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RUSSIA, OUR BEST FRIEND
By Nerses Amirian, Toronto, 7 February 2014
For centuries Armenians dreamed of having their own state and after
each national tragedy and slaughter hoped it would be the last time.
My paternal grandparents dreamed of an independent Armenia but didn't
see its birth. I consider myself a lucky Armenian: I saw theemergence
of an independent Armenia; what my ancestors hoped for centuries
became true in my time.
My father, who doesn't speak Armenian, says to me after each visit to
the motherland: "Son, I feel that my soul is nourished and I can't
live without this feeling." Despite the negative narrative among
many Diaspora Armenians who turn their back to their ancestral land
and the non-stop propaganda that Armenia is ruled by oligarchs, that
depopulation will mark the end of the country, that the president is
a crook, etc, I feel Armenia is intelligently managed in the turbulent
Caucasus, a buffer zone and an extension of the Middle East.
One of the latest arguments in the Diaspora is that Russia is a threat
to Armenia and that Moscow plans an Armenia without Armenians. I
hear these arguments from Diaspora Armenians who live in the West and
most of whom haven't visited their homeland, lack solid information
about Armenia and cannot understand that there is an Armenia because
Armenians are considered by Russians as loyal friends, an ancient
Christian people who are Russophile and have contributed to Russia
in many fields and still continue to do so. Those who want Armenia
destroyed hope Armenia becomes anti-Russian. Thus they spread their
anti-Russian propaganda.
In 2008 Russia didn't abandon South Ossetia--one of the tiniest nations
anywhere, with no oil or other natural ressources. Their only asset is
their loyalty to Russia. In 2008, during the August War with Russia,
Georgia received arms from many Western countries. Western private
militias fought side by side the Georgian army. At the end Russian
tanks were closing in on Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. It was only
through President Sarkozy's intercession that the life of Georgian
President Miheil Saakashvili was saved. The Georgian leader had been
called 'son' by U.S Secretary of State Colin Powell while Georgia
was praised as a 'model' country by the Europeans and Americans for
its intention to join the EU or NATO. At the end of the war, Georgia
was once again humiliated and as a result of the war Georgia lost
Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
In recent centuries Georgia has survived thanks to Russian protection.
But this fact is no immaterial to Georgians. Millions of Georgians live
in Turkey. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's family originated
in Georgia. Georgians who live in Turkey are Islamized and only a few
can speak a sprinkling of Georgian. If a conflict emerges between
Turkey and Georgia these Georgians will side with Turkey because
their Sunni faith keeps them loyal to Turkey.
Samuel Huntington stated that religious or ethnic affiliation shape
peoples' perception of different conflicts. Why, for example, was
NATO member Greece unenthusiastic about the bombing of the Serbs by
NATO forces in 1999? The reason is simple: Serbs, like the Greeks,
are Orthodox Christians and have an affinity to the Byzantine Empire
just, like the Greeks.
To which civilizational group does Armenia belong? Are we western
like the British or Islamic like the Libyans? As Eastern Christians
we belong to the Orthodox world headed by Russia. Russia is the only
superpower which cares about the fate of Eastern Christians, just as
it cares for the wellbeing of Syrian Christians.
International relations are, in general, based on interests. States
have long-term agendas; they follow them right or wrong. But what if
states also have a subconscience and memory? Syria is home to a Russian
naval base in Tartus, a city on the Mediterranean. People can say that
it's because of the base and arms sale that Russia doesn't abandon
Syria. I agree. But let's look back to the 1990s when the Soviet Union
broke apart. People mocked "Evil Empire" Russia. People said it was
"Bangladesh with nuclear weapons". Even the tiny Chechens defeated them
and created their own independent state. Even "Slavic Orthodox Brother"
Bulgaria, which also owes Russia its independence from the Ottomans,
declared Russians were no more welcome. Sofia joined NATO and became
a member of the European Union. Experts predicted that following the
Chechens' victory more secessionist nations would emerge within the
multinational Russian state and that Russia was doomed to collapse.
