On diaspora bonds

Every discussion of heritage concerning Armenian and every textbook of Armenian almost always starts with the alphabet and takes off from there. What is missing in discussions of the language/culture is what is at the other end of the spectrum, namely the treasure trove of Armenian proverbs and sayings. Ironically, because these are in frozen […]

Vladimir Mayakovsky Photograph of Vladimir Mayakovsky from the first edition of the Great Soviet Encyclopedia Source: Great Soviet Encyclopedia [this essay is a reprint of an originally published article in Cleveland Historical on April 17, 2023, https://clevelandhistorical.org/items/show/1001] In the fateful year of 1917, the Bolshevik Revolution shook Russia and forever changed the world. Its impact […]

  At the very outset, when the site for a monastery was granted to us, it was a kind of ruined monastery, called Saint Lazarus (San Lazzaro). There, for the sake of our dwelling for the time being, Abbot Mkhit‘ar built a number of new cells, as many as sufficed for his monks, as we […]

  Like every marathon, almost everyone hits a crisis at some point of repatriation. After years of observing hundreds of repatriation journeys as a co-founder and director of Repat Armenia – and going through one myself in 2010 from Moscow – I increasingly feel that most repatriates pass through at least three major crises. Not […]

The Armenian history and heritage of Basra, Iraq is rich and centuries old, yet it remains largely understudied and not widely documented. During their centuries-old presence in this port city in Southern Iraq, the Armenians contributed much to the city’s mercantile, trading and intellectual prosperity. Their historical presence can be compartmentalised into two historical periods: […]

When I arrived at St. John’s University to begin my PhD in history, my plan was to be a modernist. In my application, I had enthusiastically proposed to study modern perceptions of Middle Eastern women. I labored under this plan for two full academic years, all the while fulfilling my coursework requirements. One afternoon, I […]