THE ROLE OF ARMENIAN HARD-COPY NEWSPAPERS ON THE
ARMENIAN DIASPORA
By
Anatoli Hovhanesyan
Presented to the
Department of English & Communications
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the
Degree of Bachelor of Arts
American University of Armenia
Yerevan, Armenia
May 16, 2021
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Table of Contents
Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………………3
1. Introduction (History of Hardcopy Newspapers)………………………………………4
2. Newspapers and the Diaspora………………………………………………………….6
3. Literature Reviews
3.1 Diaspora Vietnamese Contributions toward Vietnam’s Economic Growth………9
3.2 Ethiopian Diaspora Effects on Politics and Economy…………………………...10
3.3 Overseas Vietnamese Contributions toward Vietnam’s Economic Growth……..11
4. Methodology………………………………………………………………………….. 12
5. Iron Curtain and the Diaspora ………………………………………………………….14
6. Armenia Pogroms in Baku……………………………………………………………...17
7. The Independence of Armenia………………………………………………………….28
8. The Spitak Earthquake………………………………………………………………….34
9. Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………38
10. References……………………………………………………………………………....40
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Abstract
Hardcopy newspapers were an essential part of our everyday life. They were the only
way to transmit information to a community group or any mass of people. Indeed, as the
newspapers are almost extinct now, I believe this paper will explore the essence of the hard-copy
newspapers and transfer their importance to the younger generations. This research paper mainly
focuses on the Hairenik Digital Archives that had published thousands of newspapers about
Armenia since the 1900s. The paper analyzes dozens of articles from the “Armenian Weekly”
and other sources about the most significant events in the history of Armenia. Eventually, the
research paper gives a bigger picture of the vital to the modern Armenia events analyzing the
diaspora contributions during critical days of Armenia.
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History of Hard-Copy Newspapers
A newspaper is a daily newsletter containing written material on national affairs that is
usually typed in black ink on a whitish backdrop. Newspapers can address a broad spectrum of
subjects, including policy, industry, athletics, and art. They also contain materials such as
opinion columns, weather reports, reviews of municipal resources, obituaries, birth
announcements, crossword puzzles, editorial cartoons, comic strips, and advice columns. Most
newspapers are for-profit enterprises that cover their costs by combining subscription revenue,
newsstand revenues, and advertisement revenue. Newspapers are sometimes used as a metonym
for the journalism organizations that distribute them. (“Integration of Newspapers into Public
Consciousness”)
Newspapers started as details sheets for traders in the 17th century. Many towns in
Europe, as well as North and South America, had newspapers by the early nineteenth century.
Some newspapers are considered newspapers of record because they have strong editorial
freedom, good journalistic standards, and a wide circulation. (Britannica, 1999)
The news media is the primary means of disseminating information that affects popular
opinion. While the old technologies were still employed, they were boosted by the presence of
the new media. “They actually control our entire culture, passing it through their filters, singling
out individual elements from the general mass of cultural phenomena and giving them special
weight, raising the value of one idea, devaluing another, thus polarizing the entire field of
culture,” writes Abraham Mohl of the media. What does not hit the networks of mass media has
absolutely no impact on societal development these days. Thus, no one can depart from the
influence of mass media and newspapers particularly.
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“If I had to choose between having a government without newspapers and having
newspapers without a government, I would choose the latter without hesitation.” Thomas
Jefferson wrote to a friend in January 1787. The concept of the newspaper has a six-hundredyear history. Compared to the pamphlets published by churches all across the United States
during the Renaissance, the modern press worked within a principle that is still in operation
today. This assumption remains that the media was the simplest way to educate the public of
issues that needed to be addressed while still making the deliberation of such announcements
even more understandable.
It is pretty interesting to find out about some types of newspapers. If taking into
consideration the territorial factor of influence of a newspaper, then it is divided into:
- Transnational newspapers. They are distributed in several countries of the world. Such
newspapers are very rare, and the most famous is the English “Financial Times”;
- national (central) newspapers and magazines. They are spread all over the country;
- magazines (general-popular and specialized);
- local (regional) editions. Distributed within a certain large settlement and its surrounding areas;
- local newspapers. They are disseminated within a single community or a part of it. (Wulgler,
2012)
Transnational newspapers, such as the “Armenia Weekly,” which will be analyzed in this
paper, are an essential part of the daily routine for many people. Besides being a transnational
newspaper, “Armenia Weekly” has also been characterized as a local newspaper, making it even
more attractive to deep research its’ articles from newly formed online archives. In a nutshell,
the Armenian Weekly is an English-language newspaper published by the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation (A.R.F.), a nationalist and democratic socialist political party
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established in 1890. Aside from its position as a political source, it also maintains high
journalistic standards and reports on the news of interest to the global Armenian diaspora.
Further research into the Armenian Weekly’s history reveals that it was preceded by its
Armenian-language counterpart, the Hairenik, which was published in 1899 and has been the
world’s longest-running Armenian-language newspaper. Although the Armenian Weekly’s
headquarters are in Watertown, Massachusetts, subscribers come from as far away as Buenos
Aires and beyond. And the Armenian Weekly continues to meet the growing needs of a more
sophisticated, news-aware Diasporan-Armenian audience.
Newspapers and the Diaspora
As we have already stated some minor facts about the role of the “Armenian Weekly”
in the diaspora, it is worth mentioning that ethnic media play an essential part among the
traditional organizations of the Armenian diaspora. They contribute to the preservation and
dissemination of ethnic and cultural values, the consolidation and self-organization of ethnic
communities, strengthening their ties with their ethnic homeland, forming and disseminating
pan-Armenian ideas and values. That is why the information displayed in the Armenian press
about the life of communities and the ethnic homeland, in general, is of great research interest.
The community's life is reflected through the ethnic media, homeland information, and interest
issues for the Armenian diaspora and all Armenians. The choice of the method of content
analysis of mass media is dictated by the need to identify the connection between the
communication parties - the communicator and the audience-the influence on the readership.
(Abdurakhmanov, 2017)
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The “Armenian Weekly” content makes it possible to follow the processes in the
homeland and the diaspora. The Armenian informational field forms the main content of it.
Comparable analysis of information contained in the Armenian press reveals ideas about the
motherland. It shows the set of elements that form the outline of its generalized image, displayed
in the subject of publications, distributed in the following areas: political, cultural, economic,
legal, social, national, and charitable. For the Armenians of the diaspora, the presence of a
national state forms a particular attitude towards the homeland as a factor in preserving national
identity. But each diaspora community builds these relationships in its way. According to the
materials of the “Armenian Weekly” articles, the proportion of the above topics is different for
different Armenian communities.