What was the Syrian approach to Russia in those years? They kept the
Russian naval base in their country and continued their warm relations
with Mosow. I propose Syria is so dear to the "Russian state memory"
that Moscow will not abandon it just like Damascus didn't abandon
Russia in the latter's vulnerable years. Propositions to transfer the
base to Cyprus (the Greek part) or the multi-billion Saudi bribe to
bring down Assad didn't influence Russia. It didn't compromise its
friendship and rejected the 'Libyan scenario'.
In Istanbul some years ago an Ossetian official told me that President
Yeltsin of Russia was so embarrassed by the negative attitude of
Western leaders toward Russia that he stated: "I will find such a man
[as my successor] that nobody among will ever dare laugh at us." Myth
or reality? President Yeltsin, the sad image of Russia during that
country's years of vulnerability, selected Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin
to replace him in 1999. Under Putin Russia recovered and found its
place in the world. He stopped the looting of his country, re-organized
the economy, boosted the military power and reasserted its territorial
integrity. Russia rose from the ashes like the phoenix and refound
its glory. It is once again a respected superpower. The Bear is back.
But Russia is an enigma to Armenians living in the West. We are mostly
ignorant about Russia's history and what it is today. We know about
the evil Communists, the gulags, the state atheism of Soviet times.
Most of us don't know that Moscow is the Third Rome: after the fall
of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks Russia became the main center
of Eastern Christianity. The coat of arms of the Russian state is
the double-headed Byzantine Eagle. (Some Armenologists say that
the symbol was imported by Byzantium from Armenia). Russia is the
continuation of the Eastern Roman Empire, aka the Byzantine Empire. It
was the Byzantines (Armeno-Greek missionaries Cyril and Methodius)
who converted the Russians to Orthodox Christianity in 988. It is a
country where the cathedrals are more majestic than those of Italy.
Communist rule was a rupture in Russian spirituality. Tsar Nicholas II
wanted to reconquer Constantinople and save the Armenians and other
persecuted Christian subjects of the Ottoman Empire. Earlier on,
when the Russian army reached (1878) Hagia Stephanos, a province of
today's Istanbul called Yesilkoy, Western Powers such as Britain,
France and Germany interfered and convinced the Russians that the
Ottomans would no longer persecute their Christian subjects. The
Russian army withdrew. We know what Sultan Abdul Hamid II, the Young
Turks, and Ataturk did following the withdrawal of the Russians. For
more than 200 years the West has protected the Ottomans when Russia
defeated them over and over. Even today no Western state cares for
the plight of Christians in the Middle East.
Saddam Hussein was an irrational and brutal leader but
Iraqi-Christians, including the Armenians, lived a comfortable life
and were not oppressed. Before the American invasion, Saddam Hussein
sent his Chaldean Foreign Minister Tarek Aziz to the Vatican. Aziz
met Pope Paul John II and begged him to act as an intermediary. The
pope tried to convince the U.S and the other members of the Western
coalition to find a peaceful solution. His efforts were in vain. Only
a shadow of Christianity remains in Iraq. Around 15,000 Armenians
still live in the country.
How can one forget the mass slaughter (1922) of the Greeks and
Armenians of Smyrna (now Izmir) by the Kemalist forces as British
and French navies, docked at the city, idly watching?
Armenians remember the French rescuing one part of Musa Dagh's
Armenians and taking them to Port Said in Egypt. That was the only
help that we got. We were betrayed over and over by the West and our
blood fed rivers. Some Armenians would say "the Russians betrayed
us, too. They retreated from Van in 1915." It was the Soviets who
retreated, not the Russians. When civil war broke out (1917) in Russia,
the Tsarist army was urged to retreat to defend the regime.
The Tsarist army lost and the Bolsheviks succeeded. If there was no
Bolshevik Revolution, Armenians would have been saved by the Russian
army and the Ottomans wouldn't have dared launch the Genocide. The
Bolsheviks killed millions of people and the majority of their victims
were ethnic Russians. Despite Lenin's treachery, Soviet rule saved
Eastern Armenia and Armenians later acquired high positions in the
Soviet state. Nothing remained of Western Armenia.
