A country as big as Belgium is surrounded by nothing but enemies

This week is a celebration for our friends Delia and Elchin, born in Baku. The flag has now risen after the Azerbaijani military this week put an end to the “Aristakh Republic” — a “mini-state” declared by Armenian rebels in the Azerbaijani-majority Nagorno-Karabakh region — a desolate, inhospitable plot of land with a small strip connected to Armenia.

For our friends Robin and Veronica Vardanyan, this week is a great tragedy. From their point of view, it is the starting signal for the ethnic cleansing of about 120,000 Armenians who, before the declaration of the Republic of Arstakh in 1991, lived as second-class citizens.

We met both couples in Moscow – a Soviet-era melting pot of all nationalities: Ukrainians, Georgians, Baltics, Kazakhs and many others – when background and ethnicity played little or no role.

But now Elchin and Rubin stand directly opposite each other. Elchin spits fire if we mention Rubin’s name. Banker Rubin renounced his Russian citizenship and returned to his native country. Until recently he was the “Prime Minister” of the Aristakh Republic. From the capital, Stepanakert, with fifty thousand people, he tried to stimulate the economy again with his own money. According to many, this was a prelude to his ultimate goal: the presidency of Armenia.

I thought it was whatever it was. The few visits I made to Yerevan filled me with great sadness. The buildings look crusty and neglected, and the residents seem constantly sullen and stressed.

Anyone who has taken the trouble to climb the many stairs leading to Victory Park, which offers a stunning view of the surroundings, will understand why. It looks like you can touch Mount Ararat in Türkiye. Azerbaijan is equally close. Two arch enemies.

No wonder Armenia felt doomed to ally with Russia. But this love has seriously declined since the invasion of Ukraine. Russia has other things on its mind, and Armenians feel more at home with the modern world than with Putin’s extremist ideology.

That is why President Pashinyan has made cautious initiatives towards the European Union. This cost the Armenians dearly. An angry Putin pointed to Baku, saying: We will not stand in your way if you want to dismantle the Republic of Arstakh.

Europe is far away when you walk around Yerevan. A country as big as Belgium is surrounded by nothing but enemies.

Dirk Sauer He is the publisher of The Moscow Times and a columnist for Het Parol. He is also the founder of the Russian newspaper Vedomosti and former publisher of RBK Gazeta.