The relationship between diaspora and homeland can be very different expressions and
relate to various spheres of life. But the basis of the motivation of these relationships is a sense
of community and the need for solidarity between all parts of the ethnos. They are most clearly
reflected in the information on Armenia-Diaspora relations, concluded in the Diaspora press.
The analysis of data about these relationships can help identify the degree of national unity and
cohesion. To this end, we turned to the typology of information on the involvement of the
subjects of relationships, which will allow us to understand the perception of the national and
specific for each segment of the ethnos, especially concerning the nation's critical problems.
Quantitative data shows that in the Armenian newspaper of Moscow, according to in comparison
with other publications, most of the materials refer to Armenia. There are very few articles about
the Armenian community in Russia, the Armenian diaspora, and the relationship between the
homeland and the diaspora.
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It should be noted that the articles published by “Armenian Weekly” in the Los Angeles
and Tehran communities have similar indicators of the involvement of the subjects of the
homeland-diaspora relationship. Basically, they conveyed information about the foreign and
domestic policy of Armenia. The media in these countries pay more attention to the community's
activities and its relationship with the host country's institutions. It is also noteworthy that most
of the topics of articles in “Armenian Weekly” and other diaspora newspapers concern Armenia,
then the diaspora, and least of all – relations homeland-diaspora. Thus, the Armenian periodicals
reflect the lives of the Armenian Diaspora communities, information about the homeland, issues
of interest to Armenian Diaspora, and all Armenians. But the center of this information field is
still Armenia.
Overall, the diaspora press presents the image of the motherland mainly through the
political aspect of the life of the Republic of Armenia and the appearance of the diaspora through
the prism of ethnocultural values. In the materials of the community newspapers of Los Angeles
and Tehran, homeland-diaspora ties are also significant for a cultural component. However, the
Armenian periodicals in Moscow present this relationship mainly through a political context. In
general, information about homeland-diaspora relationships on different topics differs
significantly in publications of each Armenian community. Thus, the primary role of the
diaspora media is the expression and formation of ethnic and cultural identity in the diaspora.
The main research topic discussed in this paper concerns the effect of diaspora
newspapers, “Armenian Weekly,” particularly in forming a social identity in the local
communities among diaspora Armenians. So, what is the impact of the Armenian diaspora
newspapers, and how does it create a genuine Armenian community in a foreign country?
Furthermore, I have also discussed how the diaspora newspapers have contributed to the
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homeland directly and indirectly. However, the paper also underlines some contradictions
between the Armenian diaspora and the Armenian government. However, it mainly focuses on
how the Armenian diaspora newspapers had shaped Armenians all around the world. Indeed, the
Armenians are not the only nation with a widespread diaspora or have strong ties with the
motherland. I believe patriotism is craved in human nature, and the natural support of the
homeland is an ordinary matter for all nations.
For instance, a scholarly article written by Tendai Chari examines the ways the
Zimbabwean diaspora had contributed to their motherland. In the paper, Tendai argues that in
order to maintain relations with their country, Zimbabweans in migration partake in different
aspects of material and psycho-social remittance. Despite being separated from their motherland
geographically, Chari argues that shared and individualistic impressions of the homeland persist
long after they have left the region. His article reflects the diaspora's psycho-social component in
an exploration of the Zimbabwean diaspora’s online news consuming practices. The report
claims that the Zimbabwean diaspora uses online newspapers to declare their political
loyalty to the country. The diaspora’s persistent information-seeking actions affirm their
commitment to the homeland, irrespective of social, economic, or political realities there. The
Zimbabwean diaspora’s symbolic declaration of transnational devotion to the homeland may be
interpreted as demonstrating patriotic citizenship in forming a mutual identification with the
nation-state. (Chari, 2014)
While Tendai Chari in his paper discusses the psycho-social aspect of the Zimbabwean
diaspora, a research paper written by Bahru Zevde, Gebre Yntiso, and Kassahun Bernahu in
2010 reflects on the Ethiopian diaspora effects from the political and financial angle. In this
paper, the author mentions that diaspora political actors significantly impact the disposition of
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parties functioning within the legal subculture in the home country due to their competitive
advantages over their compatriots at home. This fact has been shown on many occasions, most
notably during the 2005 Elections, where they played a crucial role. Terrence Lyons, the author
of “Conflict-Generated Diasporas and Transitional Politics in Ethiopia,” argued that conflictgenerated diasporas contribute to homeland politics and tensions in unique ways and are
external, frequently complicating set of players to processes of transition in the motherland based
on a study of the Ethiopian Diaspora in North America. In a related vein, Barth and
Shain contend that diasporas have overwhelming and “more direct influence” by contributing to
the parties and politicians of their choosing. The author mentions that financial inflows are
another significant aspect of diaspora relationship with their homelands. (Zewde, 2010)
These cash transfers could take the form of capital contributions or transfers to help people and
families.
Another example of big-scale financial support from the diaspora is presented in Andrew
T. Pham’s research paper about “The Returning Diaspora: Analyzing overseas Vietnamese (Viet
Kieu) Contributions toward Vietnam’s Economic Growth.” The paper mainly describes how
organized the Vietnamese Diaspora is and what contributions the Viet Kieu’s make to the
homeland. The author of the report primarily relies on the statistics and concludes after analyzing
them. In 1986, there was a homecoming of 8,000 Viet Kieu yearly. Throughout the 1990s, the
figure rose to 250,000 returning annually. In 2004, the percentage of arriving Viet Kieu
multiplied. In fact, special events like the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, which occurs during late
January, had successfully drawn 200,000 Viet Kieu. Initially, Viet Kieu made their donations by
providing financial money transfers to families or friends. In 2008, the State Bank of Vietnam
announced that nearly $7.4 billion in money transfers came into Vietnam in that same year. To
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be clear, all of this information is mentioned in the research paper to support the author’s point
about the supportiveness of Vietnamese migrants to their homeland. Then, the author also notes
that due to the extreme relaxation of the state policies, the Viet Kieu are continuously
transferring money and taking remittances back to Vietnam, making the official donations seem
less transparent. The main point is that the Viet Kieu is believed to have spent their earnings on
services, mainly on tourism. Lately, there have been drastic changes in the amount of business
investments the Viet Kieu are participating in. (Pham, 2010)
Now that we have already mentioned a couple of examples from the financial, political,
and psycho-social aspects of diaspora contribution, the following research paper example on
diaspora has gone even further in the topic. The research paper written by Fayrouz Abdalla,
Maye Omar, and Elsheikh Elsiddig Badr provides some details on the service contribution of the
diaspora, rather than a regular materialistic or financial contribution. The paper written in 2016
brings in the pattern of healthcare delivery in Sudan by the diaspora, explaining that the
healthcare professional migration is an increasing worldwide problem that is influencing the
capability of developed country healthcare systems, particularly in Africa, hampering their
potential to provide equal services. The migration of doctors has had a predominantly negative
impact on Sudan. The evaluation of strategies to counter migration’s impact in developed
countries has become a global issue. In many nations, the participation of healthcare practitioners
in diasporas for the advancement of home country healthcare systems has been pretty effective.