Russian Communism is gone. Russia has a Patriarch named Kiril who can
tell to Putin during a tete-a-tete: "If you abandon the Christians in
Syria, we won't support you anymore." And Putin heeds the patriarch's
advice. There's no way a Western leader would take into consideration
the opinion of a Christian spiritual leader in defense of the Middle
East's Christians.
For me, as an Armenian, Russia is the bearer of light. The great
Russian people have always defeated warrior tribes surrounding their
country and managed to create a great civilization. They defeated
the Mongols, Napoleon, the Turks, and with the help of other Soviet
republics beat the Nazis. Russians have kept the secret of survival
which the Byzantines forgot. Russia has the best missile technology
and more nuclear warheads than the United States. Russia is the
saviour of many nations (Serbs, Bulgarians, Ossetians) who suffered
from tyranny. It was the Russians who saved the Jews from Aushwitz
in 1945. As an Armenian, I am thankful to this great nation.
Do Armenians of the West know of the strongest Armenian Diaspora? The
strongest Armenian Diaspora is not in the Unites States or in France
but in Russia. Its members are ministers, generals, billionaire
businessmen, scientists, media personalities, university professors.
Did the one-million strong California Armenians have a Secretary
of State of Armenian origin? They had Governor Deukmejian or House
Member Pashayan but they never had a cabinet minister. Russia's current
foreign minister Sergey Lavrov is half-Armenian. Russia is the talisman
"kismet" of Armenians just as the United States is for Israel. I thank
the Armenian government for erecting the United Cross Monument in
Yerevan, symbolizing the Russian-Armenian brotherly relations which
was unveiled during President Putin's December visit to Armenia.
Armenia has no bigger friend than Russia. Despite Russia's selling
of weapons to Azerbaijan, I have confidence in Russia's friendship--a
friendship based on self-interest, knowledge, and sentiment. America
also armed Saddam. The West sold chemical weapons to Iraq. Americans
promoted him as the leader of the Arab World. Where is Saddam now?
http://www.keghart.com/Amirian-Russia
From: A. Papazian
By Nerses Amirian, Toronto, 7 February 2014
For centuries Armenians dreamed of having their own state and after
each national tragedy and slaughter hoped it would be the last time.
My paternal grandparents dreamed of an independent Armenia but didn't
see its birth. I consider myself a lucky Armenian: I saw theemergence
of an independent Armenia; what my ancestors hoped for centuries
became true in my time.
My father, who doesn't speak Armenian, says to me after each visit to
the motherland: "Son, I feel that my soul is nourished and I can't
live without this feeling." Despite the negative narrative among
many Diaspora Armenians who turn their back to their ancestral land
and the non-stop propaganda that Armenia is ruled by oligarchs, that
depopulation will mark the end of the country, that the president is
a crook, etc, I feel Armenia is intelligently managed in the turbulent
Caucasus, a buffer zone and an extension of the Middle East.
One of the latest arguments in the Diaspora is that Russia is a threat
to Armenia and that Moscow plans an Armenia without Armenians. I
hear these arguments from Diaspora Armenians who live in the West and
most of whom haven't visited their homeland, lack solid information
about Armenia and cannot understand that there is an Armenia because
Armenians are considered by Russians as loyal friends, an ancient
Christian people who are Russophile and have contributed to Russia
in many fields and still continue to do so. Those who want Armenia
destroyed hope Armenia becomes anti-Russian. Thus they spread their
anti-Russian propaganda.
In 2008 Russia didn't abandon South Ossetia--one of the tiniest nations
anywhere, with no oil or other natural ressources. Their only asset is
their loyalty to Russia. In 2008, during the August War with Russia,
Georgia received arms from many Western countries. Western private
militias fought side by side the Georgian army. At the end Russian
tanks were closing in on Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. It was only
through President Sarkozy's intercession that the life of Georgian
President Miheil Saakashvili was saved. The Georgian leader had been
called 'son' by U.S Secretary of State Colin Powell while Georgia
was praised as a 'model' country by the Europeans and Americans for
its intention to join the EU or NATO. At the end of the war, Georgia
was once again humiliated and as a result of the war Georgia lost
Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
In recent centuries Georgia has survived thanks to Russian protection.
