When the name of Garegin Nzhdeh was in official use until 2018, it often sparked negative reactions among many. We ridiculed “Nzhdehism” not because we didn’t understand the greatness of our hero, but because his banner was often carried by people who had not only failed to read a single line of his works but had sacrificed every idea and principle for the sake of materialism. In other words, they were doing precisely what Nzhdeh fought against.
Now, as strange as it may seem, the time has come to appreciate that figure more deeply. The hypocritical promotion of patriotism has now been replaced by an entirely sincere propaganda of anti-patriotism, materialism, worship of luxury, and indifference. And it’s hard to say which is worse. The latter, however, has undoubtedly led to more catastrophic consequences.
“We overestimate foreign alignments, and there is a senseless conflict between these orientations, which is a sign of our weakness. Indecisiveness—essentially a form of weakness—accelerates and strengthens the enemy’s attacks. All the factors that make our people’s future hopeless and endangered are present. To put it mildly, a situation has been created that threatens our people with destruction,” he rightly remarked.
His description of our situation is strikingly accurate, even more than a century later. It’s certainly a pessimistic assessment. Yet Nzhde spoke with anguish about the flaws and weaknesses of our nation, hoping that we would recognize them and straighten our backs.
Read also
Today’s government, however, presents these flaws as virtues, encourages them, deepens them, and ruthlessly exploits them—naturally, to keep their grip on power.
Aram Abrahamyan
