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Armenia Now, Armenia
September 3, 2005
Baltic "yans": A visit with the Armenians of Latvia
By Suren Musayelyan
ArmeniaNow reporter
Editor's Note: Staff writer Suren Musayelyan recently visited relatives
in Latvia, where he found a small, but vibrant community of Armenians
. . .
"Ani", "Ararat", "Artsakh", "Erebuni", "Kert", the names of Armenian
landmarks might be expected on restaurants in the popular Diaspora
regions such as Glendale, Tehran, Montreal . . . But Riga?
(Latvia is situated in Northern Europe and is one of the three Baltic
states along with Estonia and Lithuania that were occupied by the
Soviet Union in 1940. Latvia regained its independence in 1991. It
has a population of about 2,300,000. The largest national minority
is Russians, about 28 percent).
With an Armenian population of about 2,500 in Riga (3,000 in the
entire country), the capital of Latvia is home to about two dozen
Armenian restaurants - approximately 1 for each 100 Latvian-Armenians.
According to one of the elders of the community, Karlos Shekoyan,
this detail only stresses that "the Armenian community, although not
very large, is very diverse."
The Armenian community is represented by a khachkar in Riga.
The 84-year-old, a well-known tamada (toast-master) among the Latvian
Armenians, who was brought to Riga by his fate in 1949, says that
the members of the community try to rally around the church.
"We all have families: children, grandchildren, but it is the meetings
in the church that are spiritual communication for us, bringing us
closer to our historical homeland," says Shekoyan.
The religious organization of the Armenian Apostolic Church called
St. Gregory the Illuminator Church appeared in Riga in 1993. And the
construction of the church began in late 1997 (the church is situated
in 6 Kayusalas Street). Construction is not complete yet, but services
are already being held. The church is being built exclusively on the
donations of the parishioners.
Father Markos (lay name - Hrachya Hovhannisyan) also emphasizes the
role of the church in the life of the community thousands of miles
away from their historical homeland.
"The Church is the core of our unity. It is heroism for such a
small community like ours to purchase such a large territory for
the construction of a church," says Archimandrite Markos, who came
to Riga in November 2002 and was appointed prior of the St. Gregory
the Illuminator Church.
According to Fr. Markos, Armenians in Latvia can be found in
practically all spheres of activities, but there are especially many
Armenians engaged in arts and culture.
According to him, there were Armenians in Latvia before the
sovietization of the republic in 1940, but they were very few and
disorganized. Armenians, who now live in Latvia, mostly came to this
Baltic state during the Soviet times, after 1946.
The first public organization - Latvian-Armenian Cultural Society -
was founded here in 1988.
The Armenian community of Riga was established on the basis of the
Latvian-Armenian Cultural Society in 2001. This community is a member
of the "Commonwealth" union of public organizations of Latvia's
national minorities and receives financing from the state.
Its chairman Artur Isakhanov has lived in Riga since 1979. He says
that the community faces lots of challenges in trying to preserve
their identity, including differences within the community itself.
But he says what they have actually achieved inspires him with optimism
for the future.
"It is for the first time in 50 years that only our community here
in the Baltic states has managed to purchase land and build a church
there. It happens very rarely in these parts, practically never,"
says Isakhanov. "We have already got permission for the privatization
of the land and soon this land will belong to Holy Etchmiadzin."
The church in Riga is the first Armenian church to have been built in
the Baltic States (which include churches in neighboring Lithuania
and Estonia, which, however, unlike the one in Riga were not built
like Armenian churches but were converted into them).
Isakhanov says that it is important for them to see the community
centered around the church. The local Armenians also plan to build
a cultural center and a school near the church.
The Armenian community in Latvia tries to keep abreast with their
compatriots in other Diaspora communities across the world. They
now have their own newspaper, "Ararat" (printed in 2,500 copies),
close ties with the Armenian communities of neighboring Estonia
and Lithuania and participate in many international pan-Armenian
conferences and forums.
According to Isakhanov, there is an Armenian lobby in the Latvian
Parliament and among the Armenian lobbyists are even extreme right-wing
deputies, such as Chairwoman of the Seim (the Latvian Parliament),
Ingrida Udre.
In spring, when Armenians across the world commemorated the 90th
anniversary of the Genocide, the Armenian community in Latvia arranged
a whole series of events, including an exhibition on the Genocide at
the Seim of Latvia.
Even though the Armenian lobby failed to push a declaration on the
genocide through the Latvian legislature this spring (only 15 of
the 100 deputies supported it, including 11 rightist (Latvians) and
four leftists (Russians)), they are determined to initiate the same
declaration next year. Isakhanov says they will continue to work in
this direction in the future.
