenayn degh maha mi eh Mart mee arrived pti merni, ||: Baytz yerani before ir azgi Asatuzjan ga tzohvi.: || Mer Hairenik, azat angakh, Before aprel eh tareh tar ||: Ir before tika art kanschume eh Azad, angakh haiastan.: || |
Our fatherland, free and independent,That lived from century to century
||: His children call Free Independent Armenia.: || Here brother, a flag for you that I made with my own hands, ||: On nights when I did not sleep, I washed it with tears.: || Look at them, three colors are our bestowal symbol. ||: Let them shine against our enemies. Always let Armenia be honorable.: || Death is the same everywhere Everyone dies only once ||: But happy is he who is dedicated to his people.: || Our fatherland, free and independent, That lived from century to century ||: His children call Free Independent Armenia.: || |
National flag
The national flag of Armenia was first used during the period of the Democratic Republic of Armenia (1918-1922), but it was replaced by a flag similar to the Soviet flag after Armenia was annexed to the USSR from 1922-1991. It was reintroduced on August 24, 1991. Based on flag descriptions by Countryaah.com, the three colors of the flag are interpreted as follows:
– Red reminds of the blood spilled during the struggle for independence
– Blue symbolizes the sky over the country
– Orange the prosperity of the people, which can only be brought about by work.
- Check top-mba-universities for public holidays, sports events, UNESCO world heritage sites and major places to visit in Armenia.
Armenia: important people
writer
Chatschatur Abowjan (1809-1848)
The father of modern Armenian literature was the first writer to write his works in New East Armenian, which for the first time replaced Old Armenian as the literary language. He also translated classics such as Homer, Schiller, Goethe, Karamsin and Krylow into Armenian.
Musician
Charles Aznavour (1924-2018)
Charles Aznavour (Vaghinak Aznavuryan) was born on May 22, 1924 in Paris, the son of Armenian immigrants.
Aznavour is an Armenian-French chansonnier, songwriter, composer and film actor. In December 2008 he received the Armenian citizenship. He was also the Ambassador of Armenia to Switzerland and to the United Nations in Geneva. He died on October 1, 2018 in Mouriès – in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte region.
Andrej Hovnanjan (born 1979)
The singer, known for a short time under the name “André”, was born in Stepanakert and is currently considered the most prominent pop artist in Armenia. He was also allowed to represent his country at the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 in Athens. Incidentally, he received the 8th place.
Aram Chatschaturjan (1903-1978)
Probably the most famous child of Armenia was this Soviet-Armenian composer, who takes up influences from traditional Armenian and Caucasian folk music in his works. In addition to his piano and violin concerto, he achieved worldwide fame with the ballet “Gayaneh”. His most popular opus – the “Saber Dance” – comes from the latter.
Dschiwan Gasparjan (born 1928)
The instrumentalist and composer, who was born in Solag in Armenia, is particularly famous as a duduk player. He achieved worldwide fame with his soundtrack for the film “Gladiator”. In 2010 he also played at the Eurovision Song Contest in Oslo – as part of the Armenian contribution.
Sayat Nova (1722-1795)
Born in Tbilisi in 1722, the singer, poet, clergyman and composer is also known as the “King of Song”. From his repertoire of several thousand songs, unfortunately, only 220 have survived that can be assigned to him with certainty.
Clergy
Anania von Mok (or Anania Mokac’i) (d. 965)
The writer and so-called “Catholicos of the Armenians” was not only a famous church reformer. He acted strictly against any Armenian rapprochement with the Byzantines as well as against multi-confessional marriages.
Eznik von Kołb
This 5th century Armenian theologian was Bishop (Vardapet) of Bagrewand and is counted among the holy Bible translators.
Mesrop Maschtoz (around 360-440)
The Armenian saint rendered an important service to Armenian, which had not been a written language until then, with the development of an alphabet. With the help of this alphabet he also translated parts of the Bible into Armenian. Mesrop was also an important missionary of the Armenians.
Soghomon Gevorki Soghomonian (1869-1935)
This Armenian priest was not only a clergyman, but also a composer, singer, choir musician, music teacher and musicologist. Nowadays he is often seen as the founder of modern classical music in the country of Armenia.
Stephanos of Siunia (around 685-735)
Stephanos was appointed bishop of Siunia after 728. The author of many exegetical commentaries and liturgical songs is said to have been killed in 735 by a prostitute who had been severely reprimanded by him several times.
Athlete
Alexander Abraham (born 1981)
The light middleweight boxer born in the Armenian capital Yerevan is the younger brother of Arthur Abraham. As an amateur he was able to win some regional championship titles for himself, with his greatest success so far being the International German Junior Light Welterweight Championship, which he successfully finished in 1997.
Arthur Abraham (born 1980)
The boxer, born in 1980 as Avetik Abrahamjan in the Armenian capital city of Yerevan, is the reigning (as of 02/2008) IBF middleweight world champion. He has successfully defended this title four times so far. He is the older brother of Alexander Abraham.
Tigran Petrosjan (1929-1984)
The Armenian-Soviet chess grandmaster was even world chess champion between 1963 and 1969. He is the only world champion in the history of this sport of thought who managed to successfully defend his title against a future world champion (= Boris Spasski).
Cinema and theater
Armen Jigarchanjan (born 1935)
This nationally well-known Armenian actor was born on October 3, 1935 in Yerevan. He celebrated great success in film and since 1969 at the Mayakovsky Theater in Moscow. One of his last international cinema roles is his role as the mafia father in Ligne de vie from 1996.
