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ARMENIAN DIASPORA IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC
http://www.noravank.am/eng/articles/detail.php?ELEMENT_ID=6841
Tigran Ghanalanyan
Expert, the Center for the Armenian Studies, â~@~\Noravankâ~@~]
Foundation
The Armenian community in the Czech Rep. is one the newly formed
Armenian communities in Europe. The study of the community has some
peculiarities which are conditioned by the fact that the latter
considerably differs from the traditional Armenian communities
in Europe.
Formation of the community
According to the figures presented by the Czech Statistical Office for
2009, the number of the Armenians in the Czech Rep. was about 20251;
meanwhile, according to the official Czech data for 2005 their number
was only 1046.
According to the official figures of the Embassy of Armenia in
the Czech Republic for 2010 there are approximately 3500 Armenians
living in that country, and more than 2000 of them have residence
permit and 1500 more have temporary residence permit2. According
to the expertsâ~@~Y assessments the number of the Armenians in the
Czech Rep. is about 10 thousand people. If we take into consideration
the fact that the official Czech statistics takes into account only
people with citizenship, it becomes clear why the official figures
are several times lower: 1) there are many Armenians who are the
citizens of other countries living in the Czech Rep., 2) part of the
Armenians have not become naturalized yet. Most of the Armenians as
well as the representatives of other notational minorities mainly
reside in Prague. At a rough estimate about 80% of the Armenians in
the Czech Rep. live in Prague3. Brno is the next. There are Armenians
living in Mlada Boleslav, Ostrava, Jihlava, Leberec, Karlovi Vari,
Libey Usti cities.
Except for the Armenian merchant Gevorg of Damascus son of
Astvatsatur4 who lived and worked in the Czech Lands in the 18th
century, the first Armenians settled in there in 1910s. Some Armenians
were engaged in manufacturing. Thus, e.g., Artin Aslanyan ran the
first carpet manufacturing firm5. The article by A. Bakhchinyan6,
devoted to the Armenian students who studied in the higher educational
establishments in Prague in 1920s and which describes the life of the
Armenian students, activity of the organizations established by them
is remarkable, Despite the fact that more than 50 Armenian students
got education at the higher educational establishments in the Czech
Lands, in the future they were spread over the Armenian communities
in different countries and the Armenian community life which arose
in the Czech Lands soon extinguished.
Despite these aforementioned separate episodes of the Armenian
community life in the Czech Lands, there had been no Armenian
community there until the late 1980s early 1990s. The Armenians
have been settling there since 1980s. The influx of the immigrants
from Armenia intensified especially in 1990s and drew to a head in
1990-1993. It was mainly caused by the social and economic problems.
Giving preference to the Czech Republic by the migrants from Armenia
had many preconditions. One of those preconditions was the fact that
the Czech Rep. situated in the Central Europe and in the recent
past it was a socialist country and the Armenians coming there
migrated from other post-Socialist countries (Armenia and other
post-Soviet republics). Besides, there was another circumstance which
was conditioned by the memories of the past â~@~S there were many
Armenians from the USSR who visited the Czech Rep. as tourists and
they were conversant with this country. Naturally they should prefer
the country which is situated in the center of Europe, is well-known
by them, and has some peculiarities which are characteristic to the
post-Soviet countries and due to which the process of adaptation and
integration seemed to be much easier. It should also be mentioned that
migration legislation in the Czech Republic is more liberal as compared
to many western countries. This is conditioend by the emigration
from the Czech Rep. to the countries of Western Europe which caused
the labour shortage (high-quality, intellectual labour). In the 1990s
among the immigrants in the Czech Republic a prominent place was hold
by the migrants from the post-Soviet republics.
While speaking about the migration flow of the Armenians to the Czech
Republic the circumstance that many emigrants considered the Czech
Rep. as a kind of a â~@~\transit stationâ~@~] where they can settle
for a short time and after that leave for a country with higher
living standards should be mentioned. Many of the Armenians living
in the Czech Rep. at first tried to settle in the United States and
Western Europe but after they had failed they preferred to move to
the Czech Republic.
Among the migration issues of the Armenians in the Czech Republic an
important place is given to the issue of the refugees. In the period
from 1991 to 2003 3093 Armenians applied for asylum and only 149 of
them (4.8%) won that refugee status. And in 2005-2006 the share of the
Armenians among the asylum seekers was 1-2%. It is much easier for the
Armenians to obtain citizenship of the Czech Republic. The highest
rate of those who obtained the citizenship was in 1999-20007. It
should be mentioned that the rate of illegal migration among the
Armenians is rather high.
Main peculiarities of the community
There are a number of peculiarities inherent in the newly formed
Armenian community in the Czech Republic; these peculiarities
are conditioned by the facts that the community is newly formed
and scares in number. Many mechanisms which are efficient in the
rich in traditions and big Armenian communities have no practical
preconditions for being used in the Armenian community in the Czech
Republic. E.g. if in the traditional Armenian Diaspora communities
the church, public, political, cultural educational organizations,
which have their centers and brunches, have been providing rather
efficient activity for decades (and in some cases even for centuries),
it is obvious that they do not have the same conditions of practical
application in the Czech Republic. It is conditioned by the fact that
the community is newly formed and small which is supplemented by the
reasons or motives why the Armenians settled there. If traditional
Armenian Diaspora (which mostly consists of the generations of the
Armenians who had been spread all over the world in consequence
the Armenian Genocide) can be characterized to some extent by the
aspiration to preserve and to develop national values, then those who
left the country in recent 20 years due to economic reasons notably
fall behind in this aspect. Hence it follows that there is a problem
of rising the qualitative level of acknowledgment of the priority
of preserving national values and identity in the newly formed
communities, e.g. in the Czech Republic. However, at the same time
it is also obvious that the solution of these problems only by means
of the mechanisms inherent in the traditional Armenian communities is
not that efficient. So it is necessary alongside with the traditional
ones to use new methods directed to the solution of the problems. In
this aspect using of the information resources and possibilities is of
utmost importance. It does not derive from the aforementioned methods
are not applicable in the traditional communities but in case with the
Armenian community in the Czech Republic their application is much
more topical because, nevertheless, in the traditional communities
there are old organizations and mechanisms which, though by force of
a habit, are to some extent efficient.
