Lately, I remember Rafael Ishkhanyan rather frequently. The reason probably is that Armenia (let’s be honest with ourselves) is in real danger of losing sovereignty, whereas our government, the opposition, and the public seems to have been put up with such a scenario and in this responsible period they are trying to “steal away their share.” The political forces, making quite loud noise, are fighting not to get power in Armenia rather than whom Putin would appoint a governor of Armenia. I remember Ishkhanyan because our citizens and compatriots that upholders of this Putin’s program are posting on our website and Facebook in Russian (in fact, often very illiterate), or, which is more unpleasant, in Armenian with Russian transliteration, which required great efforts to understanding it. It is not a purely technical problem, if you want to know this is an emotional state of being.
When in early 89-90, Professor Ishkhanyan was urging to speak and write in Armenian, to translate Russian-used terms as much as possible, I was rebelling against it, and was considering it as an unnecessary chicanery and even violence against the will of the people. However, now I feel that thinking and expressing in the state language is the basis with which a person feels a citizen of the state and not a representative of the suburbs of other state. Is it a coincidence that the Armenians possessing extreme nationalistic notions are expressing these ideas in a foreign language? The contradiction here is purely illusory. The Armenian nationalism, at least beginning with the second half of the 19th century, is based on the notion that Russia and the Russian army is the only force, which caring about us, will liberate our lands for us, and protect us from the Turkish ethnos. You may ask why it is called “nationalism”. I do not have the answer to that question. I can’t also tell how one can dislike Mesrop-invented letters, the native language and be a nationalist.
True nationalism, in my opinion, is your language, your identity, your economy, your army, protecting your sovereign state. People praise Putin in Russian, the Russian policy in Ukraine, and cause an offence to the Ukrainian nation, and when you express a disagreement with them, you are called a “fifth column”. Apparently, America or Europe. Although, it seems to me, that they are neither good nor bad from Russia: they are power centers with their own interests. I do not consider my countrymen protecting and advocating the interests of Russia the “fifth column” of this country, they are just carriers of our traditional political thinking.
In 88-90s, I had the impression that the seeds of new thinking were just in the process of formation, also thanks to the intellectuals, such as Rafael Ishkhanyan. Then, in the mid-90s, probably for preserving the results of the war, our leaders backed off before “zoribalayanism”.
Read also
In the near future, serious challenges are still ahead pertaining to “Custom” and “Eurasian” matters. The Armenian language will be one of the most important components of resistance.
Aram ABRAHAMYAN
