The judgments of Bidzina Ivanishvili, the leader of the opposition that won the election in Georgia, that Georgians are connected with their land and Armenians are not, because they prefer to live in Georgia and not in Armenia just don’t hold water (the subsequent denials basically don’t change the essence of that claim). Firstly, for the majority of Armenians living in the neighboring republic, Georgia is their fatherland – a few generations of those people have lived in Georgia, by the way, playing an important role in Georgia’s economic and cultural life. Secondly, the numbers of emigrants from Georgia and Armenia in the past 20 years are comparable and judging from those huge numbers, one can draw a conclusion that both of our peoples equally grasp at their homeland. A person having a certain educational and mental qualification would understand that and would think a bit before “comparing nations.” Let us assert that neither Ivanishvili, nor Saakashvili is Spinoza, but regardless of who will be the head of Georgia in the upcoming years, that country has achieved considerable progress in certain areas with the active support of the West, especially the US, and individuals are not so important here.
However, this banal mentality, according to which there are some characteristics, which are inherent in the given nation, is spread not only in Armenia and Georgia, but also in many other countries, which haven’t reached a certain level of civilization. For example, when we say about ourselves that Armenians are not diligent, are fraudulent, it is ridiculous. In a certain social environment, under certain social circumstances, our compatriots show quite opposite traits. Certainly, it is also wrong to attribute a certain positive characteristic to the whole nation, for example, “cultural nation” or “hard-working nation.” Once we look at the “partying” garbage piled around our historical monuments, we will give up on this self-praise. However, I am convinced that in Germany or in Sweden, the majority of Armenians don’t show such an attitude. The same applies to the other nations – what is usually said in everyday life say about Turks is nothing more than an empty stereotype restraining one’s thinking. Nations, as well as individuals, act differently depending on what cultural environment they are in.
Mikhail Glinka, the founder of the Russian classical music, spent the most of his adult life in Europe. The vices of the Russian Empire, which we are aware of, were unbearable for the artist. When the composer left Russia for the last time in 1856, he angrily spat toward the fatherland on the border (he died in Berlin a year after). I will not venture to say that Glinka was not connected with Russian soil.
ARAM ABRAHAMYAN