Rather fast adaptation and integration are one of the characteristic
issues of the Armenian community in the Czech Republic. Considerable
number of the Armenians managed to carry out business activity. In
this regard S. Sumlyoni writes: â~@~\The overwhelming majority
of Armenians run their own business, primarily small food stores,
shoe-making and dress-making shops. Jewelry business is also very
popular in the Armenian community. The percentage of the unemployed
among Czech Armenians is below 5%. It is interesting that only half
of the Armenians who are hired employees work for Czech companies. The
rest of the Armenians who are hired employees work either for foreign
companies or formally Czech companies, however, with predominantly
Armenian management or staffâ~@~]8. Besides the solution of the issue
of the housing is also important condition. Most of the Armenians
either buy or rent apartments.
Despite the positive process of the integration of the Armenians there
is some kind of negative attitude towards the immigrants. But this
is true not only for the Armenian community but for the foreigners in
general. In particular, this migration is identified in some regions
of the Czech Rep. with fear of the lawlessness and crime wave.
Fast integration of the Armenians is also conditioned by the language
issues. The Russian language is to some extent spread in the Czech
Republic which makes the communication in all the spheres much easier.
The young Armenians easily learn the Czech language. It is also
conditioned by the character of the Armenian community in the
Czech Republic; the scarcity of the community organizations, their
imperfection as well as smallness of the community has negative
effect. In consequence very often the Armenians go beyond the community
framework and establish connections with the immigrants from other
post-Soviet republics.
Community organization
The community organizations play important role in the life of
the Armenian community in the Czech Republic. Though they cannot
provide active intra-community life, nevertheless, they carry out some
activity in this direction. In case of continuous development of this
activity it will be possible to obtain anticipated result. Among the
intra-community units â~@~\Armeniaâ~@~] club, â~@~\Armenian Houseâ~@~]
union, Prague and Brno Saturday Armenian schools as well as Armenian
mass media â~@~S â~@~\Orerâ~@~] and â~@~\Nairiâ~@~] periodicals and
Armenian Service of â~@~\Radio Free Europe/Radio Libertyâ~@~] can be
mentioned. The Armenian community life is sometimes covered by Radio
Prague within the framework of â~@~\Multicultural Czech Republicâ~@~]
programme.
In 1995 Sergei Grigoryan set up the Czech-Armenian Society. But
it could not justify expectations, i.e. uniting all the Armenians
living in the Czech Rep., dealing with the issues of relations with
the Czech society, information policy, protection of the rights of
the Armenian minority, etc. The society hardly yielded any tangible
results. Its activity was soon restricted to Prague only. Every year
the Society regularly holds memorial events devoted to the Armenian
Genocide. One of the most tangible achievements was that in 2001
the Society managed to organize a meeting of the Czech Armenians
with Armeniaâ~@~Ys Consul in Vienna following which a number of
problems on cooperation between the Government of Armenia and the
Armenian community in the Czech Republic were resolved. Another
Armenian organization â~@~S the «Civil Commonwealth Armenian House»
turned out to be more successful. Both Czech Armenians and Armenians
living in Armenia and, more importantly, the Czechs interested in the
Armenian culture can join it. In 2007 it had 60 members (21 Czechs
and 10 more persons who are neither citizens of the Czech Republic,
nor Armenia). The «Civil Commonwealth Armenian House» provides
legal counseling to migrants, primarily on migration law.
Those who wish may take computer classes or obtain other skills that
will help them find a better paid job. Since 2002 the organization
has been publishing â~@~\Nairiâ~@~] magazine which also covers the
issues of legal protection of the migrants9.
Among the Armenian organizations in the Czech Republic
â~@~\Armeniaâ~@~] Club headed by Tigran Abrahamyan as well as
â~@~\Urartuâ~@~] Armenian-Czech Union headed by Aleksandr Sargsyan
are worth mentioning.
Special place is assigned to the Saturday Armenian schools in Prague
and Brno, activity of which we covered in a separate study10.
Since September 1999 â~@~\Orerâ~@~] monthly has been published in
Prague. It is published by Caucasus-Eastern Europe Information Center
â~@~S Editor-in-Chief Hakob Asatryan. This periodical covers cultural,
political and social, sport and community life of more than 30
Armenian communities in Europe. Besides Armenia-Europe relationships,
it spotlights Armenian-Czech relations, problems of the Armenians
living in the Czech Republic and other European countries11. While
speaking about the issues relating to the Armenian community in the
Czech Republic, Editor-in-Chief of â~@~\Orerâ~@~] magazine H.Asatryan
says: â~@~\Though we have Saturday schools, we have a priest, but the
community does not have community center where people can come, gather;
this issue is already under the discussionâ~@~]12. On November 20,
2009 the 10th anniversary of â~@~\Orerâ~@~] magazine was celebrated.
Community life
The development of the Armenian-Czech relations in both state
and various other formats plays important role in the life of the
Armenian community. Thus, on May 18, 2010 the Catholicos of All
Armenians Garegin II received a visit of the Czech prime-minister. They
discussed the spiritual issues of the Czech Armenians. The Catholicos
particularly mentioned: â~@~\â~@¦The Armenian community is being formed
in the Czech Rep. either and we are convinced that in the near future
our sons in the Czech Republic will be able to build their own house
of prayer and faith, thus assisting to the making and prosperity of
the Czech stateâ~@~]13.
