The Arménie (Armenian: Հայաստան) is a country of the the Caucasus. The Turkey is in the west, the Georgia in north, the Azerbaïdjan with the Is and the Iran in the south of this former Soviet republic. With a rich person cultural heritage, it is one of oldest civilizations in the world. Although Arménie is a constitutionally secular country, the Christian religion plays a big role, since it is the first nation to adopt the Christianisme like official religion in 301. According to certain authors, culturally, historically and politically speaking, Arménie can be regarded as belonging to the Europe. , Arménie is now member of more than thirty-five international organizations, like UNO, the the Council of Europe, the Communauté of the independent States, etc It is also an observant member of the Francophonie. It is a democracy incipient under the influences Western and Russian.

History

See also: History of Arménie

Arménie was populated since the Préhistoire. It had as centers the Mont Ararat which a long time had a religious significance for the Armenians. The archeologists continue to find evidence according to which Arménie was an old center of civilization, with the Urartu, rival of the Assyrie. One can speak about Armenian people only as from the seventh century BC, time to which the area was invested by Indo-European people (Armens and Hayaza-Azzi) which mixed with the population urartéenne.

Antiquity

Towards -610 front J.C., a tribe thraco-illyrienne originating in the Balkans passes in Anatolia and moves gradually towards the east until the the Caucasus to merge, without confrontation seems it, with the kingdom of Urartu. It adopts then local civilization, imposes its Indo-European language and its culture and founds the Armenian nation. The Armenians are evoked in the files of Ninive.

In 480 av. J.C., the vassal ones of Xerxès I {{er}}, king of the Persian S, fight with Marathon against the Greeks.

Thus, the area passed by periods of independence and tender. Following the conquest of the Persian empire by Alexandre Large the, Arménie is subject to thus the Greek influence (dynasty Séleucide). At that time, the dynasty Orontide defends Armenian sovereignty.

In 189 av. J.C., the Greek general Artaxias proclaims independence and, in 187 av. J.C., founds his capital, Artaxate. This Arménie hellenistic, under the reign of the news Dynastie artaxiade must face the Parthes. Under the reign of Tigrane Large (95 -55 front J.C.), it will extend from the the Mediterranean to banks of the Caspian Sea. This same king moves his capital with Tigranocerte towards -78.

But the expansion of Arménie upsets the Romains, which annex a good part of the grounds that Tigrane had just conquered, but leave Arménie independent.

However, in -69, the country becomes a Roman Protectorat.

Of 1 with 53, the Romans and Parthes divide Arménie. This one is again Roman of 114 with 117.

But, thereafter, the Arsacide dynasty restores the independence of the country. The 2nd century, a new Persian dynasty, the Sassanides, benefits from the weakness of the Roman empire to invade Arménie. It is only under the emperor Dioclétien that the Romans restore their protection on Arménie. They carry to the capacity the king Tiridate III which converts with the Christianisme (301) under the influence of holy Gregoire the Illuminator. Arménie was thus, at the beginning of the 4th century, the first Christian country officially . To affirm the integrity of the Armenian nation, the monk Mesrob Machtots creates a new alphabet, inspired by the Greek, with 32 consonants and 6 vowels and which is written from left to right. The Armenians can do without the Greek for the publication of the texts. Thus, about year 406, the Armenian alphabet is adopted by the whole of the kingdom. Into the year 428, Arménie is divided between the Byzantine Sassanides and the .

