Author: Kalantarian Kevo

Interfax, Russia
Jan 13 2012

Putin bids farewell to legendary agent Vartanian

MOSCOW. Jan 13

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin arrived at the Troyekurovskoye
cemetery on Friday to bid farewell to prominent Soviet intelligence
agent Gevork Vartanian, who died on January 10, aged 88.

The head of government laid flowers on Vartanian’s coffin and spoke to
his relatives.

Other officials who came to bid farewell to one of the most famous
Soviet agents included current head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence
Service (SVR) Mikhail Fradkov and his predecessors Yevgeny Primakov
and Sergei Lebedev. The Armenian ambassador, Vartanian’s former
colleagues and representatives from the Armenian diaspora also arrived
to pay tribute.

Gevork Andreyevich Vartanian was born to Andrei Vasilyevich Vartanian
in Rostov-on-Don on February 17, 1924. In 1930, when Gevork was six
years old, his family moved to Iran. His father was linked to the
Soviet foreign intelligence and left the USSR at its behest. Disguised
as a merchant, Andrei Vasilyevich conducted active intelligence work.
It was under his father’s influence that Gevork became an intelligence
agent.

Gevork joined the Soviet intelligence service at the age of 16, when
he established direct contacts with NKVD (Soviet secret police) agents
based in Tehran in February 1940. At the behest of one of them,
Vartanian led a special group to detect Nazi agents and German spies
in Tehran and elsewhere in Iran. In two years alone, his group
identified around 400 people who were linked to German intelligence in
one way or another.

Amir (Vartanian’s operational name) was actively involved in providing
security for the Tehran summit of the Big Three allied leaders in
November-December 1943. In 1951, he returned to the USSR and graduated
from the Yerevan University with a degree in foreign languages.

After that he worked as an agent in extreme and difficult conditions
in various countries. Vartanian and his wife Goar, who accompanied him
throughout this long-term mission, returned to the USSR in the fall of
1986.

Vartanian continued to serve until 1992. He was awarded the Hero of
the Soviet Union title, and many orders and medals, as well as the
highest state awards.

kk rb

Novinite, Bulgaria
Jan 11 2012

Bulgaria Scraps Armenian Genocide Declaration Once Again
Domestic | January 11, 2012, Wednesday

Bulgaria’s Parliament did not support the fifth consecutive attempt on
behalf of the far-right Ataka (Attack) party to pass a declaration
recognizing the Ottoman Empire’s genocide against Armenians
(1915-1922).

On Wednesday, Ataka leader Volen Siderov pointed out that it was
completely normal for “a patriotic party like his” to support the
recognition of the Armenian genocide.

“To hide certain events from your history because they are bad for you
as a country is demagogy in my opinion,” Siderov pointed out.

Lyutvi Mestan, a key MP from the ethnic Turkish Movement for Rights
and Freedoms party, opposed Ataka’s suggestion, stating that the
Parliament was not an institution that should determine historical
truths as the highest instance.

“The Bulgarian Parliament should not deal with that topic,” Mestan declared.

According to Bulgaria’s last census, some 600 000 ethnic Turks live in
the country, forming the country’s largest minority. Armenians, though
considerably fewer in number, are also among Bulgaria’s significant
minorities.

Iran to raise electricity exchange with neighboring countries by 50 percent
Economic Desk
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On Line: 07 January 2012 17:24
In Print: Sunday 08 January 2012

Iran will exchange up to 15 billion kilowatt hours (BkWh) of
electricity with its neighboring countries by the end of the current
calendar year (March 19, 2012), up 50 percent year on year, Iran power
generation transmission and distribution management company (TAVANIR)
managing director stated.

Iraq and Turkey have respectively the most exchanges of electricity
with Iran, Homayoun Haeri added, the Mehr news agency reported.

The country is currently exchanging electricity with Afghanistan,
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Pakistan, Nakhichevan, Turkey and
Turkmenistan and plans to add 5,000 megawatts of capacity to its power
grid annually.
According to the Iranian Energy Ministry statistics, the country will
be exporting up to $1 billion in electricity by March 2012.
Iran’s total power generation capacity stands at 63,403 megawatts (MW)
while total length of the power grid exceeds 780,000 kilometers.
Exchange of electricity with neighboring countries reached 1,341 MW in
late December 2010. The top exporter was Armenia with 237 megawatts,
and the top importer of Iranian electricity was Iraq with 650
megawatts.
Iran seeks to become a major regional exporter of electricity and has
attracted more than $1.1 billion in investments to build three new
power plants.