Besides, the author also talks about the research paper results, mentioning that although the
Sudanese physician diaspora’s commitments were limited in comparison to the intensity of the
crisis, their contributions to academia and the ties they established with international partners and
professional clinical services were noteworthy. Bad work climate, inadequate financial reward,
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unprotected housing, and offspring training were the key barriers to temporal and permanent
return. In light of the country’s current situation, the study defined short-term relocation as a
viable alternative. In order to boost diaspora efforts, proper planning arrangements for short-term
returns and capacity building of lifelong returns by stakeholder cooperation are suggested.
As the topic of my research paper is relevant to the literature reviews mentioned above, I
would like to bring a couple of examples from the history of how the Armenian diaspora
newspapers had contributed to the diaspora involvement into the internal affairs of Armenia
during critical times.
Methodology
After observing dozens of articles published by the “Armenian Weekly” newspaper in the
United States, I have underlined a couple of significant events covered interestingly. I would like
to mention that most of the sources are taken from the newly formed Hairenik Archives. The
Hairenik Archives represent a compilation of articles published since 1899 that are digitized on
the Hairenik Website. Thus, the methodology of this research paper includes the implementation
of the Hairenik Archives and the research among thousands of off-topic articles to find an article
relevant to the topic. Indeed, it was a pretty complex decision to choose only a couple of events
from Armenian history and to focus only on the most critical events, as most of the events were
essential in forming the nowadays independent Armenian republic. After all, I have underlined
four significant events that affected the nowadays state of Armenia the most. (Staff, 2020)
The first one was the Iron Curtain that has shaped the Armenian Diaspora worldwide
and changed the Armenian identity among diaspora Armenians. I have chosen this particular
period when Armenia was under Soviet rule because I believe, as the planet, afraid of epidemics,
continues to re-establish boundaries between areas of the globe now, it’s time to remember one
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of the most egregious signs of isolationism. It had isolated many nations from the “imperialist
predators” swarming around that during the Cold War. The fact of the “Iron Curtain” being
implemented on the Soviet countries has still its effects nowadays. It had left hundreds of
thousands of Armenians without their homeland, being isolated from the informational aspect, as
well as physical presence in their homeland.
The second theme that I have researched is the Armenian pogroms in Baku. Mainly, this
event became pretty vital in the history of Armenia because it had displaced over 37.000
Armenians from their place of living in Baku. Even if we don’t take into consideration the reason
why all these people were relocated, we should focus on the methods that the Azerbaijanis have
implemented in order to reach the eventual goal, relocation of Armenians. Official sources claim
that hundreds of people were killed during the aggressive actions of the local ethnic majorities.
As the author of this academic paper, it was essential for me to focus on this historical event that
had touched thousands of Armenian families all around the world. Many people had fled away
from Baku at that time period, searching for new locations to settle. Eventually, it affected and
totally changed the destiny of thousands of Armenians, moving them to such countries as Russia,
Canada, the U.S. and etc. Thus, the Baku pogroms did not simply push the families out of
Azerbaijan but had also changed the circumstances and communities in which these refugees
now live and will live in the future.
Besides the above-mentioned two events, I have also focused on the most significant
event in the modern history of Armenia, the independence of 1991. Armenians, like any other
nation, appreciate and have an interest in finding out more about the formation of Armenia as an
independent state. As my research paper is related to diaspora hard-copy news coverage, in my
view, this fact will make it even more interesting to observe. Indeed, when reading the
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newspapers from the “Armenian Weekly,” I was astonished how the diaspora Armenians reacted
to the news of independence. Besides, they were the major influencers on freedom from abroad.
While doing the research, I have found many interesting facts about the impact of the Armenian
diaspora on the international arena. Indeed, it would not have been logical if I have not taken the
theme of the Armenian independence, as the diaspora newspapers were majorly covering those
events at the beginning of the 1990s’.
After researching all of the events mentioned above, I have chosen to observe the
coverage of the diaspora newspapers on the Spitak Earthquake. Indeed, the earthquake in 1988
was the major catastrophe that shook the Armenians all around the world. The natural disaster
that had destroyed most of the infrastructure in the cities of Leninakan and Spitak had initiated a
significant wave of international aid coming to Armenia. Indeed, the earthquake had occupied
the front headlines of the global and Armenian diaspora news media. Thus, this was a perfect
instance to find out more about international aid, the diaspora efforts to recover the motherland,
and the diaspora newspaper coverage on the chaotic events during the natural disaster.
Iron Curtain and the Diaspora
As the planet, afraid of epidemics, continues to re-establish boundaries between areas of
the globe, it’s time to remember one of the most egregious signs of isolationism: the Iron
Curtain, which isolated many nations from the “imperialist predators” swarming around that
during the Cold War. What was the nature of the impediment? Was it for the sake of the citizens
behind it, or was that just evil?
On July 27, at the Potsdam Conference, the representatives of the U.S.A. (Harry
Truman), Great Britain (Winston Churchill), and the USSR (Joseph Stalin) agreed on the
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countries that they were to have authority over during the war. The emergence of the Soviet
Union gave rise to Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria. On the other side
of the Atlantic, the U.S. has pressured much of Europe and West Germany. The pact between the
world powers said that the nations influenced by them must have self-determination.
Nevertheless, communist law was enforced in all regions subject to the USSR. Any of
these theories were distributed throughout the Soviet domain of influence: The actual
perpetrators of World War Two have not been the Fascists, but perhaps the imperialists and
capitalists; peace will only arrive if communism came to dominate the world.” The Soviet Union
has this particular idea in mind for its Eastern European allies and, ideally, for the nation. the
Soviet Union was successfully distributing its doctrine to China, Turkey, and Iran, as well as to
any other country
Winston Churchill is going to Fulton, Missouri, to give a speech at the request of the
U.S. president on March 5, 1946. Winston is profoundly feared Soviet strategy “The Iron Curtain
was lowered from Stettin on the Baltic to Trieste on the eastern coast of Europe. Over here, you
will find the cities of the ancient countries of Central and Eastern Europe: Warsaw, Berlin,
Budapest, Prague, and Vienna. And these towns and areas were under the influence of
Communist power.”
