The Republic of Armenia is a landlocked country in southern CAUCASIA, between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea; it forms part of the historic region of Armenia and is bordered on the north by Georgia, on the east by Azerbaijan, on the south by Iran, on the southwest by Azerbaijan, and on the west by Turkey. The republic's capital is YEREVAN. After centuries of foreign rule, Armenia enjoyed a brief period of independence after World War I and regained its independence in 1991 following several decades as a republic of the USSR.

LAND AND RESOURCES

The Republic of Armenia is a mountainous region occupying the northeastern part of the Armenian Plateau and adjoining parts of the Lesser CAUCASUS MOUNTAINS; 90 percent of the area is at elevations of 1,000 m (3,300 ft). The climate is dry and continental, with warm summers and cold winters. The only major lowland suitable for agriculture is the Araks Valley and the plain at the foot of Mount ARARAT, which is across the border in Turkey.

The most prominent physical feature of the republic is Lake Sevan, one of the world's largest mountain lakes (72.4 x 375 km/45 x 233 mi), which covers 5 percent of Armenia's area. The Hrazdan River, which is used for power generation and irrigation, flows out of the lake and joins the Araks River, which forms the southern border of the republic. The highest elevation is Mount Aragats (4,090 m/13,419 ft), with its four peaks featured in Armenian folk songs.

Soil

Despite the harshness of the climate in many regions, the volcanic soil is quite fertile, especially in the valleys. Armenia's fruits, particularly apricots, grapes, and peaches, are renowned, and, though irrigation is required for most crops, the rough landscape is fine for sheep, goats, and horses. Armenia produces wine and very fine brandy.

Resources

Copper and molybdenum are mined in the Kajaran area, and gold is mined in the Zod district near the east end of Lake Sevan. A chemical industry is concentrated in Yerevan and Kirovakan. Hydroelectric power is used to produce some electricity. A nuclear power plant at Metsamor is not currently in use because of the danger of earthquakes in that area. Some chemical plants have also been shut down for environmental reasons. Armenia is dependent for its energy needs on petroleum imports, but supplies of oil were cut off in the 1990s because of strained relations with the neighboring state of Azerbaijan.

People

Since the expulsion of about 200,000 Azeris in 1988-89, the population of the Republic of Armenia has been more than 95 percent Armenian, with small Kurdish, Russian, and Yezidi minorities. More than two-thirds of the population is classified as urban, mostly living in small towns. In addition to Yerevan, the major cities are Gyumri (formerly Leninakan), with a population of 123,000 (1990 est.) and Kirovakan, with a population of 76,000 (1989).

Culture

Historically, the Armenians were a nation of peasant farmers who withstood successive invasions, developing a unique culture that combined Iranian social and political structure with Hellenic and Christian literary traditions. Their language is Indo-European but is not closely related to any other. It is the primary language of more than 90 percent of the people, although many speak Russian as well. Both languages are used in the schools, and during the Soviet period, great prestige was attached to a Russian education. Armenian music, like Armenian cuisine, is similar to that of other Middle Eastern peoples.

Among the Armenians who have achieved prominence during the 20th century are the Soviet composer Aram KHATCHATURIAN, the astrophyicist Victor Hambartsumian, and the onetime president of the USSR, Anastas MIKOYAN.

Religion

Armenians have been Christians since the early 4th century AD and claim that their nation was the first to adopt Christianity as its official religion. Among villagers, however, pre-Christian practices and celebrations still survive, and the traditional ethnic culture remains strong. Most believers are members of the national ARMENIAN CHURCH. Since independence, however, a revival of interest in religion has occurred, and the Armenian church now faces competition from Protestantism, Roman Catholicism, and non-Christian religious movements.

ECONOMIC ACTIVITY

Under Soviet rule (1920-91) Armenia was transformed from a largely agricultural region into a modern industrial society. Industries included metalworking, machinery manufacturing, and telecommunications, as well as chemicals and synthetic rubber production. Its manufacturing sector was highly integrated into the overall Soviet economy, and Armenia imported much of its raw materials and food from the other Soviet republics. One of the republic's most valued "products" was its highly skilled and educated workforce, many of whom left Armenia to work in other parts of the USSR.

From the Stalin revolution of the 1930s until the end of the Soviet period Armenia's economy was completely state-controlled. However, with the rise to power of the non-Communist Pan-National Armenian Movement (APM) in 1990, efforts were initiated to create a Western-style market economy. The government pushed for the privatization of state enterprises, many of which had been linked with the Soviet defense industry. Agricultural land, which had been held by collective farms, was distributed to individual farmers. Small enterprises such as restaurants were transferred to private hands or converted into cooperatives run by their employees.

However, efforts to transform the republic's command economy into a market system floundered as a result of a combination of natural and political factors. Destruction caused by the disastrous earthquake of December 1988 was a severe setback to the economy, and the subsequent collapse of the Soviet system, coupled with conflicts between Armenia and Azerbaijan, prevented recovery. Particularly debilitating were an economic blockade imposed by Azerbaijan--hitherto the source of most of Armenia's petroleum supply--and an influx of refugees from areas affected by the Azerbaijan war. By the early 1990s, Armenia experienced economic collapse and was unable to provide adequate food, energy, and other necessities to its people. The winters were times of extreme hardship, near starvation, and rising death rates. The lack of energy reduced transportation and heating to a minimum. The republic's meager resources were supplemented by aid from abroad, but in 1994 the war in Azerbaijan continued to drain the Armenian economy. Dependent on Russia's cooperation, the government in September 1993 joined with other former Soviet republics in surrendering control over its own monetary policy in return for permission to continue using the ruble as its currency.

HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT

The Soviet Republic of Armenia was established after the country was invaded by Bolshevik forces in 1920. It was part of the Transcaucasian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (which also included Georgia and Azerbaijan) from 1922 to 1936, when it became a full union republic of the USSR. As part of the Soviet Union, Armenia benefited from the economic and educational advances achieved by the Soviets but suffered from political repression, particularly during the period of the brutal Stalin regime (1930s-1950s). With the coming to power of Mikhail Gorbachev in 1985, Armenians began to express more openly their national aspirations, notably their desire to reclaim NAGORNO-KARABAKH, an Armenian-populated enclave the Soviet government had made part of Azerbaijan in 1923. In 1988 the Gorbachev regime refused Armenia's request that the enclave be transferred to its control. This and the arrest of the committee that had been spearheading the Nagorno-Karabakh campaign caused an outburst of nationalist sentiment in Armenia, and a rebellion broke out in Nagorno-Karabakh. In September 1989, Azerbaijan imposed its economic blockade in retaliation for alleged Armenian support for the rebels. The following November, Armenia unilaterally declared Nagorno-Karabakh to be part of its territory.

Parliamentary elections in May-July 1990 brought victory for the nationalist APM, whose leader, Levon Ter-Petrosyan, became Armenia's president. The new government pursued a moderate course, promoting friendly relations with Turkey, Armenia's historic foe, and resisting pressure from more extreme nationalists for secession from the USSR. It denied any direct involvement in the continuing revolt of Nagorno-Karabakh against Azerbaijan. When the Soviet Union was dissolved in 1991, Armenia joined other former Soviet republics in forming the COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES.

In March 1992, President Ter-Petrosyan repudiated Armenia's previous claims to Nagorno-Karabakh and, with Russian help, began devoting his efforts to negotiating a truce in the embattled enclave. Nevertheless, the fighting and the Azerbaijani blockade dragged on and continued to be the dominant issue in Armenian life through 1993 and 1994.