ColumnsTashjian's Take
What kind of Artsakh do we want?
I wanted to write about this a long time ago, even before the war. But the Artsakh War, its devastating outcome on the Armenian nation and its political ideology pushed me to raise some provocative questions and arguments. What kind of Artsakh do Armenians dream of? Is there any legal status that defines its institutions and borders? While the war an
Or, subscribe now for unlimited access
By submitting your email address you agree for Hairenik Association, Inc. to send you communication by email.
Already a subscriber?Log in here
This story is FREE for you...
Create a free account to access this and four more articles, and get more sent to you with our e-newsletter.By submitting your email address you agree for Hairenik Association, Inc. to send you communication by email.
Because as a collective body Armenians proved incompetent, impotent, shortsighted, self-destructive and out-of-touch with reality, I want Artsakh to become an Armenian autonomous region within the Russian Federation. That actually would also not be a bad idea for Armenia itself…
Great read! I loved it.
Option 3 is the only sustainable option, for Artsakh to become a constituent Republic of the Russian Federation. Better to be swallowed by a nation that wants your people to live than one who wishes to annihilate you.
Good article.
However, all 3 scenarios are about what Russia might do. None of that depends on Armenia. Is the author suggesting Armenians should come to a consensus about what Russia should do? There is no point in that. Russia will do whatever is in Russia’s interest and Armenia’s views are irrelevant at this point. What Armenia needs to do is to build its institutions (including foreign service) that will increase its capacity to be relevant.
If you don t have a strong army which Armenia doesn t right now the enemy will eat you up. And that’s what s happening right now. Armenia will be divided again between Russia and Turkey. And you can forget about Artsakh.
Good article that IMO points to the essential problem of Armenia. We are the weakest kid on the block. Until that problem is solved Armenian interests will generally be based on twisting and turning around other foreign interests. Aren’t we Armenians tired of this? Time to deal with that essential problem, i.e. come to a near obsession with building our military strength. Some may say that’s impossible, but really what choice do we have. That is to say, do we want to continue, ad infinitum, playing by the rules of this chess game while our opponents don’t play by those rules and in fact can smash the chess board to pieces? So yes, it’s fine to play this chess game to buy us time, but ultimately we need military strength that puts fear and dread into the hearts and minds of our enemies. Peace through strength.
I cannot honestly believe people are still talking about and claiming lands in other internationally recognised areas when we are failing to fill our own internationally recognised borders. What an outrageous claim to talk about Gandzak and historical lands.
Maybe instead of talking about lands which we couldn’t possibly fill today even if it was handed over on a silver plate, we should be talking about how to make our economy the strongest in the region. Yet the same people are talking about kneeling before Russia for protection. Nobody cares about us, even those who are Armenian by surname don’t care enough about Armenia. The whole of Karvajar had 3000 inhabitants in it, what future does Artsakh have if we don’t fill it with people and a vibrant economy. The future of Artsakh is tied to the future of Armenia, this means repatriating to Armenia, investing everything we have into it, and tieing our interests with foreign business interests. The north south highway which was embezzled by the criminal clan of the last 25 years cost us our biggest leverage over the Azeris we could have had. But no, we allowed corrupt vermin to not build the road (which would have avoiding today’s humiliating situation on the goris highway today) and therefore we missed an opportunity to tie Iranian and European interests closer to our own.
We have to get real with our aspirations, and get down to work, in Stepanakert and Yerevan.
The sooner the people of Artsakh vote to become a constituent republic of the Russian Federation,the better. In this case, Russian interests coincide with the the best interests of Artsakh residents. All the major world powers are primarily focused on advancing their own interests. Here we have a coalescing of interests that guarantees the survival of the people of Artsakh and their culture. Armenia is too small and inconsequential to protect Artsakh from annihilation. The Western powers are more focused on curtailing Russian interests than they are with the well-being of Armenians.