In Churchill’s metaphor, the “Iron Curtain” was a strategic and informational divide that
kept the people of Eastern Europe isolated from the Western imperialist nations.
This speech initiated the Cold War between both the USSR and the United States. The
Iron Curtain was replaced by a much more impenetrable barrier in several parts of Eastern
Europe beginning in the 1950s: not just by barbed wire but also by concrete walls
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Almost every media source from around the world addressed the effect of Churchill’s
Fulton speech after it, particularly after the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two
countries. The U.S. began to scrutinize the Soviet geopolitical goals. In 1946, for instance, the
Life journal issued an article on communism and the USSR’s objectives, including a visual essay
on its existence. According to the paper, “world peace” is a concept that is open to various
interpretations in communist countries, and we must therefore struggle for our rights of
humanity.
In the United States, citizens have a great deal of choice in accessing information, as to
when they can get it and how, and can learn something new; whereas in the former Soviet Union,
any news outlet is regulated by the state. Stalin’s reaction to Churchill’s remarks was distributed
across all Soviet newspapers on March 18 of that year. This dialogue was the first to disseminate
militant anti-Western imperialist views on an international scale. (History, 2010) Stalin remarked
that the United States and Britain were warmongers and declared that the West is willing
to dominate the globe. This argument helped the Soviet society to assume that capitalism
contributes to war, but communism to harmony and peace.
A newspaper published by “The Hairenik Weekly” on January 3, 1963, has stated the
following, criticizing the Communist regime and the “Iron Curtain” specifically. “Yet, what of
Ukraine, Byelorussia, Armenia, Georgia, Turkmenistan, and others in the Soviet Prison of
Nations? Here are nations with long histories, developed cultures, established sovereignties. Here
are countries whose struggle against Soviet oppression in the past is a matter of record, and
reports of whose current struggles steadily filter through the Iron Curtain. With its access to
intelligence reports, the Department of State is qualified best of all to define the justness of their
aspirations to freedom. Why not “presume”?” (The Hairenik Weekly, 1963). As we see the
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above-mentioned, the text is written in a very demanding and mad style. Let’s see what comes
next!
Besides what the author of the above-mentioned article claims, there are also some
historical facts about USSR and Armenia relations, and one of them is the replacement of
Stalin’s statue in the heart of Yerevan. In 1962 Stalin’s famous statue that was seen from almost
everywhere in Yerevan was removed. And sometime after, in 1967 “Mother Armenia” statue
took its spot. Raffi Ardhaldjian, in his article published in “Armenian Weekly,” talks about
Stalin’s statue as if he was the antipathy of the Armenian nation at that time: “Mother Armenia is
arguably the biggest statue in Yerevan and stands watchfully over the Turkish border. This
nationalist symbol replaced the statue of the brutal dictator, Joseph Stalin, on the same basalt
pedestal after his death.”
Armenia Pogroms in Baku
Pogroms against the Armenian minority, which estimated almost 40,000 at that period,
started in Baku on January 12, 1990. Illegal activities were also carried out towards citizens of
several other minority communities, including Greeks, Jews, Georgians, and Russians. The
attacks in Baku’s center are a result of the Transcaucasian region’s long-running interracial
crisis. The Soviet Union’s leaders reacted by dispatching an infantry detachment to the conflict
region. Efforts to appease the perpetrators resulted in shootings, with fatalities among the
protesters, soldiers, and citizens. The repression of the uprisings is known as Black January. The
forces are thought to have arrived very late in the roaring Baku.
An article published by the “Armenian Weekly” in 2018 that was initially written in 1991
informs about the pogroms in Baku from a primary source, Ivette Alexander. “The planned move
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to Armenia was abandoned. The country already had plenty to deal with. We sought other ways
out. We continued to walk the streets of Baku, take public transportation, interact—all while
looking over our shoulders or simply keeping our gaze low.
“Relying on the USSR army peacekeeping, we gradually got used to its presence in the
city—which provided a sense of security. But not always, of course. Although soldiers and
military vehicles were posted at many intersections of the city, the extremists persisted.
My sister Ida, who worked in the Baku State Philharmonic choir, managed to miraculously
escape from a group of pogromists that burst into the M. Magomaev great hall searching for
Armenians. Colleagues managed to hide her and help her escape. She never returned there again.
It was hard to believe that this was really happening in a once peaceful and, it seemed, kind city.
Returning by foot from ballet class at Gagarin Pioneer Palace with my daughter, we walked to
the metro station Baki Soveti. Meanwhile, a band of pogromists marched on the Chkalov Street
(now Niyazi), from the boulevard up to Kommunisticheskaya Street (now Istiqlaliyyet). Seeing
them, I realized we would not make it to the metro station. We ran across the street to the
armored personnel carrier (A.P.C.) stationed on the intersection. Two armed young Russian
soldiers hid us behind the A.P.C. “Are you Armenian? You should leave the city while we’re
still here,” the soldier spoke.
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My husband, Albert Asriyan, a well-known musician, violinist, composer and arranger,
was on a tour of the Soviet Union and Azerbaijan as part of the Gaya state orchestra and the rock
band Talisman, which he then directed. We awaited his return. His last show was at the end of
the summer of 1989. Shortly after, we took off, along with all the members of our large family.
We managed to flee Baku with the help of friends and mom’s patients before the last Armenian
Baku pogrom in January of 1990. We found ourselves in Moscow, but the shadows of those
horrible events continued to haunt us for long after.
Mom was born in Baku in 1923 and left it forever in 1989. A doctor, who provided 40
years of care and service at one institution, remained forever there—in the USSR. She never
could imagine herself outside of her home city, outside of her great country, outside of her
vocation. A long line of Armenian refugees of Baku joined our family in Moscow to wish her a
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final farewell. They were her former patients who knew their beloved doctor throughout their
lives and the lives of their children and trusted her both in their former homeland and in exile.
After burying my mother, we were preparing to emigrate from Russia. Having spent four
complicated years in Moscow, we were finally granted permission to leave.” (Alexander, 1991)
So from the above-mentioned text in the article, we can pretty easily understand how
awful and inhuman were the Baku pogroms. The pogroms have moved 250,000 Armenians from
Baku to different places in the world. Most of them did not move to Armenia, as it was in a
devastating situation after the Spitak Earthquake. “The horror. What horror! Poor Armenia. They
have so much of their own tragedy to deal with, and now the aid to our refugees fell upon them
too,” my mother said. “Yes. It’s terrible. We will help Armenia by not obliging her with our
care,”
After analyzing the majority of “Armenian Weekly” articles about the Baku pogroms, we
can assume from the context of the articles that the Azerbaijani government has initiated the
pogroms intentionally. On the other side, the context of the “New York Times” article published
on January 21, 1990, is trying to justify the Azerbaijani pogroms.
