Background Notes: Armenia

After the destruction of the Seleucid Empire, the first Armenian state was founded in 190 BC. At its zenith, from 95 to 55 BC, Armenia extended its rule over the area of what is now eastern Turkey. For a time, Armenia was the strongest state in the Roman East. It became part of the Roman Empire and adopted a Western political, philosophical, and religious orientation.

In 301 AD, Armenia became the first nation to adopt Christianity as a state religion, establishing in the 6th century a church that still exists independently of both the Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox churches. During its later political eclipses, Armenia depended on the church to preserve and protect its unique identity.

Between the 4th and 19th centuries, Armenia was conquered and ruled by, among others, Persians, Byzantines, Arabs, Mongols, and Turks. For a brief period from 1918 to 1920, it was an independent republic. In late 1920, the communists came to power, and in 1922, Armenia became part of the Trans-Caucasian Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1936, it became the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic. Armenia declared its independence from the Soviet Union on September 23, 1991.


Armenians voted overwhelmingly for independence in a September 1991 referendum, followed by a presidential election in October 1991 that gave 83% of the vote to Levon Ter-Petrossian. Ter-Petrossian had been elected head of government in 1990, when the Armenian National Movement defeated the Communist Party. The next presidential elections are slated for the fall of 1996.

The government is dominated by the anti-communist, nationalist Armenian National Movement, which is the largest party in the parliament. Opposition parties exist but have limited support. In November 1990, the Armenian Communist Party declared itself independent. In 1991, after the August coup in Moscow, a large group of party members split from the Armenian Communist Party and formed a separate Democratic Party.

The Government of Armenia's stated aim is to build a Western-style parliamentary democracy as the basis of its form of government. However, international observers questioned the inherent fairness of the parliamentary elections and constitutional referendum conducted in July 1995, citing polling deficiencies, lack of cooperation by the electoral commission, and the failure to register opposition parties and candidates. Observers noted, though, that several opposition parties and candidates were able to mount credible campaigns and proper polling procedures were generally followed. The new constitution greatly expands the powers of the executive branch and gives it much more influence over the judiciary and municipal officials.

The observance of human rights in Armenia is uneven and was marked by serious shortcomings in 1995. Police brutality goes largely unreported, while observers note that defendants are often beaten to extract confessions and are denied visits from relatives and lawyers. Public demonstrations usually take place without government interference, though one rally in June 1995 by opposition parties was broken up by paramilitary troops. Freedom of religion is not protected under existing law. Non-apostolic churches have been subjected to harassment, sometimes violently. Non-apostolic churches must register with the government, and proselytizing is forbidden by law. Most of Armenia's ethnic Azeri population was deported in 1988-89 and remain refugees, largely in Azerbaijan. Armenia's record on discrimination toward the few remaining national minorities is generally good. The government does not restrict internal or international travel. Although freedom of the press and speech are guaranteed, the government maintains its monopoly over television and radio broadcasting.


President--Levon Ter-Petrossian Prime Minister--Hrant Bagratyan Foreign Minister--Vahan Papazyan Ambassador to the U.S.--Ruben Shugarian Ambassador to the UN--Aleksandr Arzoumanian

Armenia's embassy in the U.S. is at 2225 R Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20008; tel: 202-319-1976 or 202-319-2983; fax: 202-319-2984.


Armenia is the second most densely populated of the former Soviet republics. It is a landlocked country between the Black and the Caspian Seas, bordered on the north and east by Georgia and Azerbaijan and on the south and west by Iran and Turkey. Armenia's economy has been based largely on industry--chemicals, electronic products, machinery, processed food, synthetic rubber, and textiles--and highly dependent on outside resources. Agriculture accounted for only 20% of net material product and 10% of employment before the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. Armenian mines produce copper, zinc, gold, and lead. About 95% of energy is imported; the main domestic energy source is hydroelectric. Small amounts of gas and petroleum could be developed.

Like other New Independent States, Armenia's economy suffers from the legacy of a centrally planned economy and the breakdown of former Soviet trading patterns. In addition, the effects of the 1988 earthquake, which killed more than 25,000 people and made 500,000 homeless, are still being felt. Finally, the ongoing conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh has led to a blockade which has devastated the economy because of Armenia's dependence on outside supplies of energy and most raw materials. Land routes through Azerbaijan and Turkey are closed; routes through Georgia and Iran are inadequate or unreliable. In 1992-93, GDP fell nearly 60% from its 1989 level.

Nevertheless, the Government of Armenia, helped by the cease-fire that has been in effect in Nagorno-Karabakh since 1994, has been able to carry out wide-ranging economic reforms which paid off in dramatically lower inflation. Armenia also registered strong economic growth in 1995, building on the turnaround that began the previous year.

