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Nanore Barsoumian

Nanore Barsoumian

Nanore Barsoumian was the editor of the Armenian Weekly from 2014 to 2016. She served as assistant editor of the Armenian Weekly from 2010 to 2014. Her writings focus on human rights, politics, poverty, and environmental and gender issues. She has reported from Armenia, Nagorno-Karabagh, Javakhk and Turkey. She earned her B.A. degree in Political Science and English and her M.A. in Conflict Resolution from the University of Massachusetts (Boston).
Nanore Barsoumian

Latest posts by Nanore Barsoumian (see all)

15 Comments

  1. Wikileaks = psychological warfare operation
     
    PS: the most affluent/wealthy Armenian diaspora group is the Russian-Armenian community.

  2. Maybe the Armenian-American community was the wealthiest of the Armenian diaspora group in the 90s and early 2000s but it is now the Russian-Armenian community who lay claim to that title.

  3. As much as I’m glad too see so many Armenian organizations involved in the diaspora communities and Armenia, the depictions in these cables are a little too rosy. I think it’s a case of where, to someone outside the community, things look better than they are, and to someone on the inside worse than they are. I’m not completely familiar how much influence the Diaspora has on the gov of Armenia. Are the cables overstating it?
    That said, I think one area that the cables touched on that I agree with is the development of democracy, institutions and engagement of the citizens of Armenia in democracy and holding their government accountable. The Diaspora does not appear to be speaking up about this. Did AAA and ANCA speak up regarding the March 1 tragedy?
    The cables mentioned it once but corruption in Armenia is another area that the Diaspora should be more engaged in. I don’t know how but it is a cancer eating away at the country. It takes a while for corruption to be brought under control but the sooner it’s on the decline the better.
    This has been yet another posting by an individual in the Diaspora saying we should all do better things for Armenia, and yet nothing much will come of it.
    Sincerely
    Random Armenian

  4. Ditto. Russian-Armenians are more numerous and definitely wealthier. Virtually everything in Armenia is either owned or funded by them

  5. This article is great learning for most of Armenian Americans. Thank You Nanore for another important article.

  6.  
    The wealth of Russian Armenians compare to US Armenians is irrelevant.  The article states that US Armenians are more organized, politically active and it’s true.  However, they have more on their plate and rely heavily on some “super-rich” but moody individuals.  The only way to improve the situation is to continue unification and rely on individual contributions (how about a voluntary Armenian income tax of 1.915% sent as donations to charities of your choice every April 24th?) rather then wealthy individuals.

  7. I agree with voskanapat that wealth comparison is irrelevant. In recent times Armenians in Russia became quite wealthy through their business ventures. However I am guessing this wealth is not organizational but rather personal, which means little if we want to take into account the benefit Armenia might get.
     
    I also sometimes wonder whether the wealth Armenians have acquired in Russia is a “plus”. Because this is yet another excuse for Armenia to act in Russia’s interests more than that of diaspora Armenians who have always wanted to invest and establish themselves in Armenia but failed as a result of the “good ole boy club”. In the end, Russian-Armenian wealth could be causing more damage than good.

  8. Kevork:

    Russian-Armenians have been investing a lot of money in Armenia over the past decade and they are an important component in the survival of Armenia as many of the cash transfers to Armenia are from Russia.  Furthermore, the Russian-Armenian community has the potential to be in the halls of the Kremlin what the Jewish-American community is in the halls of Congress.

  9. I am going to try to make some more enemies here by speaking the truth.
     
    Russian-Armenians are not only the wealthiest Armenians in the world they are also the most affluent. Armenians are highly represented in virtually every sector of Russian society; including top levels of Russian government, state-controlled media, entertainment, military industrial complex, finance, business… What do American-Armenians have to show in comparison? Kardashian and a billionaire that rather throw his money away than give it to a “corrupt” Armenia.
     
    Our newly born, small, remote, poor, landlocked, blockaded homeland surrounded by enemies in the worst geopolitical location on earth stays alive today not because of the crumbs thrown at it by the Armenian diasporas in North America, Middle East or Europe but because of Russia and the Russian-Armenian community. Having said that, it must also be said that Russian-Armenians need to be better organized. They lack organization, they lack ideological drive. What the rest of us need to do, instead of wasting our time and resources in the US, is to somehow help them better organize themselves. Russia is a massive superpower who’s geopolitical interests is fully aligned with ours and this situation will remain as is for the foreseeable future.
     
    Russian-Armenians have the potential to become in Russia what Jews are in America. But American-Armenians are too politically illiterate and too genocide obsessed to understand any of this. It’s simple: With a powerful Russia and a powerful Russian-Armenian community we will have a powerful Armenia. Thankfully, Russian-Armenians have been gradually better organizing themselves.
     
    When talking about the “prowess” of American-Armenians it would do us good to realize that a vast majority of the 1 or 1.5 million Armenians are not in fact Armenians; they are totally assimilated and are worthless as Armenians. Individuals we see truly involved in Armenian matters in America today makeup merely several percent of the total Armenian community. Thus, talking about an organized Armenian community in America is very misleading and Washington officials know this, but they want us to think we are powerful. And by thinking we American-Armenians are powerful, or the best in the Armenian world, we become easily manipulated/exploited by them.