The article written by Bill Keller, the bureau chief of the New York Times in Moscow,
informs the audience about the Popular Front and its initiators. The leaders of the Popular Front
have been the descendants of the wealthy families that live in Baku for centuries. They
were born and raised in one of the Turkic world’s most urban centers. These leaders had
relations with many ethnic minority groups, including Russians, Jews, and Armenians. Soviet
propaganda machines inflated Baku’s ethnic unity after the invasion of Soviet forces in 1920.
The shared hostility between Azeris and Christian Armenians dates back to ancient times. And
the victims of the pogroms who fled Baku remembered the city’s bourgeoisie and cultured
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middle classes living side by side in a civilized manner. So, if not the Popular Front and the
upper layers of the Baku society, then who was the perpetrator of the pogroms?
Bill Keller, in his article, emphasizes the important role of the Popular Front and blames
the uneducated Baku citizens who moved from rural areas to the capital. He claims that
Azerbaijan has a limited amount of intelligentsia which is mostly concentrated in Baku. Also, in
Baku, the typical residents in the city have been joined by an influx of suburban, poorly educated
Azerbaijanis over the last ten years. Most of them have found highly paid jobs in law
enforcement, transportation systems, and the thriving black market, but many more were let
down. The state’s labor force participation rate is projected to be 75% only. Of course, nobody
should justify the terrific event that happened in Baku during those days. According to several
authoritative sources, the leaders of the Popular Front organization have formed defensive units
to defend Armenians. Party leaders asserted that municipal officials instigated or have at least
allowed the deadly attacks in order to undermine the ethnic Armenians from the capital Baku.
(Keller, 1990)
Besides the article mentioned above, Bill Keller has also published another article that
dates three days before publishing the Azerbaijani favorable article about the Popular Front. On
January 18, 1990, Bill Keller had done research on the soviet actions during the pogroms and had
written about it in the following article.
“The authorities in Moscow underscored their determination to stop the fighting by
announcing tonight on television that army, Interior Ministry, and K.G.B. troops had been
cleared to shoot to defend themselves or to protect official arms caches.
22
The television announcement said troops had employed “maximum restraint” even
though several members of the Interior Ministry forces had been killed, but “the situation has
become intolerable.” (Keller, 1990)
Indeed, from the information mentioned above, it is pretty obvious that the soviet troops
and all the internal affairs ministry did not do their best to protect the Armenians from being
“burned, stabbed and beaten to death and thrown from windows.” To understand clearly, Keller
precisely mentions that the Soviet troops were only cleared to shoot in the case if they were in
danger or the official arms caches. The order from the internal ministry affairs does not mention
anything about protecting the ethnic minorities, in this case, the Armenians. They were so
apathetic regarding the pogroms that they did not even take concrete actions. Besides troops
being almost neutral in this violent environment in Baku, Keller also mentions that the television
has broadcasted about the Soviet troops keeping “maximum restraint” while Armenians are
being killed, kidnapped, and raped in the own houses. If we analyze all this information, we can
come to two conclusions, its either the Soviets were negotiating with the rebels to get rid of
Armenians in Baku, or Bill Keller has been exaggerating the events so that the Armenians in
Armenia and in the diaspora had an unfavorable opinion about the Soviet government. I would
believe it’s the first case. The obvious reason why I think Afterall the Soviet government was
negotiating with the rebels is that it is unbelievable that the Soviets did not have enough power
and authority to resolve this small issue. Indeed, if the ethnic Azerbaijani Armenian problems
were solved beforehand, the outcome of the whole picture of the story would not have been this
critical.
While the Baku pogroms took dozens of lives and almost a thousand were seriously
injured, the international community was silent, but indeed the pogroms happened very fast. Was
23
it done on purpose? Some analysts blame the international community and Armenia for not being
very much involved during the terrific events, whereas others blame Azerbaijan for purposefully
perpetrating acts of violence towards ethnic Armenians. Doctor Michael Mensoian, an author of
dozens of articles in the “Armenian Weekly,” has also blamed Azerbaijan for speeding up the
events so that no one can respond to the events on the streets of Baku. “With respect to the
Armenian minority in Azerbaijan, the harm (pogroms and atrocities) were incited by the
government itself, thus preventing the protection the R2P principle should have provided. There
was little time for Armenia to seek international assistance in the rapidly developing situation
that not only threatened the lives of the Armenian minority but had already caused numerous and
horrific deaths. Azerbaijan has purposely framed Armenia’s moral and humanitarian-based
intervention as an invasion. Armenia’s intervention does not rise to the level of an irredentist
issue. Allowing Azerbaijan to frame the dispute this way elevates territorial integrity as the
central issue to be resolved rather than the real issue, which is Artsakh’s right to independence
under the principle of self-determination. This is a situation that we still fail to understand or
worse, to acknowledge.” (Mensoian, 2017). Besides professor Mensoian’s opinion, it is also
interesting to find out the views of U.S. government officials at that time. So, what did the U.S.
president and the senate think about these terrific events in the so-called “civil society” of Baku?
On February 5, 1990, John Kerry joined Ted Kennedy and eleven other senators in
writing Defense Secretary Cheney and Secretary of State Baker to express concern over the
pogroms and evacuations of Armenians from Azerbaijan and to ask the Department of Defense
to airlift more vital supplies to Armenia to deal with the inflow of refugees from Azerbaijan and
to continue the earthquake relief. (A.R.F. Central Committee, 1990)
24
While John Kerry and other senators have joined each other to help Armenia, president
Bush at that same period of time, has publicly urged the international community to respect the
Azerbaijani rights. An “Armenian Weekly” article published on February 3, 1990, had strictly
responded to the Bush administration, remembering all the evil president Bush has done to the
Armenian nation.
“It is particularly important that we (Armenians) step up the pressure to force the White
House and State Department to finally make an unequivocal statement condemning the antiArmenian pogroms in Baku and urging the Soviet government to punish those who are
responsible. It is shameful that our government has caved into Turkey’s pressure and has refused
to characterize the Azeris as aggressors or to condemn the pogroms, while the State Department
urges the Soviet Union “to begin a dialogue that will take into account the national views and
political will of the Azerbaijani people.” It seemed that President Bush believed it was the
Azerbaijani’s who were raped, thrown from balconies, and burned alive in Baku three weeks
ago.
In the meantime, the pogroms of ethnic Armenians in Baku have affected the defense
circumstances in the Soviet Union, which became a reason of concern for the U.S. government.