the Middle Ages

The area was then invaded by the Arab , which established the Emirate of Arménie. About the year 885, the Bagratide dynasty was essential in Arménie, the independence of Arménie was then recognized. At the time, Arménie had like capital the town of Ani, which, with a population exceeding that of the European metropolises like Paris, London and Rome, became the arts center, religious and economic of the the Caucasus. The Byzantine empire began in a fight to subjugate Arménie and finally makes a success of in 1045. The empire was thus tired too much to defend the area against the Turks Seldjoukides, therefore, in 1064, they ruined Arménie and continued to advance towards the remainder of the Anatolia. Thus, the thousands of Armenians left to be established in more promising areas in exodus towards Moldavie, Transylvania, Hungary, Ukraine, Poland, Cyprus, ports of the Mediterranean and especially in Cilicie. Over there, in Cilicie, a Armenian kingdom was installed and prolonged Armenian sovereignty until in 1375. It was the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicie or Small Arménie: 1137-1375. The arménie was allied Holy Land crusaders. Several marriages between Armenian princesses and sovereign frank of the East. (for example the count Baudoin of Boulogne, marries Armenian and becomes Master of new told of Edesse) and also marriages between Armenian princes and Cypriot princesses. 1190 Henri VI (Germanic emperor) gives to Leon II of Arménie the royal crown. 1199 Leon II, also sends a crown to him. The Armenian culture was then very open on that of Europe and the Latin States of the East. Small Arménie is then invaded in 1375 by the Mamelukes, with in 1374 Leon VI of the House of Lusignan like last Armenian king.

Between three empires

During this time, Arménie was invaded by various Turkish tribes and became the object of fights between the Ottoman Empire and the Persian Empire. As from the 14th century, it remained under Turkish domination. The wars took again in 1827, when the Russian Empire started to have sights on north of Arménie. At the end of the 19th century, the territory was divided between the Russia and the Ottoman Empire. It is at that time that the Turks were delivered to the first massacres against the Armenian people (1894 - 1896) alive on the part of the territory which they controlled, i.e. the Eastern Anatolia or the Western Arménie. These massacres made approximately a hundred and fifty - thousand dead.

The Armenian genocide

See also: Armenian genocide

The April 24th 1915, the government Young person-Turks of the Ottoman Empire decided to finish some with the Armenian minority living in current the Turkey and organized the deportation and the massacre of a million and half of Armenians, thus perpetrating the first genocide 20th century. The Western Arménie was emptied of its native Armenian population. This genocide recognized forever as such by the Turkey, whose laws heavily condemn those which are posed as a defender of the Armenian cause. (See the part “internationally recognized genocides” of the article Genocide.) After the collapse of Russia 1917 and Ottoman Empire (1918), the Armenians manages to create an independent republic of Arménie, with the transitory existence (1918 - 1920).

Soviet Union

Beaten by Kemal Atatürk, the Armenians are resigned to accept the protection of the Bolchévique S: in 1921 is born the Soviet republic from Arménie which covers only one small portion of the historical territory of Arménie. One year later, it is included in the Soviet socialist Republic of Transcaucasia (1922) then, starting from 1936 - at the conclusion of the bursting of the Transcaucasia - it becomes a Soviet socialist Republic with whole share.

Arménie reached its final independence the September 21st 1991 on the old Russian territory, the southern part of old remaining Arménie included in the Turkish territory.

However, the bursting of the old Soviet empire drew borders which create tensions between Armenians and Azeris.

In December 1920, after the sovietization of the Azerbaïdjan, the authorities of the RSS of Azerbaïdjan, lately created, stated to give up their claims on the litigious territories, and recognized officially the right to self-determination of the people of Karabagh.

But they are finally the Russian Bolsheviks who, in 1921, after having taken the capacity in Arménie and created the RRS of Arménie, decided destiny of the Haut-Karabagh. Obsessed by the idea to spread the “proletarian revolution” in the Moslem East , in particular by the means of Azerbaïdjan towards the Turkey, the Caucasian office of the Central committee of the party Bolshevik, then chaired by Stalin, decided the fastening of Haut-Karabagh in Azerbaïdjan, by an arbitrary legal decision.

During nearly seventy years, the problem “cold”, in any way is solved. During all this period, with regular intervals, the great majority of the Armenians of Haut-Karabagh protests peacefully against the continuations of this decision of 1921 and ask that the possibility of an integration be discussed of Haut-Karabagh within Arménie.

Today, in spite of the cease-fire of 1994, this question is still not regulated.

Policy

See also: Political of Arménie

Arménie has a semi-presidential mode with at its head Robert Kotcharian, elected in 1998 and re-elected in 2003. The first Armenian president was Levon Ter Petrossian, which had taken the reins of the country in 1991. In 1998, weakened in its country after having wished to renegotiate the statute of the Haut-Karabagh, it is thorough with the resignation before being replaced by the current president.