"The president of Latvia recently met with our ambassador and said to
him: 'Perhaps you shouldn't remember the past, but should look into
the future,' to which he replied: 'Then why don't you want to forget
your problems with Russia in the past?'" says Isakhanov, calling it
a policy of double standards.
There is a khachkar in the very center of Riga, placed by the
Armenian community in 1989 in memory of the victims of the massacres
of Armenians and the earthquake in Spitak. In 2001, on the occasion
of the 1700th anniversary of Armenia's conversion to Christianity,
the khachkar was reconstructed and re-consecrated.
Armenians in Latvia, whether they have a citizen's passport or don't,
mostly come together at church meetings and other events organized
by the community.
Anahit Sargsyan recently celebrated her 80th birthday with her
compatriots in the church yard. Originally from Tbilisi, Georgia,
Anahit has lived in Latvia since 1953.
"All my friends here are already dead. I have made new friends here
in the community, which is a family for me. I feel very sad when I
miss a single Sunday church service," she says.
Preservation of language is another challenge, especially for the
younger generation of Armenians in Latvia.
Tigran Bogoyan, 29, was born and raised in Riga. A graduate of
the Department of Economy at the Latvian University, Tigran runs
an accounting firm. He says he often goes to Yerevan where he has
relatives. He speaks Armenian a little.
"I try to speak Armenian with anyone who speaks Armenian. Although
I was born and lived all my life in Latvia, I feel more at home in
Armenia," says Tigran.
There is a Sunday school in Riga available to Armenians who want to
learn the language. The school was established in 1989, but according
to Isakhanov, this school needs more attention both in terms of
financing and interest towards it among the members of the community.
Headmistress of Riga's Armenian Sunday School Elza Mirzoyan says that
besides the Armenian language they also Armenian history and culture.
But she says they have fewer children attending the school than they
would like to see.
"The Armenian language is spoken less and less by children. Their
parents speak the language, but the children do not. Unfortunately,
this tendency is observed throughout the Diaspora," says Mirzoyan.
The Armenian boys and girls attending the school also participate in
various school competitions among Latvia's national minorities and
their headmistress says that performing under the Armenian tricolor
they feel that their ancient historical homeland is behind them.
"I am sure that our children will grow to become real patriots of
the Armenian nation," Mirzoyan concludes.
http://armenianow.com/?action=viewArticle&AID=1046&CID=1239& IID=1040&lng=eng
From: Baghdasarian
September 3, 2005
Baltic "yans": A visit with the Armenians of Latvia
By Suren Musayelyan
ArmeniaNow reporter
Editor's Note: Staff writer Suren Musayelyan recently visited relatives
in Latvia, where he found a small, but vibrant community of Armenians
. . .
"Ani", "Ararat", "Artsakh", "Erebuni", "Kert", the names of Armenian
landmarks might be expected on restaurants in the popular Diaspora
regions such as Glendale, Tehran, Montreal . . . But Riga?
(Latvia is situated in Northern Europe and is one of the three Baltic
states along with Estonia and Lithuania that were occupied by the
Soviet Union in 1940. Latvia regained its independence in 1991. It
has a population of about 2,300,000. The largest national minority
is Russians, about 28 percent).
With an Armenian population of about 2,500 in Riga (3,000 in the
entire country), the capital of Latvia is home to about two dozen
Armenian restaurants - approximately 1 for each 100 Latvian-Armenians.
According to one of the elders of the community, Karlos Shekoyan,
this detail only stresses that "the Armenian community, although not
very large, is very diverse."
The Armenian community is represented by a khachkar in Riga.
The 84-year-old, a well-known tamada (toast-master) among the Latvian
Armenians, who was brought to Riga by his fate in 1949, says that
the members of the community try to rally around the church.
"We all have families: children, grandchildren, but it is the meetings
in the church that are spiritual communication for us, bringing us
closer to our historical homeland," says Shekoyan.
The religious organization of the Armenian Apostolic Church called
St. Gregory the Illuminator Church appeared in Riga in 1993. And the
construction of the church began in late 1997 (the church is situated
in 6 Kayusalas Street). Construction is not complete yet, but services
are already being held. The church is being built exclusively on the
donations of the parishioners.
Father Markos (lay name - Hrachya Hovhannisyan) also emphasizes the
role of the church in the life of the community thousands of miles
away from their historical homeland.
"The Church is the core of our unity. It is heroism for such a
small community like ours to purchase such a large territory for
the construction of a church," says Archimandrite Markos, who came
to Riga in November 2002 and was appointed prior of the St. Gregory
the Illuminator Church.
According to Fr. Markos, Armenians in Latvia can be found in
practically all spheres of activities, but there are especially many
Armenians engaged in arts and culture.