The officials and experts claimed the Soviets began to remove the nuclear warheads out of Baku
due to the Azeri bands that started the pogroms in January. Thus, the instability in the region, as
well as the nuclear warheads, were the primary concern of the U.S. for a couple of years.
(Armenian Weekly, 1990)
“We cannot sit still and allow the White House to distort the truth again. This time the
question concerns not 75-year-old history which can be better left to historians”, but a modernday massacre. Such brutality indeed has been recognized by governments and media, with the
25
exception of the Ozal and Bush Administrations. Let each member of every family send
telegrams, and let us urge our non-Armenian friends to do so as well—they too have viewed this
appalling violation of human rights.” (Armenian National Committee, 1990)
To analyze all of the events that had happened during the Baku pogroms, I am afraid this
research paper will not be enough. But what comes to the above-mentioned information about
the U.S. reaction during the pogroms, we can assume that the U.S. was the beneficiary of those
terrific events. The reason why I think so is pretty simple, as the U.S. was mainly worried about
the nuclear warheads being removed from Azerbaijan. Indeed, I believe only some kind of
instability in this region would have caused the removal of the nuclear weapons from Azerbaijan,
and the U.S. government at that time was silently waiting till things get worse and the USSR
removes the nuclear warheads. All we can do now is make assumptions, as we can not be sure
about the inner events of the U.S. government. But the overall picture of the events, the silence
of the U.S., clearly demonstrates the level that the U.S. was worried about, looking from the
humanitarian aspect of the issue.
Overall, US Armenians have sent more than 700 telegrams stating their concerns about
the actions in the homeland. The sample for the telegram was the following:
“Urgently concerned at events in Soviet Azerbaijan, particularly bloody pogroms against
innocent Armenians in Baku and Azerbaijani attacks on Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh, White
House and State Department must be pressed to end their silence and urge Soviet action to
punish those responsible for the massacres.”
A writer for “Armenian Weekly,” Harut Sassounian had published an interesting article
called “MY TURN” in the publication of February 3, 1990. After the bloody events in the center
26
of Baku and the widespread news about the victims of the pogroms, Harut had decided to act
instead of talking, thus addressing the diaspora through this article.
“Our worst fears have realized, the Azeris have launched an all-out attack. Armenian
blood is once again flowing the streets of Baku and Karabakh. The Soviet troops are unwilling or
unable to defend our people. It’s totally frustrating being so far away and feeling so helpless. The
only hope we have here is that our people have enough ammunition to defend themselves. The
rest of us in the diaspora will just talk about it, get mad, and go through empty symbolic
gestures. God willing. if we survive this latest round or massacres—and we fear there will be
many more in the future as long as we are surrounded by Azerbaijan and Turkey—we need to
make a solemn pledge to ourselves to strengthen Armenia economically- politically. and
militarily so that when the Azeris attack us again—as they surely will—they won’t be able to
slaughter Armenians like defenseless sheep. Every Armenian can play a role in this effort.
Make immediate plans to visit Armenia. Help rebuild and strengthen the homeland. Be a
doer not a talker. It’s time for action! Let’s become so powerful that the Azeris won’t even
think of attacking us. It’s time we adopted a Jewish motto: never again, never again!
The above-mentioned text purely underlines the way the Armenians in the diaspora were
concerned about the tragic events in the homeland. To analyze the text even deeper, I can state
that the text does not only call for moral or financial support from the diaspora Armenians but
calls for physical action. Indeed, if I imagine being a U.S. Armenian and reading this emotional
text, the Armenian spirit inside me would have wanted to travel back to homeland and contribute
to the issue physically. I am sure the article written by Harut Sassounian is not a simple
coincidence, rather a planned move to make the local Armenian community in the diaspora more
active. And I am sure they have reached their goal, and many people had contributed to Harut’s
27
idea. What comes to the Armenia Weekly coverage of the local events in Armenia, it is pretty
obvious that all of the articles published in the U.S. are pro-Armenian, not taking into
consideration the second side of the medal. The phrase “when the Azeris attack us again-as they
surely will…” makes a clear perception of the Armenian Weekly coverage. Indeed, if we look at
Harut’s article, it has no right to be called an academic or even a neutral article as he does not
give any references for the provided information. The first question that I have asked myself,
reading this phrase, was the proof of why Harut is confidently stating that they surely will
attack? Overall, Harut’s perspective is not too difficult to understand, though if his words are
published by the well-known and popular “Armenian Weekly” newspaper, there should be at
least analyzed by the editor of the newspaper. To conclude, it is not only this article that is biased
with pro-Armenian propaganda, but most of the articles in the Armenian Weekly are in one or
another way propagating the Armenian perspective of the issue. And this is overall good for the
interests of the country, but at least it should have some boundaries.
The Independence of Armenia
Armenia conducted a referendum on September 21, 1991; as a consequence, the state
declared its independence and left the USSR. The years 1988-1991 were remembered as the parade
of sovereignties. At that moment, the three states in the Caucasus that were members of the Soviet
Union asserted their claims of liberty and declared constitutional law to be superior inside their
countries. As a result, beginning in the spring of 1990, countries started to leave the union,
declaring their freedom and bolstering it with constitutional amendments and elections.
28
Levon Ter-Petrosyan, the opposition leader, was appointed Director of the National
Council in August 1990. He suggested the ratification of the “Declaration of Independence of
Armenia” at the very first conference of the reconstituted Council on August 23. The ratification
of this document brings the story of the Armenian S.S.R.’s independence from the centralized
ruling system, as well as the end of the Soviet Union Constitution and rules on republic’s territory.
This same declaration’s content included 12 provisions that covered the major aspects of
autonomous Armenia’s ruling mechanisms.
Besides the ongoing processes of adopting independence by law and the process of the
population being adapted to the new environment, my research shows that the diaspora has played
an essential role in recognizing Armenia as an independent state in the international arena. In an
article published on Saturday, October 12, 1991, by “Armenian Weekly,” the author precisely
describes the steps that Armenia needs to take in order to be recognized as an independent state
and mentions in detail how the diaspora has contributed to it. The author claims that its incumbent
upon the United States to recognize the Armenian independence and establish full diplomatic
relations. Then he mentions the steps on how to achieve U.S. recognition. The first step in this
process is the success of three legislative initiatives which call for the U.S. to recognize Armenia’s
independence and to monitor the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. Here are the main initiatives that
have been the major contribution of U.S. Armenians into independence recognition.
