BBC Homepage BBC World Services BBC Sport BBC Education MY BBC Russia Estonia Latvia Lithuania Belarus Ukraine Moldova Georgia Armenia Azerbaijan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan Tajikistan Kyrgyzstan Kazakhstan
bbc.co.uk
Home
TV
Radio
Talk
Where I Live
A-Z Index
Front Page | World | Europe | In depth
Photo file Special features How life has changed Countdown to collapse Introduction Russian Version
Collapse of the USSR Countdown to collapse How life has changed Gorbachev webcast Photo file

ARMENIA

Independence date: 23 September 1991

Population: 3.5 million

Capital: Yerevan

President: Robert Kocharian (since 30 March 1998)

 Country profile
 Timeline
VIEWPOINTS

I lost my country in which law prevailed, education was free, and work was guaranteed. Relations between people were much more humane. Ten years ago I didn’t think that Armenia’s independence would lead to so many problems and privations. I have two children. I have to pay for their study. My salary is nowhere near enough to feed the family, let alone pay college fees. So I’m constantly in debt, and have to think up alternative sources of income. All anyone talks about now is how to earn money or leave for the West.

Hamlet Amiragan, pharmacist


When the Soviet Union ceased to exist, borders appeared between the former republics. I could no longer sell my produce across the border, as customs duties were too expensive, so I became unemployed. My wife and daughter emigrated to the US. I occasionally speak to my daughter on the phone. They say she has become quite grown up. I don’t have enough money to go to the US myself, and probably wouldn’t get a visa anyway. What can I do? Continue to sell grilled chicken to survive, or abandon everything and leave? But where would I go?<

Garik Martirosan, small businessman


From the outside my life seems fine. I had a more or less stable job. And today I’m not unemployed. But if tomorrow my boss were to leave, he’d “ask” me to go too. I’m an economist by training, but haven’t used my profession for a long time, as it’s no longer needed. Young people today look at life very pragmatically: they want to study less and earn more. And many of them grow up to be mean and self-satisfied.

Armen Govorgan

Introduction 4. Lithuania 8. Georgia 12. Uzbekistan
1. Russia 5. Belarus 9. Armenia 13. Tajikistan
2. Estonia 6. Ukraine 10. Azerbaijan 14. Kyrgyzstan
3. Latvia 7. Moldova 11. Turkmenistan 15. Kazakhstan


Armenian refugees in Azerbaijan, 1992
The conflict with Azerbaijan created thousands of refugees

The collapse of the USSR lifted the lid on a simmering ethnic conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

In the first three years of independence, 25,000 people were killed in fighting over the mountainous enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh – a mainly Armenian-populated region in Azerbaijan. Armenia’s economy virtually ground to a halt as a result of the conflict.

The United Nations has classified up to 80% of the population as poor or very poor, and about a fifth of the population has emigrated in search of a better life.

The country has also lived through political upheaval. Prime Minister Vazgen Sarkisian and several other politicians were shot dead by gunmen, apparently driven by desperation at the plight of the Armenian people, in October 1999.
^^ Back to Top
 © MMV | News Sources | Privacy