In December 1994, the IMF approved the first tranche of a systemic transformation facility to support Armenia's macroeconomic reform program. As part of the program, the government pledged to strengthen its macroeconomic management (including increasing revenue collection), move toward full price liberalization, eliminate most exchange and trade restrictions, and accelerate the privatization process.

Privatization in agriculture has gone furthest. About 87% of farm land has been distributed, and the sale of land has been permitted since February 1994. Privatization in other areas of the economy is moving more slowly. Distribution of privatization vouchers began in October 1994; the government accelerated the pace of small-scale privatization and began to convert larger enterprises to joint stock companies as a first step toward full privatization. More than half of the housing stock has been privatized. Most prices have now been completely liberalized.

A liberal foreign investment law was approved in June 1994. A national currency, the dram, was introduced in late November 1993 and was very stable in 1995.


Armenia is a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, NATO's Partnership for Peace, the North Atlantic Cooperation Council, the International Monetary Fund, and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Nagorno-Karabakh

In 1988, the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, a predominantly ethnic Armenian enclave within Azerbaijan, voted to secede and join Armenia. This eventually developed into a full-scale armed conflict. Armenian support for the separatists led to an economic embargo by Azerbaijan, which has crippled Armenia's foreign trade and restricted its imports of food and fuel, three-quarters of which transited Azerbaijan under Soviet rule.

Peace talks in early 1993 were disrupted by the seizure of Azerbaijan's Kelbajar district by Nagorno-Karabakh Armenian forces and the forced evacuation of thousands of ethnic Azeris. Turkey in protest then followed with an embargo of its own against Armenia. President Ter- Petrossian has thus far resisted domestic pressure to recognize the self- proclaimed independence of the "Nagorno-Karabakh Republic." Some 750,000 ethnic Azeris who fled during the Karabakhi offensives still live as internally displaced persons in Azerbaijan, while roughly 400,000 ethnic Armenians who fled Azerbaijan since 1988 remain refugees.

Negotiations to peacefully resolve the conflict have been ongoing since 1992 under the aegis of the Minsk Group of the OSCE. The Minsk Group is currently co-chaired by Finland and Russia and comprises Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, the U.S., several Western European nations, and representatives of the Armenian and Azeri communities of Nagorno-Karabakh. The talks have focused on the status of Nagorno- Karabakh, the return of refugees, the lifting of blockades, the withdrawal from occupied territories, and the status of the Lachin corridor, which connects Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia.

Karabakhi Armenians, supported by the Republic of Armenia, now hold about one-fifth of Azerbaijan and have refused to withdraw from occupied territories until an agreement on the status of Nagorno- Karabakh is reached. Armenia and Azerbaijan continue to observe the cease-fire which has been in effect since May 1994, and in late 1995 both also agreed to OSCE field representatives based in Tbilisi, Georgia to help facilitate the peace process. The United States has supported OSCE efforts to work toward deploying a multinational peacekeeping operation for the region as part of a broader political settlement.


The dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991 brought an end to the Cold War and created the opportunity to build bilateral relations with the New Independent States (NIS) as they began a political and economic transformation. The U.S. recognized the independence of Armenia on December 25, 1991, and opened an embassy in Yerevan in February 1992.

The United States has made a concerted effort to help Armenia and the other NIS during their difficult transition from totalitarianism and a command economy to democracy and open markets. The cornerstone of this continuing partnership has been the Freedom for Russia and Emerging Eurasian Democracies and Open Markets (FREEDOM) Support Act, enacted in October 1992, under which the U.S. to date has provided nearly $500 million in humanitarian and technical assistance for Armenia.

In addition, the U.S. has played a leading role in the Minsk Group, which was created in 1992 by the Conference of Security and Cooperation in Europe--now the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)--to encourage a peaceful, negotiated resolution to the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. That conflict has cost several thousand lives, created nearly one million refugees and displaced persons, and caused economic hardships for Armenia.


Principal U.S. Embassy Officials

Ambassador--Peter Tomsen Deputy Chief of Mission--Louis Licht Political Officer--Susan Thornton Economic Officer--Albert Fournier Consular Officer--Patricia Lieberman Administrative Officer--Laura Kirkconnell Regional Security Officer--Rebecca Dockery (resident in Tbilisi, Georgia) Agricultural Officer--Mary Revelt (resident in Moscow, Russia) USAID Officer--Fred Winch Public Affairs Officer (USIS)--John Quintus

The U.S. embassy in Yerevan, Armenia is at 18 Marshal Bagramyan; tel: 3742-151-144 or 3742-524-661; fax: 3742-151-138.