Hayern Aysor’s correspondent sat down for an interview with foreign relations director of the Armenian community of Nizhni Novgorod of the Russian Federation Ani Mkhitaryan, who was recently hosted at the RA Ministry of Diaspora.

Hayern Aysor: Welcome to the Homeland! Ani, we met two years ago when you were about to organize the Pan-Armenian Youth Forum. What has the Armenian community of Nizhni Novgorod done over the past two years?

Ani Mkhitaryan: Let me start from the beginning. The Armenian community of Nizhni Novgorod is one of the best and large communities in Russia. We have a church and a center for Armenian studies. We have had an Armenian Sunday school for the past 20 years. I am the head of the “Imast” (Meaning) Youth Union. The community also has a dance ensemble named “Nayiri”.

Hayern Aysor: What does your youth organization do?

A. M.: We mainly carry out charity and educational projects. One of our key objectives is to form new young intelligentsia. We actively participate in community events. I am an international relations expert and specialize in political PR. So, I am involved in foreign relations.

Hayern Aysor: Ani, what have you done as a foreign relations director and, first and foremost, for Artsakh?

A. M.: Armenia and Artsakh, which is an integral part of Armenia, are in first place. Russian writer Victor Konoplyov lives in Nizhni Novgorod and is known in the Armenian Diaspora. He has the closest contacts with Artsakh and collaborates with us. We contact Artsakh through him first. Konoplyov serves as a unique bridge between us and Artsakh. I must also say that the founder of our community Lidia Samkovich-Poghosyan is originally from Artsakh. Although her husband is of Polish descent, that didn’t stand in Lidia’s way of becoming the founding president of the Armenian community. Even now, she actively participates in all community-wide events and initiatives, but now she is considered the community’s honorable president, and the community’s current president is Aghasi Alekyan. During the war in April, Mr. Alekyan visited the RA Minister of Diaspora and presented the community’s initiatives for Artsakh. The community raised funds and sent them to the fund opened in Artsakh. The Holy Savior Armenian Apostolic Church of Nizhni Novgorod also sent money to Artsakh, and head of the community, benefactor Aghasi Alekyan transferred $200,000 dollars to the fund in Artsakh and $1,000 dollars to each of the families of deceased soldiers. We collaborate with the youth of Artsakh. In November 2015, the representative of Artsakh who participated in the “Future” Pan-Armenian Youth Forum, which was held in association with the RA Ministry of Diaspora, suggested holding the next forum in Artsakh. We promised to consider it, but after the military operations in April, we will definitely gather in Artsakh.

Hayern Aysor: What is the occasion of this visit to Armenia?

A. M.: We have a very interesting project. I deal with foreign relations, but don’t deal very much with distant countries. My field is Armenian-Russian cooperation. Nizhni Novgorod is a large city populated by various nationalities. In 2011, we signed an official agreement on fraternity with Vayots Dzor Province. We became more active about four years ago when the general education school (with advanced teaching of Russian) N 1 of Jermuk was named after great son of the Russian nation, Maxim Gorky. As a sign of fraternity and solidarity, in May 2015, the governor of Nizhni Novgorod decided to name Art School N 18, the largest school of Nizhni Novgorod, after great and world famous Armenian musician Aram Khachaturian. It wouldn’t sound immodest, if I said that it is the best school. The students participate in international talent contests for the youth in Moscow and always charm music lovers with their great performances. We take pride in seeing the names of the participants from Nizhni Novgorod, especially when the last names end with “yan”.

Hayern Aysor: Ani, what is the purpose of your visit to Armenia this time?

A. M. We are strengthening our fraternal ties with Vayots Dzor Province and wish to enhance relations in the fields of tourism and economy. Two years ago, winemakers from Vayots Dzor Province participated in the large-scale economic forum hosted in Nizhni Novgorod. We can proudly say that the stores of Nizhni Novgorod recently received Areni Armenian wine, which was presented by Mr. Matevosyan and is called Areni-Matevosyan wine. This is regional cooperation. As for cooperation between cities, on June 12^th, Nizhni Novgorod will celebrate Nizhni Novgorod Day. We have invited delegates of Yerevan Municipality, particularly the mayor of Yerevan. The mayor might not be able to attend the ceremonies, but the head of the department of foreign relations of Yerevan Municipality will attend the ceremonies and will also sign agreements on cooperation. I am here with 16 representatives of the Dzerzhinsk industrial city of Nizhni Novgorod, including students of three general education schools, three principals and the deputy head of the city’s department of education. Since Nizhni Novgorod has a fraternal school named after Maxim Gorky in Jermuk, which we provide with material and financial assistance (we renovated it), we decided to meet with the representatives of the school. Our goal is to have Russian children studying with Armenian children in Nizhni Novgorod to become more familiar with Armenia and see the country with their own eyes. We visited Ayb School, Pushkin School, the Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts (Matenadaran), TUMO Center for Creative Technologies, Noravank Monastery, Etchmiadzin, the temple in Garni, Geghard Monastery, Noy Brandy Factory, saw the symbolic and tasteful cellars and a museum. I would like to express special gratitude to the factory’s administration, Gagik Tsarukyan for the cordial and wonderful reception. I had explained to the Russian children that every Diaspora Armenian or foreigner visiting Armenia first visits Tsitsernakaberd Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex and lay flowers in memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide. I handed out Forget-Me-Not flowers to everyone and explained the symbol. The children said they also wanted to wear them when they returned home. We are very grateful to Aghasi Alekyan because we were able to organize the trip with his financial support. I think there can be an occasion to take an interview from that patriotic Armenian with a rich inner world. The guests have already left, but I am still here to discuss future plans and actions with representatives of the relevant departments of the RA Ministry of Diaspora. You asked me if I was preparing to repatriate…The community still needs me, but I will definitely return to the Homeland someday because it is always calling me.

Hayern Aysor: Ani, what do you wish the Armenians of Artsakh?

A. M.: When we were in Jermuk, there was going to be an event dedicated to the soldiers who didn’t return home from the battlefield. We were celebrating Victory Day and the day of the liberation of Shushi. Unfortunately, we were only able to attend the rehearsal because we were about to leave. Suddenly, we heard children sing the Armenian song “Hayer, Miatsek” (Armenians, Unite). Even our guests, who didn’t know Armenian, were moved by the sounds of the song and the performance. I want the idea of uniting heard in that song to turn into a reality. I want the soldiers defending the borders of Artsakh, the people of Artsakh and all the people of Armenia to be rest assured that the Armenian Diaspora stands with them.

Karine Avagyan