During the last 20 years, the area of wheat fields and the total harvest has been cut in half in Armenia. The level of self-sufficiency, which shows the percent of demand that the country is able to meet with its own production, is at a low 24.4%. This means that Armenia imports the remaining wheat it uses from abroad.
-
Duduk: Jivan Gasparyan Jr. on creating a legacy
CivilNet met with renowned duduk player, Jivan Gasparyan Jr. at the Armenian Music Society, where he spoke about the soulful nature of the ancient instrument. Visiting Armenia on the occasion of legendary duduk master Jivan Gasparyan Sr.’s 95-year Jubilee, his grandson talks about the responsibility he felt to carry on a name and an entire musical legacy. In this interview with CivilNet, we explore the emotional depth that it takes to breathe life into the duduk and why this traditional Armenian instrument resonates with so many on a global level.
-
Armenia, Azerbaijan announce prisoner exchange deal
By Mark Dovich In a rare joint statement Thursday, Armenia and Azerbaijan said they will exchange detainees for the first time in more than a year. Baku will hand over 32 Armenian prisoners of war in exchange for two Azerbaijani soldiers and Yerevan’s support for the oil-rich country’s bid to host a major United Nations climate summit next year, the statement said. Neither a timeframe nor the names of the detainees were immediately given, according to authorities in Armenia, the Azerbaijani soldiers are two conscripts who were detained in April after crossing into Armenia. Earlier this week, an appeals court […]
-
CAN ARMENIA EMERGE AS A TRANSPORT AND TRANSIT POWERHOUSE?
In this episode of the Civilnet podcast, host Patrick Elliott interviews Hovsep Patvakanyan, Head of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s Investment Council for Armenia. They discuss the council’s vision for transforming Armenia into a regional trade and logistics hub through strategic investments and support for reforms. Patvakanyan shares insights into the challenges facing Armenia as a landlocked country and how the organization plans to help overcome obstacles to unlock greater prosperity.
-
Putin’s economic war on Armenia
This week’s episode of Insights discusses three major events impacting Armenia – the recent launching of the country’s first satellite, the vulnerabilities exposed by the country’s economic dependence on Russia, and reflections on the passing of Henry Kissinger. Host Eric Hacopian analyzes the opportunities and strategic insights provided by each development, from advances in STEM fields to lessons for diversifying partnerships and balancing geopolitical influences.
-
Toward a generational handover in Armenian studies
If there is one symptom of Armenia’s military defeat in the autumn of 2020, it is unquestionably this cognitive collapse: the revelation of a deep-seated crisis in political thinking characterised by an absence of a critical sense, an inability to decipher reality, or simply to accept it. Strange as it may seem, the elites of Armenia, a country at war since its independence, have failed to develop an original military doctrine or to lay the foundations for strategic thinking capable of anticipating geopolitical changes in its direct and indirect regional environment. Historiography is still strongly influenced by a national catechism […]
-
Letter from Istanbul: Turkish Republic of Impunity
By Rober Koptaş Last month, just days after Hrant Dink’s murderer was released, leaving a significant wound in the public’s collective consciousness just sixteen years after the murder, a news story was published in the international press. According to the report, Russian President Vladimir Putin had pardoned Sergei Khadzhikurbanov, found guilty in the 2006 murder of Novaya Gazeta journalist Anna Politkovskaya, due to his involvement in fighting in Ukraine. Khadzhikurbanov, sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2014 for his role in organizing the murder of Politkovskaya, who was shot dead in the elevator of her Moscow apartment in 2006, […]