An important role in the life of the community is allotted to the
organization of the events in memory of the Armenian Genocide. Thus,
on April 24, 2005 300 Armenians participated in the protest action
in memory of the 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. The
participants addressed an appeal to the Czech parliament14. A
number of events in the memory of the Armenian Genocide were held in
2010 either. Mass for soul was said in Prague which was followed by
commemoration meeting in the library hall and after that the exhibition
of the Armenian painters â~@~\In Commemoration: 95 Years Onâ~@~] was
opened. Besides the members of the Armenian community, the political,
public, spiritual, cultural figures from the Czech Rep. and other
countries were also present at the events. The fact that the events
were not only restricted to Prague is also crucial. Liturgy was served
in Brno by the priest of the Armenian Apostolic Church in the Czech
Republic father Barsegh Pilavchyan which was followed by the meeting of
the members of the Armenian community in Brno with Armenian Ambassador
A. Hovakimyan15. An important role in the organization of the events
was played by â~@~\Armeniaâ~@~] club, A. Hovakimyan, father Barsegh
Pilivchyan, members of the Armenian community in the Czech Republic.
In 2011 the events in memory of the Armenian Genocide stood out for
their diversity. This time they also included the representatives of
different organizations of the Armenian community, representative of
Czech intelligentsia, spiritual and cultural figures16. In 2012 the
Czech Armenian community just like many other Armenian communities
organized protest actions connected with the extradition of R. Safarov
to Azerbaijan. A protest action was arranged in front of the Hungarian
embassy in the Czech Republic with the demand to arrest the criminal
again and to recognize the independence of the NKR17.
Strengthening of the relations of the Czech Armenians with their
motherland is of great importance. The role of the extraordinary and
plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Republic Armenia to Austria, Hungary,
Czech Republic and Slovakia Ashot Hovakimyan was remarkable in the
life of the Armenian community18. On June 30, 2011 Tigran Seyranyan
was appointed extraordinary and plenipotentiary Ambassador to the
Czech Republic. Hence, various Armenian state, public, academic,
educational, cultural organizations still have a lot of work to do
for strengthening the relations and promoting the development of the
Armenian community in the Czech Republic.
In the aspect of the development and attaching weight to the Armenian
community the raising of the role of the Armenians here is emphasized.
>>From this point of view involvement of the Armenians in science
and cultural, sport19 and other spheres is important.
In recent years some members of the Armenian community in the Czech
Republic have become winners of various sport and music contest. E.g.
Aramais Tohkyan â~@~S the Czech karate champion, Monica Harutyunyan
â~@~S silver medalist of the Youth European Figure-skating
Championship, Varine Lazarian (soprano) â~@~S winner of young singers
contest in 2009, etc20.These achievements further both success of the
Armenian community and formation of positive image of the Armenians
in the Czech society.
Thus, the Armenian community in the Czech Republic is one of the
peculiar Armenian communities in Eastern Europe. It has numerous
problems which are inherent in other Armenian communities in
Eastern Europe. Hence, there are problems which are conditioned by
peculiarities of both Czech Republic and the local Armenian community.
Therefore, self-organization of the Armenian community and handling
of the challenges it faces implies both local and system approaches.
In the context of solution of the aforementioned issues development of
the organizations of the Armenian community, their integration in the
Czech environment is singled out. Of course there is a necessity to
arrange cooperation with other Armenian communities in Eastern Europe.
But handling of the problems which are inherent in the whole the
Armenian Diaspora demands broadening of cooperation and establishing
of active relations with all the Diaspora organizations. Armenia, of
course, plays crucial role because without its active support newly
formed Armenian community in the Czech Republic will not be viable.
1 http://www.czso.cz/csu/cizinci.nsf/engt/8200578577/$File/c01t01.pdf
2 Õ~IÕ¥ÕÕ«Õ¡ÕµÕ« Õ~@Õ¡Õ¶Ö~@Õ¡ÕºÕ¥Õ¿Õ¸Ö~BÕ©ÕµÕ¸Ö~BÕ¶Õ¸Ö~BÕ´
Õ~@Õ¡ÕµÕ¡Õ½Õ¿Õ¡Õ¶Õ« Õ¤Õ¥Õ½ÕºÕ¡Õ¶Õ¡Õ¿Õ¸Ö~BÕ¶,
http://cz.mfa.am/hy/community-overview/
3 See:Õ~MÕ¸Ö~BÕ´Õ¬ÕµÕ¸Õ¶Õ¶Õ« Õ~M., Õ~IÕ¥ÕÕ«Õ¡ÕµÕ«
Õ°Õ¡ÕµÕ¥Ö~@Õ¨. Õ~SÕ¸Ö~DÖ~@ Õ°Õ¡Õ´Õ¡ÕµÕ¶Ö~D, Õ´Õ¥Õ® Õ¶Õ¥Ö~@Õ¸Ö~BÕª,
http://www.noravank.am/arm/issues/detail.php?ELEMENT_ID=2375
4 See:Õ~IÕ¥ÕÕ«Õ¡ÕµÕ« Õ°Õ¡Õµ Õ°Õ¡Õ´Õ¡ÕµÕ¶Ö~DÕ¨
Õ¡Õ¶Ö~AÕµÕ¡Õ¬Õ¸Ö~BÕ´ Ö~G Õ¶Õ¥Ö~@Õ¯Õ¡ÕµÕ¸Ö~BÕ´,
http://noravank.am/arm/seminar/detail.php?ELEMENT_ID=3820&sphrase_id=18991
5 See:Ô²Õ¡ÕÕ¹Õ«Õ¶ÕµÕ¡Õ¶ Ô±., Õ~JÖ~@Õ¡Õ°Õ¡ÕµÕ«
Õ°Õ¡Õµ Õ¸Ö~BÕ½Õ¡Õ¶Õ¸Õ²Õ¸Ö~BÕ©ÕµÕ¸Ö~BÕ¶Õ¨,
«Õ~JÕ¡Õ¿Õ´Õ¡-Õ¢Õ¡Õ¶Õ¡Õ½Õ«Ö~@Õ¡Õ¯Õ¡Õ¶ հանդես», 2008, Õ©Õ«Õ¾ 1,
Õ§Õ» 133:
6 Ibid, p. 133-148:
7 See: Õ~MÕ¸Ö~BÕ´Õ¬ÕµÕ¸Õ¶Õ¶Õ« Õ~M., the mentioned work.Õ~] Table 3
and Table 4Ö~I
8 Õ~MÕ¸Ö~BÕ´Õ¬ÕµÕ¸Õ¶Õ¶Õ« Õ~M., the mentioned work.