     
    Moreover, the “powerful” Armenian-American diaspora wastes too much time and resources on foolish pursuits in Washington and on corrupt American politicians. Moreover, unlike Russian-Armenians, a vast majority of the minority of American-Armenians that are involved in Armenian matters in the US have absolutely no physical or emotional connection to the Armenian homeland. At the end of the day, what matters for real Armenian patriots/nationalists is Armenia’s security and prosperity – not the diaspora’s politically shortsighted and obsessive whims.

     
    Seeing that most of Armenia’s agents and mercenaries that work for the Western alliance hail from the American-Armenian community, I would even dare say that American-Armenians have recently become a liability and a danger for Armenia.
     
    Wrap your minds around what I just said before you resort to foolish attacks against me.

  10. Many Armenian Half-Blooded Armenians are not included, as Armenians, in the statistics of the Armenian Diaspora.  Patriotic Half-Blooded Armenians who love the Armenian Homeland, should be recognized and included in the Armenian Diaspora.

  11. well said Laurence. Fully agree. 

    I would go farther. Anyone that says they are Armenian or want to be Armenian, for whatever reason, then I say – welcome: you are one of us. 

  12. Avetis, I must say, I find your post humorous, especially when you start by “speaking the truth”. Have you actually conducted field research in Russia, and have you actually read this article to begin with? It appears that you are turning this into an “us vs them” issue.
     
    Considering that the passage is actually at the beginning of this article: “GOAM assistance figures and information from local banking sources confirm that the majority of Armenia’s public and private assistance funding (including private money transfers to families or friends) comes to Armenia from the U.S.” I would say you are sadly mistaken in your assessment that “Russian-Armenians are not only the wealthiest Armenians in the world they are also the most affluent”. In fact I would say the opposite of what you claim is true.
    It is true that a few Armenians have become very wealthy in Russia, one reportedly more than Kerkorian, and? Oligarchs in Armenia are probably equally wealthy, in fact we don’t even know what’s going on there as nothing is truly made public. That being the case, as other pointed out, wealth comparison is irrelevant. However, Russian-Armenians as a whole are most definitely not more wealthy and affluent than American-Armenians for the simple reason that the US is a vastly more wealthier country than any other country in the world including Russia. I’m willing to bet that the average Armenian in Russia is merely an average employee and is barely surviving. If that were not the case, naturally the most money transfers would be going from Russia, especially taking into account that in Russia the number of Armenians is probably a lot more than one million maybe two.

     
    And comparing assimilation rates of American Armenians and Russian Armenians is also irrelevant, as it’s like comparing apples to oranges. Armenians in Russia have established themselves for the past 20 years majority-wise, as a result of Armenia’s poor economy while in the US the first wave of Armenians arrived as a result of the genocide at the turn of the last century.
     
    My personal view is, (and I admit is is an opinion only) I would actually doubt that Russian Armenians would do better in 80 years time than the Armenians who were forced to migrate through genocide, because the average Armenian leaving Armenia is doing it by choice, and tends to be less patriotic than the average diaspora Armenian who has resisted assimilation.
     
    I also completely reject your idea that we pull the plug on the US and help Russia instead. My view of Russia is actually neutral, neither positive, nor negative. I seriously doubt Russia is Armenia’s friend. Russia does what benefits her, not Armenia. If Russia was truly Armenia’s friend like so many of you claim, it would never have created the CURRENT MESS we are in, in NK and given away western Armenian territories to Turkey. And if that was “in the past” then what is it doing today to correct those past mistakes? Nothing. For now, the arrangement between Armenia and Russia is cordial because it suits Russia, and no other reason.
     
    On the other hand, the US is very important for Armenia globally speaking, as it has profound influence in all matters of international law. While I agree that Armenians should become in Russia like Jews have become in America, I see it equally important (if not more) that Armenians also get to that point in the US. Some of you Armenians may thing genocide recognition is a waste of time (only God knows why), some of us (myself included) think that it is Armenia’s most important issue, and perhaps her only chance to redeem herself from all the injustices it experienced in the past, through genocide reparations, and punishment of the genocide perpetrators. And the country which can make that possible? The United States.
     
    Finally, I admit that describing us as a “powerful” community is suspect, because if that was true, the US would have already recognized the Armenian Holocaust. The day that the US recognizes the Armenian Holocaust, and honestly sits down to hear our demands, is the day I will be convinced we are “powerful”.

  13. Armenia is doing very well for a 20 year old nation. We will be much more visible and powerful in another 20.

  14. dear armenian,I am writing you from Tbilisi,Georgia.my family lives in district which is called “armenian”,because of the big population.nearby of my house there is a kindergarden.where of course go children of most of the armenian families.it is kindergarden N26 on the street Galavani.Resently I spoke with the director,who complained about the financial situation.the children even don’t have enough toys,garden was not fixed probably during the last 20 years,they don”t have ANY tools for children’s involving in sport,no gimn room…may be you could help them to find sponsors umong american armenians,who would care about these children???this is the only kindergarden in tbilisi whith such a big percentage(about 75%)of armenian children.please,help us to find such people…sincerelly

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