  • Head of State: Robert Kotcharian (since 1998)

  • Prime Minister: Serge Sargsian (since 2007)
  • National Assembly: 131 seats
  • Next elections: presidential in 2008
  • Effective soldiers: 45.000
  • Budget of the army: 62 million USD

Foreign politics

Arménie Christian, small, mountainous and is wedged, but benefits from the support provided by the Armenian diaspora. Its relations with the Azerbaïdjan and the Turkey were difficult because of the war of the Haut-Karabagh and the Armenian genocide.

  • conflict Relation with the Azerbaïdjan, about the Haut-Karabagh, of which it disputes the statute of autonomous region under Azeri supervision.
  • the relations with the Iran which had been degraded since the installation of a mode islamist with Teheran, would be, today, become again better and would even tend to be reinforced as construction testifies some to the Gazoduc connecting the two countries.
  • the relations with Turkey are very conflict, mainly because of the Armenian genocide of 1915 and its negation by Turkey. The border thus is officially closed between these two countries.

Since its independence in 1991, Arménie always kept close relationships with the Russia of which it is the essential partner in the area. It thus collects a Russian military base with Gyumri. However, the foreign politics of Arménie changes also gradually towards the search for a stronger support of the Occident.

Arménie thus expressed the desire to be integrated in the European institutions. It adhered to the programme of Partnership for the peace of NATO and also adhered to the the Council of Europe (42e Member State). It sent a section of soldiers of peace to the Kosovo under command of the Greek forces of KFOR. Thus, Arménie seeks to balance its relationships with Russia and also to NATO.

The the United States, with their Armenian diaspora, contribute a serious share to the rebuilding of the Armenian economy which recently saw its GDP progressing in an impressive way.

Arménie is moreover rather close to the Georgia, on which it depends economically for the transit.

Geography

See also: Geography of Arménie

Arménie consists of plates and very high mountainous chains. Wedged in the heights of the the Caucasus, between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, Arménie is located in Eurasia, with horse between Europe and Asia. Climate: Winter S cold until - 40 °C. Close to 90  % of the territory is at more than thousand meters of Altitude. Its historical culminating point is the Mont Ararat and its: 5160 meters until in 1915. Since, the Ararat mount is in Turkey. The current culminating point is the mount Aragats and its some: 4095 meters. The Armenian landscape is also characterized by its Lac S, in particular the Lac Sevan, a big lake of 1.400 km ² located at 60 km in the east of Erevan, the capital. Arménie is located in the middle of a zone which knows a great seismic activity. The large last Earthquake made thirty thousand died on December 7th, 1988. The Climat is continental, the Végétation rare and is still limited by the Déforestation.

  • Surface: 29.800 km ²

  • Density: 111 habitants/km ²
  • Land borders: 1.254 km (Azerbaïdjan 566 km; Turkey 268 km; Azeri Enclave of the Nakhitchevan 221 km; Georgia 164 km; Iran 35 km)
  • Littoral: 0 km
  • Ends of altitude: + 400 m > + 4.095 m

Provinces

Economy

See also: Economy of Arménie

After the fall of the Soviet Union, the Armenians had all to rebuild, setting out again almost of zero after seventy years of Communism. As in all the other republics of the CEI, the passage to the market economy was not done without evil, in spite of an important support of the Armenian diaspora. The companies were privatisées and a main effort was made in the sector of agro-alimentary in order to being able to quickly ensure the food independence of the country.

However, the economy had evil to take off during the Années 1990, because of the maladjustment of the industrial tools, the lack of energy, funds of investment and the poverty of the means of communication. Its growth was only of 3,3  % in 1997, but, from now on, the situation seems to improve since GDP believed of 13,9  % in 2005. What makes of Arménie the country having had the fifth plus world economic strong growth.

The industrial activity can hope to rest on some mining resources (Cuivre and Aluminum) or on the Or. The country does not have an oil resource even if prospections are carried out. The main part of industries is concentrated with Erevan, the capital (mechanical engineering, rubber).