9 See:Õ~MÕ¸Ö~BÕ´Õ¬ÕµÕ¸Õ¶Õ¶Õ« Õ~M., the mentioned work
10 See:Õ~BÕ¡Õ¶Õ¡Õ¬Õ¡Õ¶ÕµÕ¡Õ¶ Õ~O., Õ~IÕ¥ÕÕ«Õ¡ÕµÕ« Õ°Õ¡Õµ
Õ°Õ¡Õ´Õ¡ÕµÕ¶Ö~DÕ« Õ¯Ö~@Õ©Õ¡Õ¯Õ¡Õ¶ ÕÕ¶Õ¤Õ«Ö~@Õ¶Õ¥Ö~@Õ¨,
«ԳլոբոÖ~BÕ½. Ô±Õ¦Õ£Õ¡ÕµÕ«Õ¶ Õ¡Õ¶Õ¾Õ¿Õ¡Õ¶Õ£Õ¸Ö~BÕ©ÕµÕ¸Ö~Bն»,
2011, Õ©Õ«Õ¾ 5, Õ§Õ» 53-63:
11 See: http://www.orer.cz/?lang=AM&oper=about
12 http://hetq.am/am/media/mamul-506/
13
http://www.armedia.am/?action=SiteNews&what=show&id=1243398897&lang=arm
14 See: ÔµÕ²Õ¥Õ¼Õ¶Õ« 90-Ö~@Õ¤ Õ¿Õ¡Ö~@Õ¥Õ¬Õ«Ö~AÕ«
Õ¡Õ¶Õ¤Ö~@Õ¡Õ¤Õ¡Ö~@Õ±Õ¶Õ¥Ö~@ «Õ~UÖ~@Õ¥Ö~@» Õ¡Õ´Õ½Õ¡Õ£Ö~@Õ¸Ö~BÕ´,
http://www.armtown.com/news/am/azg/20050826/2005082603/
15 See: Õ~QÕ¥Õ²Õ¡Õ½ÕºÕ¡Õ¶Õ¸Ö~BÕ©ÕµÕ¡Õ¶
95-Õ¡Õ´ÕµÕ¡ Õ¿Õ¡Ö~@Õ¥Õ¬Õ«Ö~AÕ«Õ¶ Õ¶Õ¾Õ«Ö~@Õ¾Õ¡Õ®
Õ´Õ«Õ»Õ¸Ö~AÕ¡Õ¼Õ¸Ö~BÕ´Õ¶Õ¥Ö~@ Õ~MÕ¬Õ¸Õ¾Õ¡Õ¯Õ«Õ¡ÕµÕ¸Ö~BÕ´,
Õ~@Õ¸Ö~BÕ¶Õ£Õ¡Ö~@Õ«Õ¡ÕµÕ¸Ö~BÕ´ Ö~G Õ~IÕ¥ÕÕ«Õ¡ÕµÕ¸Ö~BÕ´,
http://www.report.am/news/other/old_11516.html?external=1&itpl=default/print.tpl.html
16 See: «Õ~UÖ~@Õ¥Ö~@», 2011. Õ¡ÕºÖ~@Õ«Õ¬. 24, http://www.orer.cz/
17 See: Ô²Õ¸Õ²Õ¸Ö~DÕ« Ö~AÕ¸Ö~BÕµÖ~A-Õ°Õ½Õ¯Õ¸Ö~BÕ´ Õ~JÖ~@Õ¡Õ°Õ¡ÕµÕ¸Ö~BÕ´
Õ~@Õ¸Ö~BÕ¶Õ£Õ¡Ö~@Õ«Õ¡ÕµÕ« Õ¤Õ¥Õ½ÕºÕ¡Õ¶Õ¸Ö~BÕ©ÕµÕ¡Õ¶ Õ¡Õ¼Õ»Ö~G,
«Õ~UÖ~@Õ¥Ö~@», http://www.orer.cz/
18 See ibid: 2009, N 1, http://www.orer.cz/?lang=AM&num=2009070118
19 For details see: Ô±Ö~@Ö~GÕ¥Õ¬ÕµÕ¡Õ¶ ÔµÕ¾Ö~@Õ¸ÕºÕ¡ÕµÕ« Õ°Õ¡Õµ
Õ°Õ¡Õ´Õ¡ÕµÕ¶Ö~DÕ¶Õ¥Ö~@Õ« ÕÕ¶Õ¤Õ«Ö~@Õ¶Õ¥Ö~@Õ¨, ÔµÖ~@Ö~GÕ¡Õ¶, 2011,
Õ§Õ» 40-45:
20 «Առավոտ», 24. 06.2010,
http://www.aravot.am/am/articles/guidepark/80405/view
â~@~\Globusâ~@~] analytical journal, #12, 2012
Return Another materials of author ACTIVITY OF THE ARMENIAN
EVANGELICALS IN ARTSAKH [06.09.2012] THE ARMENIAN EVANGELICAL COMMUNITY
OF FRANCE[07.06.2012] EDUCATIONAL ISSUES OF THE ARMENIAN COMMUNITY
IN CZECH REPUBLIC[31.10.2011] ARMENIAN PROTESTANT COMMUNITIES
IN SOUTH AMERICA[21.04.2011] ARMENIAN PROTESTANT COMMUNITY IN
GEORGIA[29.03.2011] ARMENIAN PROTESTANT COMMUNITIES IN THE US AND
CANADA [15.09.2010] ARMENIAN PROTESTANTS[12.04.2010]
http://www.noravank.am/eng/articles/detail.php?ELEMENT_ID=6841
Tigran Ghanalanyan
Expert, the Center for the Armenian Studies, â~@~\Noravankâ~@~]
Foundation
The Armenian community in the Czech Rep. is one the newly formed
Armenian communities in Europe. The study of the community has some
peculiarities which are conditioned by the fact that the latter
considerably differs from the traditional Armenian communities
in Europe.
