Analytical Bulletin

Stephen Badalyan Riegg, Russia's Entangled Embrace. The Tsarist Empire and the Armenians, 1801–1914, Cornell University Press, Ithaca, 2020. xiv + 314 pp. $48.95 (Hardcover)

Gevorg Avetikyan — 2024-06-28

The review of Russia's Entangled Embrace. The Tsarist Empire and the Armenians, 1801–1914, Cornell University Press, Ithaca, 2020. xiv + 314 pp. $48.95 (Hardcover) by Stephen Badalyan Riegg

Destruction of Cultural Heritage and Forced Displacement of Artsakh Armenians as Crimes Against Humanity

Armine Tigranyan — 2024-06-30

The article analyzes the actions of occupation of the territory of the Republic of Artsakh by Azerbaijan following the 44-day war and the ongoing destruction of cultural heritage within the context of grave crimes against humanity (genocide, ethnic cleansing, torture, aggression, war crimes). It examines them under the clauses of the Rome Statute and other international regulations regarding the protection of cultural heritage in times of war and in occupied territories. Additionally, it identifies the grounds according to which the destruction of the cultural heritage of the people of Artsakh can serve as a basis and evidence of the "violent" aspect of the displacement of Artsakh Armenians. The article presents the processes of destruction of Artsakh's tangible and intangible heritage or suspension of cultural practices as examples of violations of the fundamental right to culture of Artsakh Armenians and serious crimes against humanity.
The paper attempts to link the policy processes of destroying the cultural heritage of Artsakh, implemented at the state level by Azerbaijani authorities, with the actions of forced displacement, considering them as mechanisms for the implementation of a unified anti-Armenian policy within the framework of the broad concept of cultural heritage.
As a result of the study conducted, having analyzed the clauses of the Rome Statute and a number of international treaties regarding displacement and destruction of heritage, as well as the ongoing destruction of cultural heritage of Artsakh by Azerbaijan, we can claim that systematic destruction of the values of both tangible and intangible heritage of Artsakh and the elements of identity related thereto, as well as the processes of forced displacement of a part of Artsakh Armenians following the 44-day war, creating an atmosphere of threat and total distrust, are grave crimes against humanity (including genocide, ethnic cleansing, torture, acts of aggression, war crimes, and actions humiliating human dignity) and factors contributing to the total depopulation of Artsakh Armenians. The overarching goal of the policy of systematic destruction of Artsakh's cultural heritage by Azerbaijan was not only the conquest of the territory but also the change of the ethnic composition of the territory and the expulsion of the people of Artsakh from their homeland.
Moreover, we can claim that under the Rome Statute and other international regulations, the destruction of the cultural heritage of the people of Artsakh can serve as a basis and evidence of the "violent" aspect of displacement of Artsakh Armenians. The right to culture of Artsakh Armenians, including the right to communicate, enjoy, and pass on the heritage to the generations, was undermined by the forced displacement and destruction of the cultural heritage.
Taking into consideration the significance of cultural heritage in terms of collectivity as well, the great role it played in ensuring the identity and social unity of Artsakh Armenians and their loss as a result of displacement, we can affirm that as a result of the processes mentioned, Artsakh Armenians were deprived of their natural right to recreate and ensure the continuity of their identity.

Re-Examining Evil

Marine Khachatryan — 2024-06-30

Where man-made reprehensible deeds are concerned, the term evil seems too outdated and pathetic for scholarly circulation nowadays. The article explores evil not abstractly but by penetrating three fields: jurisprudence, religion, and art. Through the ideas of “crime”, “sin”, and “myth,” it penetrates the legal, moral, and artistic domains. With the Armenian Genocide of 1915 in mind, the research project examines the possibility of 1) legal redemption for irreversible loss and damage, 2) historicization of sin, and 3) historical trauma. Thus, an attempt is made to “diagnose” the state of the next generations of Genocide survivors. The study emphasizes that despite the unjustifiability of the genocide, the current Armenian generation's unbearable burden of condemnation should be lightened for public healing.

Cultural Adaptation as the Basis of a Civilizational System

David Hovhannisyan — 2024-06-11

The article discusses the concepts of "civilization" and "culture" and addresses several fundamental questions related to them. It attempts to analyze the transformation in the understanding of the concept of "freedom" amidst the changes in civilizational systems and the development of cultural systems. Civilization is interpreted as a unity of rules and institutions, while culture is seen as the freedom constrained by these rules and institutions. The article also touches on the necessity for Armenians to adapt to the emerging new civilizational system and proposes the idea of a "network state" as the best solution for this adaptation.

When Faith Becomes a Political Weapon

Flora Ghazaryan — 2024-06-28

While Armenian communities of early modern Istanbul were preoccupied with confessionalization and confessional strives, in the early nineteenth century these already established sects moved to a power struggle against one another for more hierarchical and influential position within the Ottoman State. Confessional disputes continued but they became means to instigate conflict between communities.

On an individual level, for wealthy Istanbul Armenians, religious belonging or position within a certain group became a weapon to either ensure a position and political power or take that position and/or political power from someone else.

The first part of this article is an analysis of confessionalization and sectarianism paradigms. The second part of this research attempts to demonstrate the shift from confessionalization to sectarianism within Istanbul’s Armenian communities, as well as the rise of new sectarian identities that went in parallel with the national identity building and influenced it.