From an energy point of view, Arménie was a long time dependant on its neighbors and suffered from serious shortages (neither the Turkey, nor the Azerbaïdjan were ready to sell energy to him). The Armenians thus had to make the serious decision to start again the Nuclear plant of Metsamor (shut down under the pressure of the ecologists, following the Earthquake of 1988) in order to mitigate this energy deficit.

The foreign debt of Arménie accounted for 1,265 billion dollar at July 1st, 2007 in increase of 9,3% in one year. Provided figures by the National center of statistical studies of Arménie. The Armenian national debt is of 1,103 billion dollar, that of the Central bank of Arménie is of 158 million. The creditors of Arménie are the international capitalizations (1,124 billion) of which the World Bank (909 million) and the Funds International currency (156 million).

Gross domestic product (PIB): USD 3774 million Evolution compared to the previous year: +13,9%

GDP per capita: USD 1137

Swiss colony: 9 people Swiss exports: CHF 15,1 million Evolution compared to the previous year: +28% Swiss imports: CHF 2,1 million Evolution compared to the previous year: +57%

Updates of the statistics:

  • Arménie has just recorded a growth of 12,5% of its Gross domestic product (PIB) between January and September 2006. A GDP evaluated with nearly 4 billion dollars over the first nine months the year. Arménie moreover recorded a very big rise of its economic activity of 26,3% between August and September. The industrial production nevertheless recorded a fall of 2% - by report/ratio at 2005 - being established to 468,1 billion drams between January and September 2006. The electric production estimated at 4.530 hour/kilowatt million, as for it underwent a fall of 5,2%. In addition, agriculture recorded with the end of September a growth of 15,6% with an agricultural production of 370,5 billion drams. But it is the sector of construction with recorded a growth record of 40% over the first nine months of the year with an amount of the investments being established with nearly 400 billion drams. Source http://www.armenews.com/article.php3?id_article=25999
  • In January 2007, the Gross domestic product of Arménie increased by 11,9% to 230,3 million dollars (information disseminated by the national center of statistical studies). In January, the industrial production increased by 4% (124 million dollars), and the agricultural production of 3,5% is established to 38 million dollars. The Armenian government envisages for 2007 an economic growth of 9% compared with 13,4% in 2006.
The budget of the Armenian State will reach a new record in 2008. It will be equivalent to 2,5 billion dollars. It is what Serge Sarkissian Wednesday, September 12, 2008 announced. In front of the National Assembly, the Prime Minister also envisaged an increase in the income taxes for the year to come. This budget envisages devotes 1,7 billion dollars (583 billion drams) to the expenditure of the government, that is to say 18% of more than in 2006. Serge Sarkissian did not give more details. At the exit of the Parliament, it was delayed near the journalists. With the question of knowing if this rise in the expenditure of State were related to its candidature for the presidential election, the Prime Minister obviously denied.

Equipment

Arménie is very handicapped by the terrestrial blockade of the border by Turkey. The country counts only eight hundred kilometers of railways, generally in bad condition. The roads, as for them, are normally practicable in the mountains. Telecommunications are also under development.

The country counts sixteen television channels and as many radio stations.

  • Telephone lines: 562.600 (in 2003)
  • Cellphones: 114.400 (in 2003)
  • Radios: 850.000 (in 1997)
  • Television stations: 825.000 (in 1997)
  • Users of Internet: 150.000 (in 2003)
  • Many suppliers of access Internet: 1 (in 2003)
  • Roads: 15.918 km (including 15.329 tarred km) (in 2003)
  • Railways: 845 km (828 electrified), mainly obsolete (in 2003)
  • inland Waterways: n.c
  • Many airports: 17 (of which the national airport in complete restoration) (in 2003)

