Vahram Ter-Matevosyan is Assistant Professor at the American University of Armenia and he is also the Head of the Turkish Studies Department at the Institute for Oriental Studies at the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia. He received his PhD from the University of Bergen (Norway), Master’s degree from Lund University (Sweden), Candidate of historical sciences degree from the Institute of Oriental Studies and Yerevan State University (Armenia). He was Visiting Professor at Duke University, N.C. (2016), Fulbright Scholar at the University of California, Berkeley, Calif. (2009-2010) and Visiting Doctoral Student at the University of Washington, Seattle, Wash. (2005). He authored an award-winning monograph Islam in the Social and Political Life of Turkey, 1970-2001 in 2008 and co-authored History of Turkish Republic in 2014. His research articles have been published in several publications including Europe-Asia Studies, Turkish Studies, Middle Eastern Studies, Insight Turkey, Eurasian Geography and Economics, Turkish Review, Diaspora Studies, and others.
It is clear that those who remembered May 28 in the diaspora and the people of Armenia were linked in spirit during those Soviet years. As we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 1st Republic with unprecedented unity, I pause to remember the thousands of dedicated Armenian patriots in the diaspora who never forgot and endured under less than favorable conditions within the Armenian community. They gathered in agoomps, getrons and church hall to celebrate the heroic defense of our Armenian civilization during those faithful days. I grew up in one of those church hall listening to and being inspired by the likes of Arthur Giragossian. I don’t remember him describing it as a “Dasnak Republic” in his speeches. It was a celebration of Armenian sovereignty after 543 years of subjugation. It became the territorial basis for the Soviet Republic and for our beloved Republic today. Perhaps , the most significant change in our communal and scholarly dialogue since 1991 is that the 1st Republic is no longer referred to by anyone as the “Dashnak Republic”. It is universally respected as having a rightful place of honor in modern Armenian history. That accomplishment is due in large part to the brilliant contributions of Richard Hovanissian the last fifty years with his trailblazering research on the republic that helped normalize its perception.
So as we rightfully celebrate Dro, Aram, Silikyan and Nazarbekian, let us also pause to remember all those men and women who taught us the importance of May in all the communities of the diaspora.
Very good and useful article, especially for people in diaspora. I enjoyed reading it!
Harkank yev Badiv -Honour and Respect for the founding fathers of our first Independent Republic- the fact is if it weren’t for them we would not have had our Armenia of today- The government of Ottoman Turkey failed to annihilate us – just three years after 1915 Armenians stood up united Tashnaks- Armenakans and hunchaks and all other Armenians fought back the Turkish armed forces led by the Young Turks military and dealt the decisive blow to the Turks in the battle of Sardarabad on May 24,1918 and on May 28 the Independent Republic of Armenia was born.
Out of the ashes of our grandfathers and grandmothers who were marched into the desert and left to die of starvation – yes out their ashes was born a new generation of Armenians all around the world, a new generation of young men and women which is well aware of its past, a generation which has rebuilt all its institutions be it churches, schools or community centers,a generation that is well aware of its responsibilities and continues to carry the torch and fights for its rights, be it in Armenia, in Artsakh or in the diaspora. A generation which is and will continue to flourish – We are ONE PEOPLE – ONE NATION- LONG ARMENIA AND ARMENIANS.
Thank you very much. The way I feel about mother Armenia, even though I was nit born there, I owed it to myself to be more knowledgeable about this
“Their strident criticism of Moscow and of past injustices, their territorial claims from Turkey, along with their demand that Karabagh and Nakhichevan be reunited with Soviet Armenia, reopened wounds that the Communist party leadership had hoped was a distant memory.” — This is the key passage that shows what the problem is between Russia and Armenia, and which I have been saying over and over that Russia being Armenia’s friend is shallow and not deep rooted. There is zero reason and zero excuse for Russia to have kept the status quo from the first Soviet period in destroying the Armenian homeland, and creating a fake Turkic one in its place in the territories of Nakhichevan and Artsakh. Some here want to argue that they “couldn’t do anything about it because of international consequences” – oh yeah? Like what? The only “excuse” worth considering might have been that Turkey (guided by NATO) would close the straits to Russia. But then, that wold in turn also have “international consequences” for Turkey as well as NATO in turn. Was the Turko-Turanist wet dream so important for NATO that they wold risk all out war with the Soviet Union? BS! Even a couple years ago when Turkey shot down a Russian plane, that clown in the Russian parliament started talking about nuking Istanbul. I will never accept any lame excuses by our resident apparatchiks trying to justify why Soviet Russia did not correct the wrongs committed against Armenia by their very own Soviet Union. 1960’s on Moscow could have done ANYTHING it wanted within the Soviet Union with little to no “international consequences”. And the main reason for that was, NATO feared the Soviet Union a lot more than it does Russia now. I will change my mind about Russia-Armenia relations if and when Russia tears up all those treacherous anti-Armenian documents it signed with Turkey to give away Armenian lands to them – OR – When the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan resumes and Russia immediately tears up the Nackichevan agreement, orders Turkey to keep its tail down, and gives the OK for Armenia to finish off the job left unfinished in 1994. Other than this, I have no positive view about Russia-Armenia “friendship”.
You always have some negative comment to post about Russia and Russians. I’m so sick of seeing your negativity. This article illustrates how the Soviet Union’s existence helped Armenia to regroup and recover from the Genocide of 1915. You decided instead to post another anti-Russian rant. Please keep your comments to yourself.