According to him, there were Armenians in Latvia before the
sovietization of the republic in 1940, but they were very few and
disorganized. Armenians, who now live in Latvia, mostly came to this
Baltic state during the Soviet times, after 1946.
The first public organization - Latvian-Armenian Cultural Society -
was founded here in 1988.
The Armenian community of Riga was established on the basis of the
Latvian-Armenian Cultural Society in 2001. This community is a member
of the "Commonwealth" union of public organizations of Latvia's
national minorities and receives financing from the state.
Its chairman Artur Isakhanov has lived in Riga since 1979. He says
that the community faces lots of challenges in trying to preserve
their identity, including differences within the community itself.
But he says what they have actually achieved inspires him with optimism
for the future.
"It is for the first time in 50 years that only our community here
in the Baltic states has managed to purchase land and build a church
there. It happens very rarely in these parts, practically never,"
says Isakhanov. "We have already got permission for the privatization
of the land and soon this land will belong to Holy Etchmiadzin."
The church in Riga is the first Armenian church to have been built in
the Baltic States (which include churches in neighboring Lithuania
and Estonia, which, however, unlike the one in Riga were not built
like Armenian churches but were converted into them).
Isakhanov says that it is important for them to see the community
centered around the church. The local Armenians also plan to build
a cultural center and a school near the church.
The Armenian community in Latvia tries to keep abreast with their
compatriots in other Diaspora communities across the world. They
now have their own newspaper, "Ararat" (printed in 2,500 copies),
close ties with the Armenian communities of neighboring Estonia
and Lithuania and participate in many international pan-Armenian
conferences and forums.
According to Isakhanov, there is an Armenian lobby in the Latvian
Parliament and among the Armenian lobbyists are even extreme right-wing
deputies, such as Chairwoman of the Seim (the Latvian Parliament),
Ingrida Udre.
In spring, when Armenians across the world commemorated the 90th
anniversary of the Genocide, the Armenian community in Latvia arranged
a whole series of events, including an exhibition on the Genocide at
the Seim of Latvia.
Even though the Armenian lobby failed to push a declaration on the
genocide through the Latvian legislature this spring (only 15 of
the 100 deputies supported it, including 11 rightist (Latvians) and
four leftists (Russians)), they are determined to initiate the same
declaration next year. Isakhanov says they will continue to work in
this direction in the future.
"The president of Latvia recently met with our ambassador and said to
him: 'Perhaps you shouldn't remember the past, but should look into
the future,' to which he replied: 'Then why don't you want to forget
your problems with Russia in the past?'" says Isakhanov, calling it
a policy of double standards.
There is a khachkar in the very center of Riga, placed by the
Armenian community in 1989 in memory of the victims of the massacres
of Armenians and the earthquake in Spitak. In 2001, on the occasion
of the 1700th anniversary of Armenia's conversion to Christianity,
the khachkar was reconstructed and re-consecrated.
Armenians in Latvia, whether they have a citizen's passport or don't,
mostly come together at church meetings and other events organized
by the community.
Anahit Sargsyan recently celebrated her 80th birthday with her
compatriots in the church yard. Originally from Tbilisi, Georgia,
Anahit has lived in Latvia since 1953.
"All my friends here are already dead. I have made new friends here
in the community, which is a family for me. I feel very sad when I
miss a single Sunday church service," she says.
Preservation of language is another challenge, especially for the
younger generation of Armenians in Latvia.
Tigran Bogoyan, 29, was born and raised in Riga. A graduate of
the Department of Economy at the Latvian University, Tigran runs
an accounting firm. He says he often goes to Yerevan where he has
relatives. He speaks Armenian a little.
"I try to speak Armenian with anyone who speaks Armenian. Although
I was born and lived all my life in Latvia, I feel more at home in
Armenia," says Tigran.
There is a Sunday school in Riga available to Armenians who want to
learn the language. The school was established in 1989, but according
to Isakhanov, this school needs more attention both in terms of
financing and interest towards it among the members of the community.
Headmistress of Riga's Armenian Sunday School Elza Mirzoyan says that
besides the Armenian language they also Armenian history and culture.
But she says they have fewer children attending the school than they
would like to see.
"The Armenian language is spoken less and less by children. Their
parents speak the language, but the children do not. Unfortunately,
this tendency is observed throughout the Diaspora," says Mirzoyan.
The Armenian boys and girls attending the school also participate in
various school competitions among Latvia's national minorities and
their headmistress says that performing under the Armenian tricolor
they feel that their ancient historical homeland is behind them.
"I am sure that our children will grow to become real patriots of
the Armenian nation," Mirzoyan concludes.
http://armenianow.com/?action=viewArticle&AID=1046&CID=1239& IID=1040&lng=eng
From: Baghdasarian