A few years ago, I asked a question: What makes worshiping Biden better than worshiping Putin? One of my younger colleagues replied that the difference is simple—Putin leads to dictatorship and colonization, while Biden leads to freedom and development.
There is nothing unusual about that perspective; I probably would have agreed with it ten years ago. But over the years, I have come to realize that no one leads anyone anywhere. Every nation follows its own path, with temporary allies appearing along the way. And if the years 2020–2023 have taught us anything, it’s just how temporary those allies really are. We have experienced this firsthand, and now Ukrainians are learning it too.
Can we say that Russia was “leading” us somewhere, just as the U.S. is supposedly leading Ukraine? No. We were leading ourselves.
Do We Need Landmarks?
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When it comes to values, yes—landmarks are essential. For example, I want Armenia to be a republic. But in reality, Armenia was a monarchy before, and it remains one today. (Many mistakenly assume that monarchy exists only when power is passed down by inheritance. That is not always the case. History has seen elected monarchs as well. A monarchy is, at its core, rule by one person—and that is exactly what we are dealing with in Armenia today.)
But there are no clear landmarks in the form of specific countries or regions to follow. In the 1999 Russian State Duma elections, the Alliance of Right Forces ran with the slogan: “Do you want to live like in Europe? Then vote for us.” That left just one question—what exactly does “like in Europe” mean? After all, European countries vary drastically.
Many in Armenia also hold an idea of an “ideal” country in their minds. Naturally, their list is usually limited to Western European countries or the United States. But I’ve never heard anyone say, “I want to live like in Singapore, Qatar, the UAE, or Brunei,” despite their wealth.
And what does it really mean to say, “I want to live like in the United States”? Does it mean having a president like Trump? Or perhaps, to avoid the next great global catastrophe, we should aim to live “like in New Zealand”?
I don’t know about others, but that idea does not interest me in the slightest. In Armenia, it is possible to live only as Armenians—with our flaws, our strengths, and our burdens.
If you like, with our cross.
Aram ABRAHAMYAN
