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Armenia: Waiting For Lenin

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  • Armenia: Waiting For Lenin

    ARMENIA: WAITING FOR LENIN
    By Marianna Grigorian and Gayane Mkrtchian in Lernamerdz

    Institute for War and Peace Reporting, UK
    June 1 2006

    How an Armenian village chose communism, after the Soviet Union
    had ended.

    In Soviet times, the village of Lernamerdz was one of the few places
    in Armenia that did not have a statue of Lenin. The villagers say
    that they were fairly passive communists and that there were only
    seven communist activists amongst them.

    But then, after Armenia became independent, and statues and busts of
    the great leader were taken down all over the country, in 1996 the
    people of Lernamerdz (its name means "near the mountains" in Armenian)
    erected a basalt bust of Lenin in the middle of the village. It weighs
    two tonnes and is now an important part of the village and a source
    of great pride.

    The villagers say they came to understand the value of communism only
    after it had disappeared.

    "In 1990, when the Soviet order fell apart, we wanted to know what
    was right in this life," explained Azat Barseghian, secretary of the
    local communist organisation in Lernamerdz, situated in the Ararat
    valley not far from Yerevan. "It took us six years to work it out,
    and in the end we realised that there is only one truth - socialism.

    We adopted the communist ideology and we bear our cross to this day."

    "As soon as Lenin returns, water will babble in the streams and people
    will begin to live better," said 41-year-old Ararat.

    Lernamerdz is known as "Little Cuba" in Armenia. The spirit of
    communism reigns in almost every house. There are 103 households and
    530 residents in the village. According to village elder and staunch
    communist Saak Mirzoyan, 102 of the 103 households are communist.

    Little Cuba has become a tourist attraction. Visitors from Russia,
    Vietnam, France, Belarus, Greece, Cyprus and other countries record
    their impressions, good wishes and appreciation in Lernamerdz's
    visitors' book, which has a portrait of Lenin on the first page.

    In one corner of a red stone house, 61-year-old Azat carefully adjusts
    a large photograph of Lenin. Elsewhere, there is a small bust of Lenin
    behind the glass door of a cupboard - a small shrine to communism.

    "The statue of Lenin gives us strength, it is witness to our faith
    and progress," said 41-year-old Arthur Pilosian.

    Around this source of strength the villagers organise all the
    important village events. They celebrate the birthday of the great
    leader, the day he died, the anniversary of the October Revolution,
    and the socialist holidays of May 1 and November 7.

    Under the proud, unwavering gaze of Lenin, children are pronounced
    pioneers and are anointed members of the local Komsomol organisation.

    On these occasions, the 50 red cravats which Azat keeps carefully in
    his house are not enough to go round.

    "They often make fun of us in the press, saying we are 'tying the
    dregs of communism around our children's necks'," he said. "No,
    we are tying cravats around their necks to keep their souls clean."

    Albert Mirzoyan, 14, unlike his contemporaries in other regions of
    the country, is quite clear about who Lenin was. He reels off details
    of all the communist holidays, which are celebrated with great fanfare.

    "Do you know how much we look forward to May Day?" he says excitedly.

    "It's our favourite day. We go to Yerevan and go on parades."

    But 15-year-old Armen Barseghian, who proudly shows off his red cravat,
    says he likes the red flags and balloons most of all; the fact that
    the whole village, both old and young, takes part in the procession;
    and the way everyone shouts, "May Day!"

    Lyuda Harutiunian, 38, lives in the neighbouring village of Voskehat.

    She says that in Lernamerdz it feels as if they are still living
    through an era when everyone lived well, like they used to.

    "Celebrations in this village take me back to my school days, when
    we marched in red ties," she said.

    "The people of this village are very friendly and I think that this
    is the result of the idea of solidarity which is part of communism,"
    said the headmaster of Lernadzor school, Zaven Grigorian, who lives
    in the neighbouring village of Aghavnatun.

    Until recently pupils in Lernamerdz's village school graduated wearing
    their red cravats.

    However, the village people say that after an "order from above", and
    the arrival of a new headmaster, pupils no longer had to wear them,
    since they were not "part of the progamme". But neither the end of
    the cravats, nor attempts to "outlaw" learning poetry about Lenin
    and socialism, broke the spirit of the villagers, according to the
    new headmaster, Zaven Grigorian.

    "Everyone thinks the same way, and, most importantly, everyone is
    united," he said. "And this is passed on to the children. I think
    you can achieve a lot through unity."

    The villagers of Lernamerdz agree with this point of view. They say
    their faith in the future and the fair ideals of communism help them
    to overcome the social hardships which every household has experienced
    since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

    But life has been no easier here than in other villages in Armenia,
    especially since village land has been privatised.

    Lernamerdz is famous not only for its newfound commitment to communism,
    but also for its high quality tarragon, which allowed them to survive
    in hard times.

    The villagers say that in the Nineties from April to winter, tarragon
    from Lernamerdz was delivered directly to Tbilisi, providing the
    villagers with a decent and stable income. Nowadays, middlemen get
    the lion's share, buying the tarragon at very low prices in large
    quantities and then selling it on for several times the amount.

    "People say there was no freedom in communist times," complained one
    Lernamerdz resident. "But now people are tied to their homes even
    more than during communist times."

    One villager proudly said that Lernamerdz is the only village
    in Armenia where socialism still survives and the villagers have
    remained true to the ideas of their ancestors. And he believes its
    time is coming again.

    "It was possible to destroy a strong state which had existed for
    70 years, so why can't you destroy a government built on the sands
    left over from that state?" he said. "I think communism will win in
    the end."

    (For a photo essay accompanying this story go to
    http://www.iwpr.net/?p=crs&s=f&o=321321 &apc_state=henpcrs )
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