My Uncontroversial Proposal to Alter an Armenian National Symbol

Last month, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Alen Simonyan sparked a minor controversy when he took to Facebook to express nostalgia for the tune of the Soviet-era anthem composed by Aram Khachaturyan. Of course, the matter was quickly brushed aside with parliamentarians noting that there are more pressing issues on the agenda. Yet that wasn’t enough to stop the ensuing parade of think-pieces, op-eds, historical research articles and rants over whether or not the current anthem is “Armenian enough” on the internet. International observers, for their part, poked fun at obvious parallels with Russia’s re-adoption of the Soviet anthem.

The ARF, which feels a particular sense of attachment to the history and symbolism of the First Republic, condemned the very notion as legally-baseless. Their statement read “Our state symbols, which were created thanks to the sacrifices of those who were martyred for the establishment of our nationhood, are non-negotiable.”