Armenia
An Orthodox Christian country situated along the route of the Great Silk Road, Armenia has fallen within the orbit of a number of empires and come into contact with many cultural influences throughout its history. One of the earliest Christian civilisations, its first churches were founded in the fourth century. It later spent centuries largely under Turkic or Persian control and its rich cultural and architectural heritage combines elements from different traditions.
Two of Armenia’s noteworthy political issues are conflict with Turkey and with Azerbaijan. Yerevan wants the world, and particularly Turkey, to recognize that the killing by the Ottoman Empire of hundreds of thousands of Armenians between 1915 and 1917 was genocide. Turkey says that there was no genocide and that the dead were victims of World War I. The two countries have no diplomatic relations.
Armenia was incorporated into Russia in 1828; an independent Republic of Armenia was proclaimed at the end of the first world war but was short-lived, lasting only until the beginning of the 1920s when the Bolsheviks incorporated it into the Soviet Union. Soviet leaders then assigned Nagorno-Karabakh, a primarily Armenian-populated exclave, to Soviet Azerbaijan in the 1920s. Armenia and Azerbaijan began fighting over the exclave in 1988; the struggle escalated after both countries attained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Ethnic Armenians in Karabakh fought for independence, supported by troops and resources from Armenia proper. By May 1994, when a cease-fire took hold, Armenian forces held not only Nagorno-Karabakh but also a significant portion of Azerbaijan proper. The economies of both sides have been hurt by their inability to make substantial progress toward a peaceful, lasting resolution.
After the Soviet collapse in 1991, Armenia regained independence but experienced political and economic trauma. In the mid-1990s the government embarked on an economic reform program which brought greater stability and some growth. The country became a member of the Council of Europe in 2001. Armenia's widespread unemployment and economic problems are aggravated by a trade blockade, however, imposed by neighboring Turkey and Azerbaijan since the dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh.
Armenia has always experienced waves of emigration, and has a widespread diaspora, but the exodus since independence – up to a quarter of the population-- has caused real alarm.
Armenia gets most of its gas supply from Russia and, like some other former Soviet republics, faces price rises as the Russian gas giant Gazprom seeks to double what it charges. Russian gas arrives via a pipeline running through Georgia. For electricity, the country is heavily reliant on the Metsamor nuclear plant (west of Yerevan), and is even able to export a small surplus. There is concern over safety at the plant, which was closed in 1988 following a catastrophic earthquake in the area but reopened in 1995.
President Kocharyan is a former leader of the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. He became Armenian prime minister in 1997 and was elected president in 1998 on a platform of ensuring the existence of Karabakh and boosting the Armenian economy. His reelection as president in 2003 and a parliamentary vote just afterwards were followed by widespread allegations of ballot-rigging. In November 2005, a referendum on proposed constitutional amendments drew similar accusations from the opposition, although it placed some restrictions on the powers of the president while enhancing the role of parliament.
Political violence has been relatively muted in recent years. Expatriates are generally not the specific targets of terrorist attacks; minor recent terrorist incidents have been motivated by internal Armenian politics. Gunmen who stormed the Yerevan parliament in 1999, killing the prime minister and other politicians, said the plight of the Armenian people was the reason for the bloodshed.
Political demonstrations in the capital usually begin in the vicinity of the Opera House, located in downtown Yerevan. Local police normally stringently monitor and control all protests.
Travelers should avoid Azeri border zones; there have been a number of security incidents in the northwest (in the Tavoush area) and anti-personnel mines present a significant risk in the east (around Siounik). The borders with Turkey and Azerbaijan remain closed since the conflict, despite the cease-fire.
Yerevan sees seismic activity from time to time.
The main security concern for travelers to Armenia is crime (please see "Crime" below).