But this fact is no immaterial to Georgians. Millions of Georgians live
in Turkey. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's family originated
in Georgia. Georgians who live in Turkey are Islamized and only a few
can speak a sprinkling of Georgian. If a conflict emerges between
Turkey and Georgia these Georgians will side with Turkey because
their Sunni faith keeps them loyal to Turkey.
Samuel Huntington stated that religious or ethnic affiliation shape
peoples' perception of different conflicts. Why, for example, was
NATO member Greece unenthusiastic about the bombing of the Serbs by
NATO forces in 1999? The reason is simple: Serbs, like the Greeks,
are Orthodox Christians and have an affinity to the Byzantine Empire
just, like the Greeks.
To which civilizational group does Armenia belong? Are we western
like the British or Islamic like the Libyans? As Eastern Christians
we belong to the Orthodox world headed by Russia. Russia is the only
superpower which cares about the fate of Eastern Christians, just as
it cares for the wellbeing of Syrian Christians.
International relations are, in general, based on interests. States
have long-term agendas; they follow them right or wrong. But what if
states also have a subconscience and memory? Syria is home to a Russian
naval base in Tartus, a city on the Mediterranean. People can say that
it's because of the base and arms sale that Russia doesn't abandon
Syria. I agree. But let's look back to the 1990s when the Soviet Union
broke apart. People mocked "Evil Empire" Russia. People said it was
"Bangladesh with nuclear weapons". Even the tiny Chechens defeated them
and created their own independent state. Even "Slavic Orthodox Brother"
Bulgaria, which also owes Russia its independence from the Ottomans,
declared Russians were no more welcome. Sofia joined NATO and became
a member of the European Union. Experts predicted that following the
Chechens' victory more secessionist nations would emerge within the
multinational Russian state and that Russia was doomed to collapse.
What was the Syrian approach to Russia in those years? They kept the
Russian naval base in their country and continued their warm relations
with Mosow. I propose Syria is so dear to the "Russian state memory"
that Moscow will not abandon it just like Damascus didn't abandon
Russia in the latter's vulnerable years. Propositions to transfer the
base to Cyprus (the Greek part) or the multi-billion Saudi bribe to
bring down Assad didn't influence Russia. It didn't compromise its
friendship and rejected the 'Libyan scenario'.
In Istanbul some years ago an Ossetian official told me that President
Yeltsin of Russia was so embarrassed by the negative attitude of
Western leaders toward Russia that he stated: "I will find such a man
[as my successor] that nobody among will ever dare laugh at us." Myth
or reality? President Yeltsin, the sad image of Russia during that
country's years of vulnerability, selected Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin
to replace him in 1999. Under Putin Russia recovered and found its
place in the world. He stopped the looting of his country, re-organized
the economy, boosted the military power and reasserted its territorial
integrity. Russia rose from the ashes like the phoenix and refound
its glory. It is once again a respected superpower. The Bear is back.
But Russia is an enigma to Armenians living in the West. We are mostly
ignorant about Russia's history and what it is today. We know about
the evil Communists, the gulags, the state atheism of Soviet times.
Most of us don't know that Moscow is the Third Rome: after the fall
of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks Russia became the main center
of Eastern Christianity. The coat of arms of the Russian state is
the double-headed Byzantine Eagle. (Some Armenologists say that
the symbol was imported by Byzantium from Armenia). Russia is the
continuation of the Eastern Roman Empire, aka the Byzantine Empire. It
was the Byzantines (Armeno-Greek missionaries Cyril and Methodius)
who converted the Russians to Orthodox Christianity in 988. It is a
country where the cathedrals are more majestic than those of Italy.
