ETHNIC GROUPS IN GEORGIA #11 – ARMENIANS, PART 2
by Tom Trier & George Tarkhan-Mouravi
Daily Georgian Times
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April 21 2008
Georgia
Today we bring part 2 of the article on the Armenians in the series
of the wealth of ethnic groups in Georgia. Part 1 was presented
in last week’s issue of the Georgian Times. The materials on the
ethnic groups are provided by the European Centre for Minority Issues
(ECMI) and the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) and are extracted
from the book, Georgia – An Ethno-Political Handbook by Tom Trier &
George Tarkhan-Mouravi, Tbilisi 2008. With support from the foreign
ministries of Switzerland, Norway and Denmark, the book will be
published by the end of this year in a Georgian and an English edition.
Language, Education and Cultural Life
The Armenian language belongs to the Indo-European language family and
is classified as an independent branch. Its alphabet was allegedly
invented by (Saint) Mesrop Mashtots in 406 AD. Although there are
many Armenian dialects, most linguists distinguish between two main
groups – Eastern Armenian spoken mainly in Armenia, the Caucasus,
and Iran – and Western Armenian, spoken primarily in Anatolia and
in the Armenian diaspora everywhere besides Iran and the former
Soviet Union. The latter derives from 19th century Armenian spoken in
Istanbul, whereas the former is based on the Armenian spoken in Armenia
and Iran. There is also Grabar Armenian – the ancient written language,
which is still used in the liturgy of the Armenian Apostolic Church. In
Javakheti, the primary language of communication is Armenian, based
on a west Armenian dialect originally spoken in eastern Anatolia and
significantly influenced by Turkisms and, therefore, quite different
from the standard Armenian. Many Armenians in Tbilisi speak Russian as
their native language, and not Armenian. The better educated strata
of the communities in Samtskhe-Javakheti also prefer Russian as the
language of communication in formal situations.
For centuries, Armenians have played a prominent role in the Georgian
cultural landscape. Naturally, their presence has been most visible in
Tbilisi, which has always been the most cosmopolitan and culturally
diverse city of the South Caucasus. The first Armenian school
in Georgia – the Nersisyan Gymnasium – was established in Tbilisi
as early as in 1824. During its century-long history, hundreds of
prominent Armenian scholars, academicians, scientists and political
figures received their education there. In the 1860-70’s, several
additional Armenian private gymnasiums and seminaries were opened
in Tbilisi and the first newspaper in Armenian was published in
1858. From the mid-19th century until early 20th century, more than
twenty newspapers and magazines in Armenian were published in Georgia.
Armenians in the regions, and particularly in Samtskhe-Javakheti,
have always been more culturally isolated from the centre of cultural
life found in Tbilisi. Due to a lack of basic knowledge of Georgian
that has now become a state language, the proximity of Armenia, and
the status of the region as a closed border zone during the Soviet
period following World War II, the local population have never felt
a strong attachment to Georgia, at least as far as participation in
the common cultural space is concerned. During the Soviet period, the
region’s proximity to Turkey compelled Soviet authorities to completely
close off Javakheti and parts of Samtskhe, and those who wished to
enter the border zone could do so only with special permits. Cultural
features unique to Javakheti developed in isolation and a sense of
separateness from Georgia is still widespread. Georgia’s impact on
Javakhetian cultural life (and vice versa) has been – and continues
to be – extremely limited. In many ways, Javakheti is culturally more
integrated with Armenia than with Georgia. Although a number of famous
writers and poets have originated from Javakheti, most of them have
made their careers in Armenia and Javakheti Armenians maintain close
social and cultural ties with their kin across the border.
One of the main reasons for the continued isolation today is the lack
of knowledge of the state language among Javakheti Armenians. The
interaction between the local population in Javakheti (both the
Armenian majority and other smaller groups such as Georgians and
Russians) and the centre is very limited and has grown ever more
detached as the Russian language has gradually lost its role of a
regional lingua franca. The vast majority of the Javakheti Armenians do
not have any command of Georgian, and those who do speak the language
poorly. In Soviet times, there was little need to study and learn
Georgian among the Armenian minority, because knowledge of Russian
served all the purposes of inter-ethnic communication. However,
once Georgian independence was declared and Georgian instituted as
the state language, proficiency in Russian was no longer sufficient
for the demands of life in the new Georgia. The inability to speak
Georgian has now become an obstacle to the social, economic and
cultural integration of the Armenian minority.