Russia to strengthen military base in Armenia-expert

January 14, 2012 | 14:52

YEREVAN. – Armenia and Russia cannot stay aside if Israel attacks
Iran, military expert Artsrun Hovhannisyan told journalists on
Saturday.

If U.S. and Israel decide to launch war against Iran, they can hardly
be stopped. However, it is possible to influence the development of
the events as a whole.

`On the background of the upcoming parliamentary elections in Iran,
such possibility is small. Armenia, in its turn, should weaken tension
as much as possible. Undoubtedly, Yerevan is dealing with it through
its diplomatic channels,’ he said.

As for Russia’s role in the region, Kremlin is important, while the
only Russian military facility in the South Caucasus is a military
base in Armenia’s Gyumri.

`Thus, we can conclude that the Russian military base will be
modernized, improved and strengthened. Moscow will try to strengthen
its military presence in the region within the framework of the
existing Armenian-Russian agreements or just concluding new ones,’ the
expert concluded.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

Armenia forward signs contract with Russian FC

January 14, 2012 – 10:26 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Armenia forward Marcos Pizzelli, who played for
Ukraine’s Metallurg in 2011, signed a 3-year contact with Russia’s
Kuban FC.

`Pizzelli is a qualified player with international experience and I’m
confident that he will help strengthen our team’s potential. He can
act both as forward and attacking halfback,’ Kuban sports director
Sergey Doronchenko said.

Kuban is 50th with 50 points in Russian Premier League standings.

Iran says it has evidence of U.S. involvement in scientist’s killing

January 14, 2012 – 15:14 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Iranian state television said on Saturday, Jan 14,
Tehran had evidence Washington was behind the latest assassination of
one of its nuclear scientists, Reuters reports.

In the fifth attack of its kind in two years, a magnetic bomb was
attached to the door of 32-year-old Mostafa Ahmadi-Roshan’s car during
the Wednesday morning rush-hour in the capital. His driver was also
killed.

The United States has denied involvement in the killing and condemned
it. Israel has declined to comment.

“We have reliable documents and evidence that this terrorist act was
planned, guided and supported by the CIA,” the Iranian foreign
ministry said in a letter handed to the Swiss ambassador in Tehran,
state TV said.

“The documents clearly show that this terrorist act was carried out
with the direct involvement of CIA-linked agents.”

The Swiss Embassy has represented U.S. interests in Iran since Tehran
and Washington cut diplomatic ties shortly after the 1979 Islamic
revolution.

State TV said a “letter of condemnation” had also been sent to the
British government, saying the killing of Iranian nuclear scientists
had “started exactly after the British official John Sawers declared
the beginning of intelligence operations against Iran.”

In 2010, chief of the British Secret Intelligence Service Sawers said
one of the agency’s roles was to investigate efforts by states to
build nuclear weapons in violation of their international legal
obligations and identify ways to slow down their access to vital
materials and technology.

Tehran has urged the UN Security Council and Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon to condemn the latest killing, which Tehran says is aimed at
undermining its nuclear work, which the West and Israel say is aimed
at building bombs. Tehran says its nuclear program is purely civilian.

Tension has mounted between Iran and the West as the United States and
European Union prepare measures aimed at imposing sanctions on the
Iran’s oil exports, its economic lifeblood. The United States and
Israel have not ruled out military action if diplomacy fails to
resolve the nuclear dispute.

JAMIE PLANS TO DOCUMENT HIS EXPLOITS AS AN EXPLORER

West Briton
January 12, 2012
UK

A JOURNEY around Central Asia on a horse, a trip through Armenia’s
deepest forests and a voyage to the Falklands as a deckhand on a cargo
ship are among the adventures a journalism student has planned after
he graduates this month.