Artavazd Pelechian (born 1938)
Artavazd Pelechian was born on February 22, 1938 in Leninakan, the largest city in the country with around 172,000 residents. The Armenian filmmaker, who attended the film school in Moscow from 1963, impresses above all with his innovative assembly technology.
Frunsik Mkrtschjan (1930-1993)
Born on July 4, 1930, the Soviet theater and film actor Frunsik Mkrtschjan (Frunsik (Mher) Muscheghi Mkrtchjan) worked as a folk artist in both the Armenian SSR and the USSR. He died on December 29, 1993 in Yerevan.
Sergei Iossifowitsch Paradschanow (1924-1990)
Sergei Iossifowitsch Paradschanow was born on 9. Born January 1924 in Tbilisi in what is now Georgia. This Armenian “cinema rebellion” can be counted among the most original directors of the 20th century. In his works the entire ethnic diversity of the Caucasus is taken into account. He died on July 21, 1990 in Yerevan.
Armenia: animals
Mammals
Although Armenia is a small country with very little rainfall, the biodiversity is still quite large. There are also endemic species here, so they only occur here.
Armenian mouflon
The Armenian mouflon – also known as Armenian wild sheep (Ovis gmelini) – can be found in the Caucasus, in the northwest of the Iras and in the southern part of Asia Minor. The head-trunk length of the animals is between 120 and 140 cm, with a shoulder height of 85 to 95 cm. The horns, up to 68 cm long, are curved backwards in a snail shape, while the females are partially hornless.
More mammals
Lynx, martens, mink, roe deer, red deer, jackals, wild cats, wild boars and wolves also live in the whale areas. In addition, the Caucasian leopard (Panthera pardus saxicolor), which is unfortunately threatened with extinction, also occurs in the west, in the nature reserve Chosrow.
Long-eared hedgehogs, gerbils and horse jumpers also have their home here.
Birds
There are around 350 different species of birds in the country, including eagles, falcons, vultures and gulls. In the warmer and extremely dry areas in the south-west of the country you can also find bee-eaters and goat milkers. In the west of the country, on the border with Turkey, are the floodplains of the Arax River. There are numerous rather smaller lakes with an area of 10 to 2,000 hectares and a depth of up to 2 m. Here you can find the endangered bird species such as Armenian gulls, oystercatchers, brown ibis, spoonbills, marbled ducks, avocets and stilts.
Reptiles
There are relatively many reptiles in Armenia, such as lizards and snakes, that can cope well with the drought.
Here is a selection:
- Armenian mountain otterthe Armenian mountain otter (Montivipera raddei)
- Armenian field lizardThe Armenian field lizard ()
- Armenian meadow viperThe Armenian meadow viper (Vipera Eriwanensis) has the following subspecies “Vipera eriwanensis eriwanensis” and “Vipera eriwanensis ebneri” and is found next to Armenia in northwestern Iran and northeastern Turkey. The snake reaches a length between 40 to 55 cm. Although the snake’s poison is quite effective, the poisoning symptoms are rather weak due to the small amount of poison released.
- Darevski’sadder The Darevski’s adder (Vipera darevskii) is only found in the Javakheti mountain range in the border region of Armenia. It is endemic to it. This snake from the genus Vipera reaches a length between about 25 to 50 cm, with the females being larger than the males. The basic color is yellowish to grayish-yellow with a back drawing made of a wide and uniform zigzag band. The sides of the body have dark spots that merge into one another. The ventral side is dark gray with black speckles. The top of the narrow head, well set off from the body, is dark and there are two crescent-shaped stripes on the neck. A dark band of temples stretches over the eyes. Their venom is comparable to that of the adder and affects blood coagulation (hemotoxic)
- European lizard snakeA detailed description of the European lizard snake (Malpolon monspessulanus) can be found here >>>
- Caucasian OtterA detailed description of the Caucasus Otter (Vipera kaznakovi)
- Levant OtterA detailed description of the Levant Otter (Macrophia lebetina) can be found here >>>
- Ravergier’sWrath Snake The Ravergier’s Wrath Snake (Hemorrhois ravergieri) is also known as the Colorful Wrath Snake.
Armenia: plants
Over 3,000 species of plants grow in Armenia, which is more than half of the species found in the entire Caucasus region.
In the whole of Europe there are – for comparison – about 20,000 and North America about 40,000 species.
The area of Armenia is therefore very species-rich despite its relatively small size of 29,800 km². These include a number of endemic species that are only found here. In the Kura-Macaw lowlands, where the Terter flows into the Kura, the typical trees of floodplains can be found and plants of the genus Artemisia are often found up to a height of about 1,400 m, including the species mugwort, wormwood, Rodwort or rue belong.
Many thorny bushes and other prickly plants such as thistles, but also alpine meadows with wild flowers grow in the mountainous regions. The most common trees are oak, beech and pine.
There are also small untouched fields of wild grain, which are considered to be the forerunners of the first cultivated grains of the ancient world, which were cultivated about 12,000 to 15,000 ago.
It is certainly of interest that the peach and apricot originated in Armenia. The apricot was brought to Greece by Alexander the Great (356 BC to 323), from where it had spread further. Other fruits from Armenia are apples, pears, cherries, plums, pomegranates and a large number of different types of grapes.
There are cotton plants in the Ararat plain.