Demography

The Armenian population is in the process of reduction. If the Armenian authorities are pleased to finally see being reversed in favor of the immigrants the Armenian migratory balance, after long years of emigration which, especially in the decade which followed independence, caused a true demographic bleeding, a report/ratio of the World Bank on the demographic situation of the old Republics of the USSR should moderate their optimism by establishing that will not be enough to slow down the demographic decline of Arménie. This report/ratio comes in particular to the conclusion which Arménie should count: 200000 inhabitants of less by 2025. Arménie is placed with the same sign as other republics of the ex-USSR, all confronted with serious demographic problems which, in the medium term, should involve a reduction and an ageing of their populations. Between 2000 and 2025, the republics of the ex-USSR will record very a demographic Net deficit according to this report/ratio of the World Bank: Russia should lose 17,3 million inhabitants (12% of the population), the Ukraine 11,8 million (24%), Bielorussia 1,4 million (14%), Georgia 0,8 million (17%), Lithuania 0,4 million (11%), Latvia and Moldavie, 0,3 million each one (13,7%) like Kazakhstan (2%), Estonia 0,1 million (9%). The tendency is reversed on the other hand for the Moslem republics of the ex-USSR, recording a considerable population growth to the horizon 2025, except one saw it of Kazakhstan, of which about half of the inhabitants are Russian: the population of Ouzbékistan should thus increase by 9,3 million inhabitants, that of Tadjikistan of 2,6 million, Turkménistan of 1,6 million, Azerbaïdjan of 1,5 million and Kirghizstan of 1,3 million. The experts of the World Bank estimate that space ex-Soviet is the only area of the world whose population knows such an ageing which, with the bad and fault living conditions of the economic reforms, social and political, seriously threaten the official local economies and structures. The report/ratio specifies that the population in constant reduction in the studied areas will be also in prey with ageing, an inhabitant on five being 65 years old and more by 2025.

  • Ages : 0-14 years: 22,7  %; 15-64 years: 66,7  %; + 65 years: 10,6  %.

  • Life expectancy of the men: 67,73 years (in 2004, estimates)
  • Life expectancy of the women: 75,36 years (in 2004, estimates)
  • Rate of variation of the population: - 0,32  % (in 2004, estimates)
  • Birth rate: 11,43 ‰ (in 2004, estimates)
  • Death rate: 8,12 ‰ (in 2004, estimates)
  • infantile Death rate: 24,16 ‰ (in 2004, estimates)
  • Fertility rate: 1,31 children/woman (in 2004, estimates)
  • Rate of migration: - 6,47 ‰ (in 2001)

Little populated, Arménie enjoys the support of a very important Armenian Diaspora throughout the world: in the federation of Russia (1,5 million), in Canada and the United States (1,2 million), in Africa (: 900000), in Syria and with the Lebanon (: 900000) - of which: 235000 in Lebanon, 4% of the Lebanese population where they constitute two of the eighteen official communities), in the European Union (: 700000) and in Latin America (: 200000). The Funds of the United Nations for demography (UNFPA) announced on July 10th, 2007 that the increase in the number of the abortions and the extension of the sexually transmitted diseases in Arménie had encouraged the Armenian office of the U.N. agency to order the realization of a report/ratio on the demographic decline in the country. The study aims at determining the projects of family planning, as well as the increasing needs as regards education, singularly among the young people in Arménie. According to the report/ratio, half of the women in Arménie prefer to fall through rather than to give rise to a child, and 5% of the practiced abortions would be justified by the refusal to give rise to a girl. The frequent recourse to the abortions is directly related in Arménie to the rejection of the means of contraception. The most recent research indicates that the indices of the births and the abortions are of 52% and 48%, a reality that hardly the figures of the Armenian ministry of health translate. A disparity which is explained by the fact why the abortions are not correctly recorded, health professionals feeling reluctant to make state of this type of services. The frequent recourse to the abortions carries the risk in addition to support problems of sterility and certain diseases, as well as difficulties of being confined. If the report/ratio estimates that a woman will have recourse on average to 2 or 3 abortions during her life, it also announces that death rate during the childbirth dropped considerably. Garik Hayrapétian, vice-president of the office of the UNFPA in Arménie, thus points out that if “seven years ago, more than 30 women died each year by putting at the world a child, one counts currently only 10 to 12 cases”.

Arménie is always historically Russophile because of the pressure of its Moslem neighbors.

Culture

See also: Culture of Arménie, Armenian Cinema

One must note the great richness of the Armenian culture which knew to overcome the difficulties of the history. Thus, Arménie constituted a made architectural heritage of monasteries, churches and vaults thanks to the establishment of the Christian religion. Art also developed through ceramics or illuminations which the monks drew.