Joint Resolutions introduced by Senator Dennis DeConcini and Representative Steny
Hoyer call on the “Government of the U.S. to support the Armenian people to achieve freedom
and independence.” After this announcement, which was spoken out under the extensive pressure
of local Armenians, the resolution had been sent to the foreign relations committee for
consideration. The measures had to be adopted by each house and required the president’s approval
29
to take the effect of law. Thus, the U.S. Armenian had constantly been keeping the government
under pressure. Even when the president visited Armenian populated areas, the first concern of the
local Armenians was the independence recognition of their homeland.
Besides the above-mentioned resolution, the Congressional letter had also expressed
confidence in Armenia’s commitment to democracy, pointing as well to progress made in regards
to the Armenian economy. “More than any of the other republics, Armenia has been extremely
successful in its economic reforms,” the letter states. “This is a historic moment in the life of the
Armenian nation,” states Seto Boyadjian, the Executive Director of the National Committee of
America (ANCA). He also states that the U.S.’s recognition of the independence of Armenia will
unclog the suppressed energies of the Armenian economy and serve as a positive force in the future
development of the region. In private, ANCA, in conjunction with A.N.C. chapters and friends
nationwide, had mobilized the Armenian-American community to ensure the success of the letter
initiative.
In a letter addressed to their colleagues on the House and distributed on October 1, 1991,
Representatives Lehman, Mike McNulty, Wayne Owens, and James Senserbenner submit that the
“Armenian people have struggled to achieve their independence and they deserve our recognition
and assistance.” The four congressmen urge their colleagues to join them in calling for full
diplomatic relations with and a United Nations seat for the Republic of Armenia. The letter outlines
the process by which the Republic of Armenia had laid the legal groundwork to “restore the
independence” they lost in 1921 when the independent republic was “forcibly” Sovietized. The
letter also mentions that the recognition of the Republic of Armenia as an independent state by the
Armenian Parliament on September 21, 1991, was argued by the Russian government.
30
Besides sending direct messages to president Bush, Armenians in the U.S. have also
reached out to a member of the House Representative Richard Lehman, who had asked all of the
members of the House to co-sign a letter to President Bush that urges him to establish full
diplomatic relations with Armenia and sponsor Armenia’s application for a seat in the United
Nations Assembly. Eventually, 41 members of the House had signed the letter, and the letter was
passed to the president. (A.R.F. Central Committee, 1991)
In the meantime, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (A.R.F.) had made a powerful
statement about their commitment and contribution to the ongoing events that concern the
recognition of the state of Armenia and maintaining the army during the Karabakh war. “At the
present stage of the National Liberation struggle of the Armenian people, when consolidating
Armenia’s statehood and strengthening the armed self-defense movement throughout Artsakh are
the paramount issues. The Armenian Revolutionary Federation convened its 25th World
Congress and reached decisions regarding the fundamental issues confronting the Armenian
nation.”
The A.R.F. also mentions that their committee had fully examined the issues that the PanArmenian content has, as well as those that concern Armenians of the Diaspora; the World
Congress set down decisions to aid the process of the Armenian Republic self-establishment and
to continue with renewed strength the struggle to liberate Artsakh. The committee also examined
the consistently anti-A.R.F. stance of numerous high-ranking officials in the upper echelons of
the Armenian government and found that posture to be inappropriate in the context of statehood
and fundamentally damaging to pan-Armenian efforts to consolidate that newly established
statehood as well as to the people’s unity so necessary at that critical stage of the nnational
31
liberationstruggle. The A.R.F. statement also mentions that Armenia’s president at that time was
one of the many high-ranking government officials who was hindering the A.R.F. steps to
stabilize Armenia.
After all of these efforts from the Diaspora Armenians mainly from U.S. The president
Bush’s administration had recognized the independence of the Republic of Armenia on
December 25, 1991. But indeed, the efforts of the diaspora maybe somewhat affected Bush’s
decision of recognition, but mainly the efforts probably did not play that much role in the
recognition, because with the independence of Armenia, the U.S. had also recognized Georgia’s
and Azerbaijani’s independence. Thus, the way it is presented in the above mentioned
“Armenian Weekly” articles, about the significant effect of Diaspora Armenians on Bush’s
decision, might have some exaggeration in it. On the other side, immediately after the
recognition, Bush administration, states about long-lasting friendly relations with Armenia and
Armenians as a nation. Besides, recognizing the independence, Bush administration had also
brought some other American friendship examples that were proven in the past.
As a President he responded with timely disaster relief and comprehensive humanitarian
aid to the victims of the tragic 1988 earthquake. Sent his son and grandson to the earthquake
zone to provide U.S. moral support to the haltered. oppressed. and occupied Armenian Nation.
Then, he firmly supported the Armenian independence assisted in creating an independent,
sovereign and free Armenia: exchanged ambassadors and expedited Armenia’s admission to the
U.N. and CSCE. Bush administration at that time, also claimed that they had supported the
young Republic of Armenia, guaranteed its security and territorial integrity and continued to do
so. Besides, President Bush had stated that he was working on the process of keeping peace in
32
the region and making sure that Armenia gets gas, oil and foodstuff. (A.R.F. Central Committee,
1992)
To conclude, a well-known actor and a philosopher of our times, Sos Sargsian had stated
about independence the following: “Every single Armenian is responsible for the fate of this
nation. Independence necessitates work... now we will be the ones to steer our ship. It is
necessary to steer correctly during stormy times.” (A.R.F. Central Committee, 1991)
33
The Spitak Earthquake
December 7, 1988 in Armenia a devastated earthquake took place. Series of aftershocks
in 30 seconds almost destroyed the city of Spitak. Around 25,000 people were killed, 140,000
were disabled, and 514,000 became homeless. Earthquake brought down about 40 percent of the
industrial potential of the republic. 111 states from all the continents rendered the humanitarian
assistance to the victims of the earthquake. More than 20 thousand soldiers and officers in
addition to volunteers participated in rescue work. (“National Technical University of Ukraine”,
2012)
An “Armenian Weekly” newspaper published by the “Hairenik Association” had printed
out newspaper in March 3, 2018, remembering the terrifying situation in Armenia, and the
actions of the neighboring Azerbaijan during the devastating earthquake. “This terrible year
began and ended with the misfortunes of the Armenians. It was December 7, 1988. We learned
about the terrible earthquake in Armenia. We were in shock and the grief of the tragedy was felt.
In tears, we watched the footage in the news and glued to every article in the newspapers. The
Armenians suffered, while Azerbaijan rejoiced. Cheers, fireworks and festive gunfire was heard
in the streets of Baku. News of the earthquake in Armenia was transmitted on Azerbaijani
television and the announcers barely hid their zealous smiles. Celebrations in the streets lasted
the entire night. They were not ashamed. Fervent shouts below our windows, declaring the wrath
of Allah, sent a wave of horror and revulsion through us at the realization of what kind of people
we lived next to. We feared for our parents. We feared for our children. We feared for ourselves.”