Communist rule was a rupture in Russian spirituality. Tsar Nicholas II
wanted to reconquer Constantinople and save the Armenians and other
persecuted Christian subjects of the Ottoman Empire. Earlier on,
when the Russian army reached (1878) Hagia Stephanos, a province of
today's Istanbul called Yesilkoy, Western Powers such as Britain,
France and Germany interfered and convinced the Russians that the
Ottomans would no longer persecute their Christian subjects. The
Russian army withdrew. We know what Sultan Abdul Hamid II, the Young
Turks, and Ataturk did following the withdrawal of the Russians. For
more than 200 years the West has protected the Ottomans when Russia
defeated them over and over. Even today no Western state cares for
the plight of Christians in the Middle East.
Saddam Hussein was an irrational and brutal leader but
Iraqi-Christians, including the Armenians, lived a comfortable life
and were not oppressed. Before the American invasion, Saddam Hussein
sent his Chaldean Foreign Minister Tarek Aziz to the Vatican. Aziz
met Pope Paul John II and begged him to act as an intermediary. The
pope tried to convince the U.S and the other members of the Western
coalition to find a peaceful solution. His efforts were in vain. Only
a shadow of Christianity remains in Iraq. Around 15,000 Armenians
still live in the country.
How can one forget the mass slaughter (1922) of the Greeks and
Armenians of Smyrna (now Izmir) by the Kemalist forces as British
and French navies, docked at the city, idly watching?
Armenians remember the French rescuing one part of Musa Dagh's
Armenians and taking them to Port Said in Egypt. That was the only
help that we got. We were betrayed over and over by the West and our
blood fed rivers. Some Armenians would say "the Russians betrayed
us, too. They retreated from Van in 1915." It was the Soviets who
retreated, not the Russians. When civil war broke out (1917) in Russia,
the Tsarist army was urged to retreat to defend the regime.
The Tsarist army lost and the Bolsheviks succeeded. If there was no
Bolshevik Revolution, Armenians would have been saved by the Russian
army and the Ottomans wouldn't have dared launch the Genocide. The
Bolsheviks killed millions of people and the majority of their victims
were ethnic Russians. Despite Lenin's treachery, Soviet rule saved
Eastern Armenia and Armenians later acquired high positions in the
Soviet state. Nothing remained of Western Armenia.
Russian Communism is gone. Russia has a Patriarch named Kiril who can
tell to Putin during a tete-a-tete: "If you abandon the Christians in
Syria, we won't support you anymore." And Putin heeds the patriarch's
advice. There's no way a Western leader would take into consideration
the opinion of a Christian spiritual leader in defense of the Middle
East's Christians.
For me, as an Armenian, Russia is the bearer of light. The great
Russian people have always defeated warrior tribes surrounding their
country and managed to create a great civilization. They defeated
the Mongols, Napoleon, the Turks, and with the help of other Soviet
republics beat the Nazis. Russians have kept the secret of survival
which the Byzantines forgot. Russia has the best missile technology
and more nuclear warheads than the United States. Russia is the
saviour of many nations (Serbs, Bulgarians, Ossetians) who suffered
from tyranny. It was the Russians who saved the Jews from Aushwitz
in 1945. As an Armenian, I am thankful to this great nation.
Do Armenians of the West know of the strongest Armenian Diaspora? The
strongest Armenian Diaspora is not in the Unites States or in France
but in Russia. Its members are ministers, generals, billionaire
businessmen, scientists, media personalities, university professors.
Did the one-million strong California Armenians have a Secretary
of State of Armenian origin? They had Governor Deukmejian or House
Member Pashayan but they never had a cabinet minister. Russia's current
foreign minister Sergey Lavrov is half-Armenian. Russia is the talisman
"kismet" of Armenians just as the United States is for Israel. I thank
the Armenian government for erecting the United Cross Monument in
Yerevan, symbolizing the Russian-Armenian brotherly relations which
was unveiled during President Putin's December visit to Armenia.
Armenia has no bigger friend than Russia. Despite Russia's selling
of weapons to Azerbaijan, I have confidence in Russia's friendship--a
friendship based on self-interest, knowledge, and sentiment. America
also armed Saddam. The West sold chemical weapons to Iraq. Americans
promoted him as the leader of the Arab World. Where is Saddam now?
http://www.keghart.com/Amirian-Russia
From: A. Papazian