Formation of the community
According to the figures presented by the Czech Statistical Office for
2009, the number of the Armenians in the Czech Rep. was about 20251;
meanwhile, according to the official Czech data for 2005 their number
was only 1046.
According to the official figures of the Embassy of Armenia in
the Czech Republic for 2010 there are approximately 3500 Armenians
living in that country, and more than 2000 of them have residence
permit and 1500 more have temporary residence permit2. According
to the expertsâ~@~Y assessments the number of the Armenians in the
Czech Rep. is about 10 thousand people. If we take into consideration
the fact that the official Czech statistics takes into account only
people with citizenship, it becomes clear why the official figures
are several times lower: 1) there are many Armenians who are the
citizens of other countries living in the Czech Rep., 2) part of the
Armenians have not become naturalized yet. Most of the Armenians as
well as the representatives of other notational minorities mainly
reside in Prague. At a rough estimate about 80% of the Armenians in
the Czech Rep. live in Prague3. Brno is the next. There are Armenians
living in Mlada Boleslav, Ostrava, Jihlava, Leberec, Karlovi Vari,
Libey Usti cities.
Except for the Armenian merchant Gevorg of Damascus son of
Astvatsatur4 who lived and worked in the Czech Lands in the 18th
century, the first Armenians settled in there in 1910s. Some Armenians
were engaged in manufacturing. Thus, e.g., Artin Aslanyan ran the
first carpet manufacturing firm5. The article by A. Bakhchinyan6,
devoted to the Armenian students who studied in the higher educational
establishments in Prague in 1920s and which describes the life of the
Armenian students, activity of the organizations established by them
is remarkable, Despite the fact that more than 50 Armenian students
got education at the higher educational establishments in the Czech
Lands, in the future they were spread over the Armenian communities
in different countries and the Armenian community life which arose
in the Czech Lands soon extinguished.
Despite these aforementioned separate episodes of the Armenian
community life in the Czech Lands, there had been no Armenian
community there until the late 1980s early 1990s. The Armenians
have been settling there since 1980s. The influx of the immigrants
from Armenia intensified especially in 1990s and drew to a head in
1990-1993. It was mainly caused by the social and economic problems.
Giving preference to the Czech Republic by the migrants from Armenia
had many preconditions. One of those preconditions was the fact that
the Czech Rep. situated in the Central Europe and in the recent
past it was a socialist country and the Armenians coming there
migrated from other post-Socialist countries (Armenia and other
post-Soviet republics). Besides, there was another circumstance which
was conditioned by the memories of the past â~@~S there were many
Armenians from the USSR who visited the Czech Rep. as tourists and
they were conversant with this country. Naturally they should prefer
the country which is situated in the center of Europe, is well-known
by them, and has some peculiarities which are characteristic to the
post-Soviet countries and due to which the process of adaptation and
integration seemed to be much easier. It should also be mentioned that
migration legislation in the Czech Republic is more liberal as compared
to many western countries. This is conditioend by the emigration
from the Czech Rep. to the countries of Western Europe which caused
the labour shortage (high-quality, intellectual labour). In the 1990s
among the immigrants in the Czech Republic a prominent place was hold
by the migrants from the post-Soviet republics.
While speaking about the migration flow of the Armenians to the Czech
Republic the circumstance that many emigrants considered the Czech
Rep. as a kind of a â~@~\transit stationâ~@~] where they can settle
for a short time and after that leave for a country with higher
living standards should be mentioned. Many of the Armenians living
in the Czech Rep. at first tried to settle in the United States and
Western Europe but after they had failed they preferred to move to
the Czech Republic.
Among the migration issues of the Armenians in the Czech Republic an
important place is given to the issue of the refugees. In the period
from 1991 to 2003 3093 Armenians applied for asylum and only 149 of
them (4.8%) won that refugee status. And in 2005-2006 the share of the
Armenians among the asylum seekers was 1-2%. It is much easier for the
Armenians to obtain citizenship of the Czech Republic. The highest
rate of those who obtained the citizenship was in 1999-20007. It
should be mentioned that the rate of illegal migration among the
Armenians is rather high.
Main peculiarities of the community
There are a number of peculiarities inherent in the newly formed
Armenian community in the Czech Republic; these peculiarities
are conditioned by the facts that the community is newly formed
and scares in number. Many mechanisms which are efficient in the
rich in traditions and big Armenian communities have no practical
preconditions for being used in the Armenian community in the Czech
Republic. E.g. if in the traditional Armenian Diaspora communities
the church, public, political, cultural educational organizations,
which have their centers and brunches, have been providing rather
efficient activity for decades (and in some cases even for centuries),
it is obvious that they do not have the same conditions of practical
application in the Czech Republic. It is conditioned by the fact that
the community is newly formed and small which is supplemented by the
reasons or motives why the Armenians settled there. If traditional
Armenian Diaspora (which mostly consists of the generations of the
Armenians who had been spread all over the world in consequence
the Armenian Genocide) can be characterized to some extent by the
aspiration to preserve and to develop national values, then those who
left the country in recent 20 years due to economic reasons notably
fall behind in this aspect. Hence it follows that there is a problem
of rising the qualitative level of acknowledgment of the priority
of preserving national values and identity in the newly formed
communities, e.g. in the Czech Republic. However, at the same time
it is also obvious that the solution of these problems only by means
of the mechanisms inherent in the traditional Armenian communities is
not that efficient. So it is necessary alongside with the traditional
ones to use new methods directed to the solution of the problems. In
this aspect using of the information resources and possibilities is of
utmost importance. It does not derive from the aforementioned methods
are not applicable in the traditional communities but in case with the
Armenian community in the Czech Republic their application is much
more topical because, nevertheless, in the traditional communities
there are old organizations and mechanisms which, though by force of
a habit, are to some extent efficient.
