And so, the model of patriotism that Armenians adhered to before Pashinyan came to power was supposedly shaped by the “Stalinist boot.” Naturally, a question immediately arises: before Stalin, over the centuries, did Armenians not love their homeland? Or did the Soviet leader somehow magically influence even the past—for example, figures like Vardan Mamikonian or Raffi?
But I wouldn’t underestimate the Soviet period itself either. Was the entire Soviet Armenian culture—for instance, Aram Khachaturian’s Second Symphony, for which the composer received the Stalin Prize in 1946—Stalinist in essence? Or is this symphony an unpatriotic work?
Or, to give an example from a later period, did the magazine “Garun”, where famous figures of the future Third Republic worked, propagate a Stalinist model of patriotism? Were our compatriots who went to the war for the liberation of Artsakh in 1992-94 fighting for the “Stalinist boot”?
Recently, I had the opportunity to visit the house-museum of Ashot Navasardyan—his very modest home, which was turned into a museum through the efforts of his wife and daughters. There, of course, everything speaks of the patriotism of that figure. And now the question arises: was the patriotism of him, Paruyr Hayrikyan, Azat Arshakyan, Razmik Zohrabyan, and other dissidents Soviet? Were they imprisoned for Stalinist ideas? Did they sacrifice their youth for the “boot”?
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One can arrive at such absurd “conclusions” if we listen to today’s prime minister and his ideological propagandists. This is what happens when a leader comes to power who is:
a) extremely ignorant,
b) incredibly narcissistic,
c) possesses power that is not limited in any way.
Such a leader can say: “The religion you have followed for 20 centuries is wrong,” or “The patriotism that existed was Stalinist.”
We will remember Pashinyan’s era with a heavy heart, but also… with a smile.
Aram ABRAHAMYAN
