Armenian community organizations are the main pillars for preservation of the Armenian identity in the Diaspora, and encouraging and motivating those organizations may serve as a new impetus for them to do more. The “Armenian National-Cultural Autonomy” of Saint Petersburg received the Grand Prize in the Best Community Organization category at the 2013 Pan-Armenian Awards “For notable contribution to preservation of the Armenian identity”.

Vice-President of the “Armenian National-Cultural Autonomy” of Saint Petersburg Ashot Nersisyan attended the award ceremony and mentioned that the award means a lot to the Armenian community.

“Our community has a daily and Sunday Armenian school, as well as youth, women’s and veterans’ unions. This award is the result of their hard work and patriotic acts. It makes us happy, inspires us and makes us work harder.”

According to Nersisyan, preservation of the Armenian identity lies at the core of their activities.

“Currently, there are nearly 100,000 Armenians living in Saint Petersburg. The major concern of our organizations is preservation of the Armenian identity so that Armenians abroad are not detached from their roots and don’t forget their native language. Of course, there are people who face a language barrier, such as children from mixed marriages, but in general, it’s safe to say that the community is an Armenian-speaking community.

Every weekend, we organize events and show active participation in citywide events.”

When asked what the main guarantee for the community’s activism is, Nersisyan said:

“It is perhaps the fact that we have patriotic Armenians who are enthusiastic and move things forward. There are Armenians who spend money, take the time and put in effort to make sure that the community has everything it needs.

I wish to see more patriotic Armenians. They will help us do a good job in Armenia and the Diaspora.”

Some award recipients have transferred their financial awards for charity purposes. The “Armenian National-Cultural Autonomy” of Saint Petersburg transferred its award (500,000 AMD) to the New Aleppo district for Syrian-Armenians, which is under construction in Ashtarak city.

“When we found out that we had received the grand prize, we were very happy. At the same time, our community organizations decided to donate the money to the construction of the New Aleppo district. We’re ready to provide more assistance to the Syrian-Armenians. This isn’t the first time that the Armenian community of Saint Petersburg is extending a helping hand to the Syrian-Armenians. On January 18^th, the community held a year-end event and transferred all proceeds to the construction of the New Aleppo district.

We’re ready to do our best to provide more assistance to our Syrian-Armenian compatriots who are in a difficult situation,” said Ashot Nersisyan.

Lusine Abrahamyan