Rather fast adaptation and integration are one of the characteristic
issues of the Armenian community in the Czech Republic. Considerable
number of the Armenians managed to carry out business activity. In
this regard S. Sumlyoni writes: â~@~\The overwhelming majority
of Armenians run their own business, primarily small food stores,
shoe-making and dress-making shops. Jewelry business is also very
popular in the Armenian community. The percentage of the unemployed
among Czech Armenians is below 5%. It is interesting that only half
of the Armenians who are hired employees work for Czech companies. The
rest of the Armenians who are hired employees work either for foreign
companies or formally Czech companies, however, with predominantly
Armenian management or staffâ~@~]8. Besides the solution of the issue
of the housing is also important condition. Most of the Armenians
either buy or rent apartments.
Despite the positive process of the integration of the Armenians there
is some kind of negative attitude towards the immigrants. But this
is true not only for the Armenian community but for the foreigners in
general. In particular, this migration is identified in some regions
of the Czech Rep. with fear of the lawlessness and crime wave.
Fast integration of the Armenians is also conditioned by the language
issues. The Russian language is to some extent spread in the Czech
Republic which makes the communication in all the spheres much easier.
The young Armenians easily learn the Czech language. It is also
conditioned by the character of the Armenian community in the
Czech Republic; the scarcity of the community organizations, their
imperfection as well as smallness of the community has negative
effect. In consequence very often the Armenians go beyond the community
framework and establish connections with the immigrants from other
post-Soviet republics.
Community organization
The community organizations play important role in the life of
the Armenian community in the Czech Republic. Though they cannot
provide active intra-community life, nevertheless, they carry out some
activity in this direction. In case of continuous development of this
activity it will be possible to obtain anticipated result. Among the
intra-community units â~@~\Armeniaâ~@~] club, â~@~\Armenian Houseâ~@~]
union, Prague and Brno Saturday Armenian schools as well as Armenian
mass media â~@~S â~@~\Orerâ~@~] and â~@~\Nairiâ~@~] periodicals and
Armenian Service of â~@~\Radio Free Europe/Radio Libertyâ~@~] can be
mentioned. The Armenian community life is sometimes covered by Radio
Prague within the framework of â~@~\Multicultural Czech Republicâ~@~]
programme.
In 1995 Sergei Grigoryan set up the Czech-Armenian Society. But
it could not justify expectations, i.e. uniting all the Armenians
living in the Czech Rep., dealing with the issues of relations with
the Czech society, information policy, protection of the rights of
the Armenian minority, etc. The society hardly yielded any tangible
results. Its activity was soon restricted to Prague only. Every year
the Society regularly holds memorial events devoted to the Armenian
Genocide. One of the most tangible achievements was that in 2001
the Society managed to organize a meeting of the Czech Armenians
with Armeniaâ~@~Ys Consul in Vienna following which a number of
problems on cooperation between the Government of Armenia and the
Armenian community in the Czech Republic were resolved. Another
Armenian organization â~@~S the «Civil Commonwealth Armenian House»
turned out to be more successful. Both Czech Armenians and Armenians
living in Armenia and, more importantly, the Czechs interested in the
Armenian culture can join it. In 2007 it had 60 members (21 Czechs
and 10 more persons who are neither citizens of the Czech Republic,
nor Armenia). The «Civil Commonwealth Armenian House» provides
legal counseling to migrants, primarily on migration law.
Those who wish may take computer classes or obtain other skills that
will help them find a better paid job. Since 2002 the organization
has been publishing â~@~\Nairiâ~@~] magazine which also covers the
issues of legal protection of the migrants9.
Among the Armenian organizations in the Czech Republic
â~@~\Armeniaâ~@~] Club headed by Tigran Abrahamyan as well as
â~@~\Urartuâ~@~] Armenian-Czech Union headed by Aleksandr Sargsyan
are worth mentioning.
Special place is assigned to the Saturday Armenian schools in Prague
and Brno, activity of which we covered in a separate study10.
Since September 1999 â~@~\Orerâ~@~] monthly has been published in
Prague. It is published by Caucasus-Eastern Europe Information Center
â~@~S Editor-in-Chief Hakob Asatryan. This periodical covers cultural,
political and social, sport and community life of more than 30
Armenian communities in Europe. Besides Armenia-Europe relationships,
it spotlights Armenian-Czech relations, problems of the Armenians
living in the Czech Republic and other European countries11. While
speaking about the issues relating to the Armenian community in the
Czech Republic, Editor-in-Chief of â~@~\Orerâ~@~] magazine H.Asatryan
says: â~@~\Though we have Saturday schools, we have a priest, but the
community does not have community center where people can come, gather;
this issue is already under the discussionâ~@~]12. On November 20,
2009 the 10th anniversary of â~@~\Orerâ~@~] magazine was celebrated.