Jamie Maddison, 23, from Camborne, is planning the escapades as the
start of his freelance career as a journalist, photographer, filmmaker
and explorer. Jamie, who is just completing his fast-track National
Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) course at Cornwall
College’s Camborne site, said: “After university I began writing for
the climbing magazine Climber and this gave me this unquenchable
desire to explore lost and forgotten corners of the world. “Since
acquiring the training at the college I feel I’ve finally now got
the skills to document and investigate my adventures in a way that’s
sellable to newspapers and magazines.”

His first missions, in early February, will be to the Caucasian country
of Armenia to write an article about its deforestation problems.

The Cardiff University graduate has already been on a number of
expeditions, including climbing in Kyrgyzstan’s remote Tian Shan
Mountains and two weeks climbing alone in South Africa’s Cederberg
Mountains, where he captured self-portraits using remotecontrol
photography. Jamie said: “Armenia’s going to be really exciting,
although very cold, and I’m still trying to find out a viable route
with a cargo ship to the Falklands for another crazy idea I have
in mind.”

He is also planning a 15,000km circuit of Eurasia to commemorate
the 100th anniversary of a journey by British explorer Sir Charles
Howard-Bury, who paved the way for the first Everest attempt with a
reconnaissance mission in 1921.

In 2013, with expedition partner Matthew Traver, Jamie plans to retrace
the explorer’s footsteps to China’s side of the Tian Shan Mountains,
using exactly the same methods as Sir Charles, including more than
1,500km on horseback.

“Our biggest issue apart from funding is trying to find someone
to support our filmmaking ambitions,” said Jamie, who hails from
Lancashire. “We’re hoping to create a documentary of this unique
insight into one of Britain’s most unsung explorers.”

The pair are also seeking advice from experienced riders and farriers
about caring for horses on so long a journey.

“It may all blow up in our faces,” he said, “but you have to take
the risk.”

For more information about the expedition visit
and for further details about Jamie Maddison visit www.punchjour
nalist.co.uk For inquiries about journalism at Cornwall College ring
01209 616161.

ARMENIAN MONASTIC ENSEMBLES

Tehran Times
On Line: 02 January 2012 16:18
In Print: Tuesday 03 January 2012

The Saint Thaddeus Monastery

The Armenian monasteries of Iran have borne continuous testimony,
since the origins of Christianity and certainly since the 7th century,
to Armenian culture in its relations and contact with the Persian
and later the Iranian civilizations. They bear testimony to a very
large and refined panorama of architectural and decorative content
associated with Armenian culture, in interaction with other regional
cultures: Byzantine, Orthodox, Assyrian, Persian and Muslim.

The monasteries have survived some 2,000 years of destruction, both
of human origin and as a result of natural disasters. They have been
rebuilt several times in a spirit in keeping with Armenian cultural
traditions. Today they are the only important vestiges of Armenian
culture in this region. Saint-Thaddeus, the presumed location of the
tomb of the apostle of Jesus Christ, St. Thaddeus, has always been a
place of high spiritual value for Christians and other inhabitants
in the region. It is still today a living place of pilgrimage for
the Armenian Church.

The state party has made a remarkable long-term effort regarding
the restoration and conservation of the Armenian monastic ensembles
in Iran. Their integrity and authenticity are satisfactory, and this
includes the Chapel of Dzordzor, which (because of a dam construction
project) was moved and then rebuilt with an evident concern to retain
authenticity.

The legal protection in place is adequate. The monastic ensemble
is currently in a good state of conservation. The management plan
provides the necessary guarantees for the long-term conservation of
the property and the expression of its outstanding universal value.

(Source: UNESCO)

The Saint Thaddeus Monastery The famous and marvelous monastic
complex of St. Thaddeus is located in the mountainous area of western
Azerbaidjan Province. It is perched on a mountain ridge beside a stream
sunken into the rock, thus giving it a natural fortified position.

The outline of it, placed on gently rolling hills, stands out sharply
against the vastness of the horizon. Sourb Thade (St. Thaddeus)
or Kara-Kilise (the black church) as it is called by the people of
Northern Iran, forms a harmonious, integral part with its surroundings
both in the material with which it is constructed, and in its form.

The location of the monastery was surely chosen for strategic reasons,
for it was built during a period when neighboring peoples seriously
threatened it.

