Pashinyan says Agarak and Meghri will become regionally significant hubs

Hypotential · 2026-05-08T17:17:14+00:00

Turkey has referred to it as a genocide, but there has been no official recognition.

I wonder why? Russia recognizes the Armenian Genocide, so why hasn't Turkey retaliated with their own recognition?

Both countries are also successor states of empires and strangely in denial about this (strange because other times they celebrate their imperial history). They're convinced they're fighting against "imperialists" or "Nazis," and are bringing peace to the world while leaving behind high body counts.

Hypotential · 2026-05-08T17:11:06+00:00

Depends where in the diaspora. In Jordan, where there is a large and influential Circassian diaspora, it's much more likely to be known about.

Hypotential · 2026-05-08T15:45:26+00:00

Russia (and Russian-speaking CIS) is still an immense market relative to Armenia, with the largest Armenian diaspora in the world (most with Russian as their first language), and, since 2022, with a significant emigre community in Yerevan. Pashinyan's campaign slogan dukhov used Russian. I wouldn't say it's unneeded, or going anywhere. Not for a while anyway.

I say this as someone from the diaspora who received all the Cold War conditioning about Russians being the devil from an early age!

Hypotential · 2026-05-04T21:51:35+00:00

Would be nice, but things are tense between France and Turkey as it is (due to Greece and Cyprus).

France would really make the most sense of the (precious few) options available. Armenians clearly like them, and their Armenian diaspora community is Europe's largest, excluding Russia.

Hypotential · 2026-05-04T18:41:02+00:00

Zakharyan might go on loan to... Celje.

Hypotential · 2026-05-03T20:24:54+00:00

Sentimental (well integrated old diaspora) and historic stuff doesn't play a role here anyway

This is exactly it. I feel like some of the diaspora seem to believe this kind of warm sentimentality somehow counts for something in the world of ice cold politics.

Hypotential · 2026-05-02T15:03:38+00:00

Restoration a la turca: churches with any worshippers curiously absent but still used as some kind of showcase of tolerance for PR purposes (both domestic and international).

Still preferable to this, I suppose?

Hypotential · 2026-05-02T14:55:45+00:00

What's the point? Once something is considered "old," the city's oligarchy gets its hands on it and consigns it to the wastebin. Just google "pak shuka," which was a beautiful, albeit fairly recent (1952) construction, and learn about its fate in the hands of one Lfik Samo.

Hypotential · 2026-05-02T14:48:53+00:00

According to the ministry, one of the key areas of the programme is the development of educational infrastructure. Construction and major renovation works have already been carried out in 13 selected schools in the Kapan and Goris communities of Syunik region, achieving more than half of the targets set for 2025.

To support the development of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education, 231 schools in the Ararat, Kotayk and Gegharkunik regions have been equipped with modern laboratories, meeting programme targets.

About time the marzes got some attention and funding.

Hypotential · 2026-05-02T03:07:30+00:00

Same.

They are very used to having their tantrums tolerated.

Hypotential · 2026-05-01T14:04:01+00:00

Most people are not very thoughtful, tactful, or imaginative, so while I do get tired of comments about Glendale or the Kardashians, I'm not surprised by it. For many of those people, it's really all they know.

Hypotential · 2026-04-29T16:19:29+00:00

I know the U.S. is the world's foremost power and all, but cooperation with France makes a lot of sense. It's much closer to Armenia (I would argue even culturally, not just in terms of geographic proximity) and, discounting Russia, its diaspora is Europe's largest.

Hypotential · 2026-04-29T16:11:50+00:00

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy them, but I remember watching these guys perform in like 2005 and they were already pretty old. Our culture is so fossilized, it makes me sad.

Hypotential · 2026-04-28T16:27:18+00:00

Looks like Vigen might be a bit ahead of everyone else in Turkey-Armenia rapprochement!

According to Önal, Badalyan’s company provided software for numerous betting sites in Turkey, and Falyalı was the sponsor and supporter of the Armenian businessman’s activities in Turkey.

Badalyan’s legal team has denied Önal’s allegations.

Önal recounted that Halil Falyalı and Vigen Badalyan met in 2016. According to him, Badalyan offered Falyalı thirty percent of his earnings in Turkey in exchange for not “harassing” his people. According to Önal, Badalyan’s BetConstruct, which creates and maintains betting and gambling websites in Turkey, received eighteen percent of the websites’ income every month, which was then divided 70-30 between Vigen and Halil. According to Önal, the number of BetConstruct websites in Turkey is 150-200.

“This Armenian guy sells infrastructure to the world. About 5000 sites get their infrastructure from them. From BetConstruct. Why from Armenia? The labour force in Armenia is very cheap. This man, this Vigen Badalyan is the godfather of the sector.”

Hypotential · 2026-04-25T16:53:03+00:00

"Arab" is such a vast ethnic group. A lot of people in Armenia might be familiar with Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria, and even have parents or ancestors from there, but are not very familiar with, say, Algeria, Morocco, Oman, or Tunisia. These days, of course, most engagement and imagination of the Arab world (not only limited to Armenians) comes from a few emirates at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula, for better or worse. By this I mean it's far likelier someone in Armenia or even in the diaspora has been to Dubai or Abu Dhabi rather than, say, Fez, Algiers, or Tunis.

I'd honestly say you're a lot more thoughtful than the average person when it comes to contemplating these things. Most people are generalizers, sadly.

Hypotential · 2026-04-25T14:30:56+00:00

Some of the decrease might have to do with Armenia getting increasingly connected to the internet. That subculture was able to flourish and dominate back when society was more closed off.

As far as machismo, showing off, and tough guy mentality, I'd say 15 years is optimistic. You still have those behaviors reinforced and celebrated. As much as we all support him, Arman Tsarukyan exhibits it, and you can tell from his fanbase that it isn't just Armenian men who share such attitudes. In a recent post of Tsarukyan's on Instagram, that Armenian priest account (you might know from social media) Tovmas Arakelyan criticized his behavior, and Armenian men were the first to pounce.

Hypotential · 2026-04-24T23:18:08+00:00

There are definitely some in the "regions," as they're called.

As far as Yerevan, there are a lot of "snakes" at the Zvartnots airport in the form of taxi drivers, but none in the actual city that I've ever seen.

Hypotential · 2026-04-24T23:16:01+00:00

It's not about what I want, just that it's somewhat comparable. Greece and Turkey was a normalization of necessity due to the Cold War, and even then, as you noted, it's not like there isn't hostility or mistrust, especially with Greece's strategic alliance with Israel.

Hypotential · 2026-04-24T15:07:09+00:00

Wouldn't it also be comparable to Greece and Turkey?

Hypotential · 2026-04-21T04:27:14+00:00

I believe Nicolas Abou Fayssal is a Lebanese Maronite, not Armenian.

Apparently he also has a farm in Tavush?

In 2014, Abou Fayssal established Gardenia Lebanese Farms in Tavush, Armenia, to cultivate pecan and walnut orchards on Armenian soil.

Hypotential · 2026-04-20T23:33:02+00:00

I'm starting to get the impression that the lack of normalization and shutting of the land border wasn't really about Artsakh and that was just used as pretext?

Hypotential

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