Community life
The development of the Armenian-Czech relations in both state
and various other formats plays important role in the life of the
Armenian community. Thus, on May 18, 2010 the Catholicos of All
Armenians Garegin II received a visit of the Czech prime-minister. They
discussed the spiritual issues of the Czech Armenians. The Catholicos
particularly mentioned: â~@~\â~@¦The Armenian community is being formed
in the Czech Rep. either and we are convinced that in the near future
our sons in the Czech Republic will be able to build their own house
of prayer and faith, thus assisting to the making and prosperity of
the Czech stateâ~@~]13.
An important role in the life of the community is allotted to the
organization of the events in memory of the Armenian Genocide. Thus,
on April 24, 2005 300 Armenians participated in the protest action
in memory of the 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. The
participants addressed an appeal to the Czech parliament14. A
number of events in the memory of the Armenian Genocide were held in
2010 either. Mass for soul was said in Prague which was followed by
commemoration meeting in the library hall and after that the exhibition
of the Armenian painters â~@~\In Commemoration: 95 Years Onâ~@~] was
opened. Besides the members of the Armenian community, the political,
public, spiritual, cultural figures from the Czech Rep. and other
countries were also present at the events. The fact that the events
were not only restricted to Prague is also crucial. Liturgy was served
in Brno by the priest of the Armenian Apostolic Church in the Czech
Republic father Barsegh Pilavchyan which was followed by the meeting of
the members of the Armenian community in Brno with Armenian Ambassador
A. Hovakimyan15. An important role in the organization of the events
was played by â~@~\Armeniaâ~@~] club, A. Hovakimyan, father Barsegh
Pilivchyan, members of the Armenian community in the Czech Republic.
In 2011 the events in memory of the Armenian Genocide stood out for
their diversity. This time they also included the representatives of
different organizations of the Armenian community, representative of
Czech intelligentsia, spiritual and cultural figures16. In 2012 the
Czech Armenian community just like many other Armenian communities
organized protest actions connected with the extradition of R. Safarov
to Azerbaijan. A protest action was arranged in front of the Hungarian
embassy in the Czech Republic with the demand to arrest the criminal
again and to recognize the independence of the NKR17.
Strengthening of the relations of the Czech Armenians with their
motherland is of great importance. The role of the extraordinary and
plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Republic Armenia to Austria, Hungary,
Czech Republic and Slovakia Ashot Hovakimyan was remarkable in the
life of the Armenian community18. On June 30, 2011 Tigran Seyranyan
was appointed extraordinary and plenipotentiary Ambassador to the
Czech Republic. Hence, various Armenian state, public, academic,
educational, cultural organizations still have a lot of work to do
for strengthening the relations and promoting the development of the
Armenian community in the Czech Republic.
In the aspect of the development and attaching weight to the Armenian
community the raising of the role of the Armenians here is emphasized.
>>From this point of view involvement of the Armenians in science
and cultural, sport19 and other spheres is important.
In recent years some members of the Armenian community in the Czech
Republic have become winners of various sport and music contest. E.g.
Aramais Tohkyan â~@~S the Czech karate champion, Monica Harutyunyan
â~@~S silver medalist of the Youth European Figure-skating
Championship, Varine Lazarian (soprano) â~@~S winner of young singers
contest in 2009, etc20.These achievements further both success of the
Armenian community and formation of positive image of the Armenians
in the Czech society.
Thus, the Armenian community in the Czech Republic is one of the
peculiar Armenian communities in Eastern Europe. It has numerous
problems which are inherent in other Armenian communities in
Eastern Europe. Hence, there are problems which are conditioned by
peculiarities of both Czech Republic and the local Armenian community.
Therefore, self-organization of the Armenian community and handling
of the challenges it faces implies both local and system approaches.
In the context of solution of the aforementioned issues development of
the organizations of the Armenian community, their integration in the
Czech environment is singled out. Of course there is a necessity to
arrange cooperation with other Armenian communities in Eastern Europe.
But handling of the problems which are inherent in the whole the
Armenian Diaspora demands broadening of cooperation and establishing
of active relations with all the Diaspora organizations. Armenia, of
course, plays crucial role because without its active support newly
formed Armenian community in the Czech Republic will not be viable.
1 http://www.czso.cz/csu/cizinci.nsf/engt/8200578577/$File/c01t01.pdf
2 Õ~IÕ¥ÕÕ«Õ¡ÕµÕ« Õ~@Õ¡Õ¶Ö~@Õ¡ÕºÕ¥Õ¿Õ¸Ö~BÕ©ÕµÕ¸Ö~BÕ¶Õ¸Ö~BÕ´
Õ~@Õ¡ÕµÕ¡Õ½Õ¿Õ¡Õ¶Õ« Õ¤Õ¥Õ½ÕºÕ¡Õ¶Õ¡Õ¿Õ¸Ö~BÕ¶,
http://cz.mfa.am/hy/community-overview/
3 See:Õ~MÕ¸Ö~BÕ´Õ¬ÕµÕ¸Õ¶Õ¶Õ« Õ~M., Õ~IÕ¥ÕÕ«Õ¡ÕµÕ«
Õ°Õ¡ÕµÕ¥Ö~@Õ¨. Õ~SÕ¸Ö~DÖ~@ Õ°Õ¡Õ´Õ¡ÕµÕ¶Ö~D, Õ´Õ¥Õ® Õ¶Õ¥Ö~@Õ¸Ö~BÕª,
http://www.noravank.am/arm/issues/detail.php?ELEMENT_ID=2375
4 See:Õ~IÕ¥ÕÕ«Õ¡ÕµÕ« Õ°Õ¡Õµ Õ°Õ¡Õ´Õ¡ÕµÕ¶Ö~DÕ¨
Õ¡Õ¶Ö~AÕµÕ¡Õ¬Õ¸Ö~BÕ´ Ö~G Õ¶Õ¥Ö~@Õ¯Õ¡ÕµÕ¸Ö~BÕ´,
http://noravank.am/arm/seminar/detail.php?ELEMENT_ID=3820&sphrase_id=18991
5 See:Ô²Õ¡ÕÕ¹Õ«Õ¶ÕµÕ¡Õ¶ Ô±., Õ~JÖ~@Õ¡Õ°Õ¡ÕµÕ«
Õ°Õ¡Õµ Õ¸Ö~BÕ½Õ¡Õ¶Õ¸Õ²Õ¸Ö~BÕ©ÕµÕ¸Ö~BÕ¶Õ¨,
«Õ~JÕ¡Õ¿Õ´Õ¡-Õ¢Õ¡Õ¶Õ¡Õ½Õ«Ö~@Õ¡Õ¯Õ¡Õ¶ հանդես», 2008, Õ©Õ«Õ¾ 1,
Õ§Õ» 133:
6 Ibid, p. 133-148:
7 See: Õ~MÕ¸Ö~BÕ´Õ¬ÕµÕ¸Õ¶Õ¶Õ« Õ~M., the mentioned work.Õ~] Table 3
and Table 4Ö~I
8 Õ~MÕ¸Ö~BÕ´Õ¬ÕµÕ¸Õ¶Õ¶Õ« Õ~M., the mentioned work.