34
It is not surprising that the Armenian diaspora was taking the major role in reconstruction
and rehabilitation after the earthquake. As a fact there are various articles about the diaspora
commitment to the mother land after the strongest earthquake in the history of Armenia. An
article dedicated to the death of Vahakn Hovnanian mentions the contribution to Armenia that
his family has done at the end of 20th century. “In keeping with his commitment to education,
Hovnanian raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in the aftermath of the 1988 earthquake in
Armenia; he contributed the funds to His Holiness Vasken I Catholicos of All Armenians, to
build a new school in the earthquake zone of Spitak. Since 1992, he and his wife have been
major benefactors of the Hovnanian School’s sister school in Armenia, the Anania Shirakatsy
Gemaran in Nork Massif. Hovnanian received numerous awards throughout his career that
highlighted his commitment to the Armenian community.”
Besides the Armenian diaspora, there were thousands of just kind people who sincerely
wanted to help out Armenia in one or another way. And one of them was Mother Teresa. During
her trip to Yerevan she had announced that her charity association will stay a year longer in the
earthquake zone. The 1979 Nobel Peace Prize winner, who was in Armenia just after the quake
in December and later sent eight nuns to care for the injured survivors for a six-month trial
period. said, after being received and commended by party chief Souren Haroutyunyan, that a
care center for the elderly, orphans, and the sick will be opened in Spitak.
Vardan Vardanian, a member of the Iranian Parliament, visited Armenia during his trip to
the Soviet Union with the Iranian delegation, which was led by Parliament Speaker Ali Akbar
Hashemi Rafsanjani. Vardanyan toured the earthquake zone and held talks with Catholic,
Vazken I in Etchmidzin. He said the Armenian community in Iran and the Tehran Government
will donate equipment for a light industry turn in the quake area.
35
Countries like Italy and France did not remain aside either. These countries will donate
20 million euros worth of equipment for the Armenian grain industry. According to Rafael Shahbazyan grain purchases minister of Armenia, who returned from a 10-day tour of private and
state firms in both countries Shahbazyan also discussed purchases and free deliveries of
equipment for the mixed fodder and flour grinding industries that were affected by the December
quake.
Even such a company as Walt Disney, which has nothing to do with natural hazards, has
donated more than a hundred stuffed toys for the children victims of the massive earthquake.
(The Hairenik Association, 1989)
36
37
Conclusion
In order to analyze all the events that happened at the end of 20th century in Armenia, I
have been researching various sources, though the main sources were the “New York Times”
online archives and “Armenian Weekly” archives. In those two archives, I was able to find out
dozens of articles that were related to the events that I was writing about. Some of the sources
were different from others, and included such opinions that were provocative and not too many
people could agree with it. For instance, in the case with Bush recognition of the Armenian
independence, the “Armenian Weekly” newspaper at that time was pretty pro-governmental, as
the entire newspaper was about president Bush’s contribution to the newly formed Armenian
government. At the end of the newspaper, the author of the article encourages the Armenian
population in the U.S. to support Bush in the upcoming elections.
Also, during the research I have found out many interesting facts that many of us do not
know and are not informed about. For instance, it was very surprising to me that Disney had sent
hundreds of toys to the children of Spitak and Gyumri. Taking into consideration that Disney at
that time was not as much popular as it is now, it was pretty unexpected that Disney will aid
Armenia with toys. Besides the toys, it was also pretty surprising how many states, private
companies, N.G.O.’s and individuals had helped at that time. I always knew that the whole world
had helped Armenia after the earthquake, but could never imagine the scales of it. This was truly
the time of Armenian unity, as all of the Armenians in diaspora who were influential in their
countries, contributed to the disaster recovery a lot. It is essential that the people and country
leaders not only send aid, but also flew to Armenia to physically help the victims' families or
monitor the recovery process. Vazken the first, the catholicos of all Armenians, who was the
“bridge” of the diaspora aid to Armenia, had started cooperating with the government in order
38
for the aid to be more effective and quicker, even though he had disputes with the Soviet
Armenia government.
Overall, hard-copy newspapers had played and still play an essential role in informing the
diaspora Armenians about the events in the homeland. After looking through all of the sources
that are used for this paper, I have realized how important the hard-copy newspapers were in the
past for the Armenians in the U.S. To be clear, I can surely state that the process of reading a
newspapers was in the daily routine. Besides just reading a newspaper, they were much
interested in the politics and all the events that happened in Armenia at that time. Also, my
research demonstrates that the Armenians in the diaspora, whether it’s the U.S. or France, most
of the readers contributed to the homeland the most. Thus, it turns out that without such
newspapers as “Armenian Weekly” or “Hairenik”, Armenia would not have gotten as much aid
as it did during the difficult times at the end of 20th century. To support this argument, I would
like to mention that most of the articles published by the Armenian Weekly upon the critical
times that the Armenian state was going through, were not educational, entertaining or
sometimes even informative, instead they were mostly calling for direct or indirect action. If we
look back at couple of articles like Harut Sassounian’s article about the pogroms, or the
Armenian Weekly newspaper published on February 3, 1991, and many other, all of them
contain only a little bit of information and a lot of calls for action. In both of the abovementioned articles, the authors call for action either to support the motherland financially,
physically or to call their local representatives to raise awareness.
As we already mentioned about the “Armenian Weekly” contribution to Republic of
Armenia, I find it interesting to state the differences between the Armenian local newspaper
perspectives and the “Armenian Weekly” in diaspora. After finishing my research on hard copy
39
newspapers and observing dozens of articles “Hairenik” archives, I can surely state that the
perspective of “Armenian Weekly” in many aspects was different from the local newspapers and
media in Armenia. For instance, while “Armenian Weekly” was writing articles about Levon
Ter-Petrosyan hindering the international recognition of newly formed Armenian independent
state, the local newspapers and media would write that Levon Ter-Petrosyan does his best to
recognize Armenia in the international arena. These contradictions between the content
perspective of “Armenian Weekly” and the local media were not a surprise any more. Another
examples of this kind of contradiction happened during the Spitak earthquake. The local
newspapers and most of the media would talk about the efficiency of the Armenian government
in overcoming the difficulties and distributing the international aid in an effective way. While the
“Armenian Weekly” wrote in most of its articles regarding the earthquake, about the mistrust of
the government and inefficient distribution of international aid. Besides, one of the articles had
also stated, that due to the low rates of government trust, Vazken the first took the responsibility
of dealing with international aid and some parts of reconstruction.
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