Despite the fact that the Georgian constitution prescribes the use
of the state language for administrative and court proceedings,
Russian and Armenian remain the de facto administrative languages in
Javakheti. Although, as of late, the central government has stepped
up an education reform program aiming at promoting the knowledge of
the state language among persons belonging to national minorities,
significant results are yet to be seen. Major problems still persist
in regard to offering adequate teaching of the Georgian language in
Javakheti, as there are few teachers in the region, who are qualified
to teach Georgian. At the same time, the educational reforms in
this area have caused rather adverse sentiments among Armenians,
who sometimes view these policies as attempts to undermine their
cultural and linguistic minority rights.
Religion
Frequently dated by historians to 301 AD, Armenians became the
first people to accept Christianity as a state religion. However,
Christianity reached Armenia already in the 1st century AD and the
Armenian Church is considered to be one of the oldest Christian
churches. The Armenian Apostolic Church is autocephalous and has
two independent sees: that of the Catholicos of All Armenians at
Etchmiadzin in Armenia, and of the Holy See of Cilicia in Antelyas,
Lebanon. There are also two patriarchates: one in Istanbul and another
in Jerusalem. These are subordinated the primacy of the Catholicos
of All Armenians in Etchmiadzin. Although the absolute majority of
Armenians both in Armenia and beyond belong to the Armenian Apostolic
Church, there are also Armenian Catholics. The Armenian Catholic Church
has sizeable congregations, especially in Argentina, Australia, USA
and France. It also has followers in Samtskhe-Javakheti and in more
recent years in Tbilisi as well.
Economy and Society
In the 19th to early 20th centuries, Armenians held the most prominent
position in the Tbilisi city council and administration. From 1841
to 1909, the post of city mayor was held almost uninterruptedly by
Armenians. They also constituted a majority in the city council. While
naturally contributing to economic development of the city, many
streets and cultural sites at that time bore Armenian names. However,
throughout the 20th century, including the Soviet and post-Soviet
periods, Armenian influence in all spheres steadily waned. The
short Georgian-Armenian War of December 1918 ignited anti-Armenian
animosity among Georgians in Tbilisi, and soured relations between the
Armenian merchant class there and the larger society. Many Armenian
businessmen left Georgia during the independence period in 1918-21,
as the Menshevik Government pursued policies of nationalization
of the property of the bourgeoisie. The following decades, marked
by the outright rejection of the notion of private property, by and
large extinguished the commercial prowess of Georgia’s Armenians. The
last years of Soviet rule put Georgian nationalists in the forefront
and further marginalized minority groups. As a consequence of these
developments, Armenian commercial life in Tbilisi today is humble and
inconspicuous. Many are still engaged with petty-trade and low-income
craftsmanship. For instance, Armenians run most shoe-making shops and
hair-dressing saloons and many Tbilisi Armenians earn their income
as taxi drivers.
Armenians in Samtskhe-Javakheti were economically relatively
well-off in the Soviet period. Akhalkalaki district was one of the
most developed agricultural regions of Georgia, particularly in the
sphere of cattle husbandry, cheese production and potato farming,
and a number of food-processing factories were also functioning in
the region. During the Soviet period the region as a border zone
was administered under a special federal system that facilitated
the supply of consumer goods and offered higher salaries. After
the collapse of the USSR, many of the privileges enjoyed by people
in the region disappeared and the economy steadily deteriorated
throughout the 1990’s. All enterprises ceased to operate and the
agricultural output dropped dramatically. Another important aspect
of the Javakheti economy was the Russian military base which has
been deployed in Georgia ever since the region was annexed by Tsarist
Russia in the war of 1828-29. After years of dispute over the Russian
military presence, Russia finally agreed on the closure of the base,
which finally took place in June 2007. The presence of a large
number of military facilities and personnel played a key role in
creating jobs for the local population and in the supply of social
services. Therefore, a decision of the Georgian parliament in early
2005 to enforce the closure of the base was met with strong popular
resistance in Akhalkalaki and two mass demonstrations were organized
in March 2005. Today, however, the local population seems to have come
to terms with the fact of the base withdrawal, although the Georgian
government has yet to develop alternative employment opportunities.
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