9 See:Õ~MÕ¸Ö~BÕ´Õ¬ÕµÕ¸Õ¶Õ¶Õ« Õ~M., the mentioned work
10 See:Õ~BÕ¡Õ¶Õ¡Õ¬Õ¡Õ¶ÕµÕ¡Õ¶ Õ~O., Õ~IÕ¥ÕÕ«Õ¡ÕµÕ« Õ°Õ¡Õµ
Õ°Õ¡Õ´Õ¡ÕµÕ¶Ö~DÕ« Õ¯Ö~@Õ©Õ¡Õ¯Õ¡Õ¶ ÕÕ¶Õ¤Õ«Ö~@Õ¶Õ¥Ö~@Õ¨,
«ԳլոբոÖ~BÕ½. Ô±Õ¦Õ£Õ¡ÕµÕ«Õ¶ Õ¡Õ¶Õ¾Õ¿Õ¡Õ¶Õ£Õ¸Ö~BÕ©ÕµÕ¸Ö~Bն»,
2011, Õ©Õ«Õ¾ 5, Õ§Õ» 53-63:
11 See: http://www.orer.cz/?lang=AM&oper=about
12 http://hetq.am/am/media/mamul-506/
13
http://www.armedia.am/?action=SiteNews&what=show&id=1243398897&lang=arm
14 See: ÔµÕ²Õ¥Õ¼Õ¶Õ« 90-Ö~@Õ¤ Õ¿Õ¡Ö~@Õ¥Õ¬Õ«Ö~AÕ«
Õ¡Õ¶Õ¤Ö~@Õ¡Õ¤Õ¡Ö~@Õ±Õ¶Õ¥Ö~@ «Õ~UÖ~@Õ¥Ö~@» Õ¡Õ´Õ½Õ¡Õ£Ö~@Õ¸Ö~BÕ´,
http://www.armtown.com/news/am/azg/20050826/2005082603/
15 See: Õ~QÕ¥Õ²Õ¡Õ½ÕºÕ¡Õ¶Õ¸Ö~BÕ©ÕµÕ¡Õ¶
95-Õ¡Õ´ÕµÕ¡ Õ¿Õ¡Ö~@Õ¥Õ¬Õ«Ö~AÕ«Õ¶ Õ¶Õ¾Õ«Ö~@Õ¾Õ¡Õ®
Õ´Õ«Õ»Õ¸Ö~AÕ¡Õ¼Õ¸Ö~BÕ´Õ¶Õ¥Ö~@ Õ~MÕ¬Õ¸Õ¾Õ¡Õ¯Õ«Õ¡ÕµÕ¸Ö~BÕ´,
Õ~@Õ¸Ö~BÕ¶Õ£Õ¡Ö~@Õ«Õ¡ÕµÕ¸Ö~BÕ´ Ö~G Õ~IÕ¥ÕÕ«Õ¡ÕµÕ¸Ö~BÕ´,
http://www.report.am/news/other/old_11516.html?external=1&itpl=default/print.tpl.html
16 See: «Õ~UÖ~@Õ¥Ö~@», 2011. Õ¡ÕºÖ~@Õ«Õ¬. 24, http://www.orer.cz/
17 See: Ô²Õ¸Õ²Õ¸Ö~DÕ« Ö~AÕ¸Ö~BÕµÖ~A-Õ°Õ½Õ¯Õ¸Ö~BÕ´ Õ~JÖ~@Õ¡Õ°Õ¡ÕµÕ¸Ö~BÕ´
Õ~@Õ¸Ö~BÕ¶Õ£Õ¡Ö~@Õ«Õ¡ÕµÕ« Õ¤Õ¥Õ½ÕºÕ¡Õ¶Õ¸Ö~BÕ©ÕµÕ¡Õ¶ Õ¡Õ¼Õ»Ö~G,
«Õ~UÖ~@Õ¥Ö~@», http://www.orer.cz/
18 See ibid: 2009, N 1, http://www.orer.cz/?lang=AM&num=2009070118
19 For details see: Ô±Ö~@Ö~GÕ¥Õ¬ÕµÕ¡Õ¶ ÔµÕ¾Ö~@Õ¸ÕºÕ¡ÕµÕ« Õ°Õ¡Õµ
Õ°Õ¡Õ´Õ¡ÕµÕ¶Ö~DÕ¶Õ¥Ö~@Õ« ÕÕ¶Õ¤Õ«Ö~@Õ¶Õ¥Ö~@Õ¨, ÔµÖ~@Ö~GÕ¡Õ¶, 2011,
Õ§Õ» 40-45:
20 «Առավոտ», 24. 06.2010,
http://www.aravot.am/am/articles/guidepark/80405/view
â~@~\Globusâ~@~] analytical journal, #12, 2012
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