Many Armenians living in different corners of the globe willingly dedicate themselves to community service to present Armenia and the Armenians abroad in the right way, defend the rights and interests of Armenians and preserve the Armenian identity. One of those Armenians is President of the Armenian Association NGO of Saint Petersburg, moderator of the ArmPeterburg Facebook page (www.facebook.com/groups/armpeterburg), participant of two conferences entitled “The Armenian Diaspora in the Russian Federation” and active public and political figure Vahan Babakhanyan, who gave an interview for Hayern Aysor.

Karine Avagyan: Mr. Babakhanyan, please tell us about the history and motive of your association.

Vahan Babakhanyan: I established the association along with famous writer Levon Adyan, several Armenian academicians and many young, active and patriotic Armenians. Our association has only been around for five years. I was born in Tbilisi and moved to Armenia where I lived for ten years. I have lived abroad for about eight years and have had contacts with Armenian communities. I have been introduced to the lifestyles of Diaspora Armenians and have learned about their concerns. Later, I moved to Saint Petersburg and have been living there ever since. My opinions formed in California and the experience that I gained there helped me a lot to compare the lives and activities of the Armenians of California and the Armenians of Saint Petersburg. I wasn’t living with the status or psychology of a tourist in California. I lived as a member of the community, got acquainted with the community-wide events up close and had my thoughts and ambitions. Two conferences were recently held under the title “The Armenian Diaspora in the Russian Federation”. The first was held in Moscow and gathered over 100 people, and the second one was held at Yerevan State University and gathered public figures, intellectuals and historians. I was also one of the speakers at the conference.

Karine Avagyan: What are the major programs and objectives of the association?

V. B.: We can say a lot of things, claim that all the programs are good, all Armenian communities and organizations have the right mindset. However, there are many statements that can be made. In my speech, I said that Russia has a community and diaspora and that they are different from each other, but of course, different people have different opinions. In my opinion, there is a concept of identity, and by saying identity we understand the growth of the number of sons of the nation, enlargement of communities, establishment of schools, churches and cultural centers and active efforts, as well as the preservation of the Armenian language. Of course, this is great and necessary, but we Armenians are living in an era when a struggle is being led to defend the impregnability of our borders. Military operations were carried out in April, and our young soldiers were wounded and killed…Individuals, communities, societies and non-governmental organizations need to have the right and clear-cut position, and there is a need for public opinion. Living abroad, Armenians often don’t speak the truth about the military operations, fail to oppose the false news spread on television and mislead non-Armenians. On January 7, 2016, Patriarch Kiril gave an interview to Dmitri Kiselyov, which was broadcast on Rosia-1 TV. Talking about the situation created in the Near East and the relations between Muslims and Christians, he said there used to be Christian minorities in the Ottoman Empire as well, but they weren’t eliminated. Millions of people listened to him. He could have made a mistake. It wasn’t a live broadcast, and the interview could have been edited, but “thanks to” Kiselyov’s prudence, it was transmitted. Everyone in Armenia reacted to that interview, but none of the 3 million Armenians in Russia reacted. Why? After all, they know the language, have the brains, know the history, follow the religion and are well aware of the events. On January 13, our association expressed its opinion with a 15-page article. We have a Facebook page (also a closed group) that has over 3,700 registered friends. First, we discuss our actions and programs on the page, read opinions and listen to what our friends have to say, after which we integrate everything, post information on the page and inform that people who share our views and have the desire, can leave their signature. There were signatures of 150 people from the Russian Federation, about 150 people from a small Armenian American community. This is our initiative, but it is becoming a social initiative because others are joining us. We carry out projects. This is not politically affiliated. I am not a member of any political party, and I must say that being a member of an organization is not a mandatory condition to launch an initiative. Whoever wants to do something good for the nation, will do it. I wouldn’t like to cast a shade on the work of any organization or individual. Let them work. It will only be in the interests of the Armenian nation. There is nothing destructive. Silence is simply intolerable. We Armenians need to be able to defend our national values, interests and the truth everywhere and at all times.

Karine Avagyan: You are right. Mr. Babakhanyan, how does your association organize that?

V. B.: We have organized April 24th demonstrations several times, and this year, we commemorated the 101st anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. We had prepared a 9-meter banner featuring photos symbolizing the Holocaust and the Syrian war and a picture symbolizing the Armenian Genocide in the middle. There were about seven people holding the banner. There had never been such a long banner. We are already preparing to commemorate the 102nd anniversary in 2017. A memorial banner dedicated to Heydar Aliyev was posted in Saint Petersburg. Our association spoke out against this, asking why the banner was posted. I found an article published by a notable Russian scholar 30 years ago. In the article, the scholar had stated that Heydar Aliyev was a deserter and how he had falsified his date of birth to not participate in the Great Patriotic War. I used this as a document and stated that Aliyev was a deserter during the war and that a memorial banner couldn’t be placed in a heroic city like Leningrad. Our association held a rally near the Turkish Consulate General in Saint Petersburg. On the occasion of the First Republic of Armenia, we organized a march. We have also held a protest against the extradition of Ramil Safarov…We have celebrated Artsakh’s Independence and Armenia’s Independence separately. We have had meetings with notable political figures and listened to their lectures. We consider ourselves “fedayins” (freedom fighters) in the field of information. When the war broke out in April, all Armenians had to gather in the central areas of their cities of residence, consult, discuss and decide on what they had to do…Many people have helped, but it is very important to fight against the false news and aggressive propaganda of Azerbaijan, and this needs to be worldwide. We need to be guided by the principles of Nzhdeh (“Power leads to the emergence of law”) and Monte (“Unity leads to the emergence of power”). We need to reveal the historical truth and be able to present it to the world.

We need to be active and stand united in the pro-national efforts for the preservation of the Armenian identity. The time has come to change! The time has come for the Armenian Awakening!

Karine Avagyan: I was told that you also visited Artsakh these days. What was the purpose of your visit?

V. B.: I came to Armenia with a group of 30 people. Yes, we also visited Artsakh where one of our benefactors, Maxim Atayan, who was born in Russia, has built a church in his native Karaglukh village of the Hadrut region. This year, he renovated the old one, built two homes and, most importantly, he brought water from the distant mountains to the village…These are tremendous acts that not everyone knows about. Patriotism also starts from such love for the native home and the birthplace. Journalists need to be aware of the major events taking place in Armenia, all the news in the presses, on the Internet, on news websites and the official Facebook pages, respond and, if necessary, oppose, publish materials denying false news, write about Diaspora Armenian communities, great Armenians, the freedom fighters of the Artsakh war and the heroic men of our days, who pushed the enemy back by sacrificing their lives. They also need to write about those who fight for the Armenian Cause in Armenia and abroad and their initiatives…There are websites, the latest news section of which features news dating back to three years. The websites of certain Armenian embassies feature news that was current about four months ago, or pieces of news that have ten lines. We always need to be alert in the field of information, which is as important as the border and the battlefield. Our boys are the soldiers on the border, and we Armenians living in Armenia and abroad must be the soldiers of the field of information. I speak the truth. If stones will be thrown at me on the road, let them be thrown.!

Karine Avagyan: Thank you, Mr. Babakhanyan! I wish your pro-Armenian activities are fruitful.

Karine Avagyan