The thick walls around the monastery, also, had an important defensive
function during sieges, and the complex was built especially to
withstand them. It is situated within a natural circle of mountains,
a short distance from a river. Wells drilled within the enclosure
guaranteed a water supply. The church was surrounded by vast,
fertile fields, quite suitable for farming, and therefore capable
of supplying food for both men and animals. The harvest was well
protected in special storage rooms, thus enabling the monastery to
keep its independence and relative security. Although it is not dated,
according to the legend, the monastery was founded by Apostle Thaddeus
(66AD) on the spot of a former pagan temple.

Time after time it was destroyed by invasions, and struck by
earthquakes, the most devastating of which occurred in 1319. The
monastery was rebuild, and further renewed and enlarged during the
course of the following centuries. Most of the present structure dates
from the early 19th century when Qajar prince Abbas Mirza helped in
renovations and repairs.

The 19th century additions are from carved sandstone. The earliest
parts are of black and white stone, hence its Turkish name Kara
Kilise, the Black Church. A fortified wall surrounds the church and
its now-abandoned monastery buildings.

In July 2008, the St. Thaddeus monastery was added to UNESCO’s World
Heritage List, along with two other Armenian monuments located in
the same province: Saint Stepanos Monastery and the chapel of Dzordzor.

ARMENIAN MP ASKS POLICE TO PROVIDE HER WITH SECURITY (PHOTO)

NEWS.am
January 13, 2012 | 19:54

YEREVAN. – Armenian MP of Heritage parliament group, member of
State and Legal Affairs Committee Zaruhi Postanjyan sent a letter to
Armenia’s police chief Vladimir Gasparyan on Friday asking to provide
security for herself and several other citizens, Heritage informed
Armenian News-NEWS.am.

“On January 15 I and several other citizens will leave for Lori region
and will spend the whole day in villages including Teghut. Taking
in account that crowds will gather in those regions I ask to take
measures according to the law to ensure our security,” she said.

Several environmental organizations and ecologists have decided to
organize a march on January 15. As the Information and PR department
of Valex Group informs representatives of ‘Teghut civic initiative’
are not allowed to organize any marches in the region of ‘Teghut’
company on January 15. Thus any attempt to enter Teghut on January
15 will be considered as violation of ‘Teghut’ companies rights.

2012 GOVERNMENT PROGRAM OF ACTIVITIES AND PRIORITIES APPROVED

Thursday, 12 January 2012

The government held its first sitting of 2012, chaired by Prime
Minister Tigran Sargsyan. Congratulating the cabinet members on New
Year and Christmas, the Prime Minister wished them fruitful work.

The government approved the government’s program of activities, its
rationale, as well as the priorities and the underlying principles
for 2012. The program includes 135 items altogether covering the
whole body of ministries and government agencies.

The priorities for this year are: improved business and competitive
environment, land use efficiency in subsoil matters, housing for those
disaster zone households left homeless by the earthquake, creation
of agricultural cooperatives, strengthening of army discipline,
popularization of Armenian books, printed heritage and written arts
in Armenia and abroad, 91 items altogether.

The government approved the concept, as well as the strategy of
development of Armenian studies for 2012-2025 and timetable for its
implementation. The main goal is to bring together the Armenian State
and intellectuals with a view to turning the Armenian studies into a
powerful factor for ensuring our nation’s ethnic and cultural security.

The strategy is expected to build up and strengthen the Armenian
statehood and promote a nationwide awareness of our ethnic identity.

Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan said the documents provide solutions
acceptable to all research institutions and experts.

The government next approved the list of those most difficult
and difficult, especially harmful and hazardous industries, jobs,
professions and positions entitling workers to a privileged pension.

The Minister of Labor and Social Affairs was told to approve an
application procedure following the entry into force of this decision.

The government decided to reorganize through merger the Yerevan
Research Institute of Optical-Physical Measurements and the Research
Institute of Radio Physics into a National Institute of Measurements
CJSC. The merger will open up new possibilities for Armenia’s
national infrastructure quality in line with international and
European standards.

The Cabinet decided to grant a military service delay until the fall of
2013 to national football team player Edward Tatoyan. Ararat Chakhoyan,
who is seeking a Master’s degree at the Caen University-Institute
of Technology (Lower Normandy), was allowed a delay until the spring
draft of 2013. Student at Moscow Dental University Armen Sargsyan was
exempted from military service until this fall’s conscription campaign.