The Armenian Littérature is not remains and developed about it at the 19th century (Raffi, Toumanian, Demirdjian), as well inside the country as outwards, thanks to the Armenian diaspora.

Television

Arménie has more than one ten national television channels and receives some foreign chains, in particular Russian S and Iranian born.

The principal Armenian chain is Arménie 1 (H1), public television. Imagined in 1955 by the council of minsitres of the Soviet Union and created in 1956 under the impulse of the sovietization of the country, it continues to emit today, not only in Arménie, but also in the remainder of the Europe, in Russia, Australia and with the the United States.

The other important chain, Armenia TV, is private. Much young person than her big sister, it is created only in 1999 and, in 2007, is diffused in several Asian European countries, American and.

In addition, Horizon TV is a television channel of information, in diffusion 24:00 /24. To note that CNN and Euronews diffusing their programs in Arménie takes down several hours per day for programs in Armenian.

The majority of the other chains of the country either local (several televisions with Erevan for example) or are specialized (music, car, information…).

Religions

See also: Armenian apostolic Church

The kingdom of Arménie is the first State to admit then adopting Christianity like official religion under the king Trdat III (252 - 330) when this last, part of its family and some members of the palate are converted, in 301 according to the tradition, by Gregoire saint Illuminateur.
However, there remains a controversy as for the exact date of the baptism of the royal family. The two most serious studies proposed on the one hand 314 (P. Anean, 1961) and on the other hand 294 (B. Mc Dermot, 1970), until the publication of more recent work affirming than conversion took place between 305 (R. Manaseryan - Arménie d' Artawazd with Trdat the Large one, 2005) and 311 and not under the Roman influence, weakened in the East at that time.

  • Christian belonging to the apostolic Church autocéphale: 96,5%

  • Other Christians: 3%
  • A little more than 0,5% of Moslems live in Arménie

Personalities of Armenian origin or Arménie

Politicians

Architects

  • Edouard Sarxian the French architect in Marseilles

The painters

  • Jean Carzou French painter
  • Ivan Konstantinovitch Aivazovsky
  • Arshile Gorky
  • Jansem
  • Vartan Malakian painter, which carried out the artworks Hypnotize and Mezmerize for System Of has Down
  • Seta Manoukian born with Beirut in 1945, Seta Manoukian starts to paint as of the 13 years age, encouraged by Paul Guiragossian. A grant enables him to integrate the Academy Pietro Vanucci into Perugia, then the Academy of the fine arts of Rome. One second purse off leads it to Barking College Technology of London. It takes part in many collective exposures to Lebanon, in Italy, in Germany, in Iraq, in Arménie and in Brazil. It also holds some individual exposures to Beirut and the United States.

Actors and realizers of cinema

Type-setters

Singers

Journalists and TV hosts

Industrialists and contractors

  • Napoleon Bullukian, industrialist and philanthropist Lyons
  • Calouste Gulbenkian, business man and Co-creator of Shell
  • Rafi Haladjian, inventor of Nabaztag
  • Jack Kachkar, chairman of Inyx, and former probable purchaser of OM
  • the American producer Howard Kazanjian
  • Kirk Kerkorian, American billionaire (Chrysler, General Motors, MGM Casinos…
  • Alex Yemenidjian chairman of MGM
  • Alain industrial Manoukian and fashion designer
  • Alain Mikli , creator of glasses, of which the true name is Miklitarian
  • Didier Parakian, industrialist and fashion designer
  • Serge Tchuruk, chairman of Alcatel (ex chairman of Total S.A)

Scientists

  • Artem Mikoyan, coinventor of the Soviet fighter plans Mig
  • Norair Sissakian, Russian biochemist
  • Alexei Norairovich Sissakian, Russian nuclear Physicist
  • Avadis Tevanian JR, developer of the operating system of the Macintosh

Avadis Tevanian, Jr. Old of NeXT, creator of micronucleus Mach on which Mac OS X is based, Avadis Tevanian, called “Avie”, is currently responsible technological branch software for Apple, in load of the development of the operating system.

Sportsmen

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