Nerses Hovsepyan

Where exactly is Eastern Europe? Well, that depends on who you ask. Czechs, Poles, Hungarians, and Slovaks insist they're in Central Europe. The Baltics swear they're in Northern Europe. In the Balkans, fewer and fewer people want to be called Balkan, let alone Eastern European, and prefer Southeast…

Did you know that one of the most trendy empires right now (particularly dear to Gen Z, seemingly according to online trends) is the baklava empire? This culinary kingdom stretches from the Balkans to Central Asia, and comprises every country listed in the Wikipedia article on “baklava”. But even th…

How scary and evil can a political leader be? With Putin, Netanyahu, and Trump in the headlines, the bar is depressingly high… but then there’s Ramzan Kadyrov – the man who runs Chechnya like his own private kingdom. You may not hear much about Chechnya. It’s a tiny Russian republic of around 1.5 mi…

You read us, so you know we regularly cover the South Caucasus: Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. But it’s high time we talked about the North: places like Chechnya, Dagestan, and Ingushetia. Geographically, these republics are in Europe, but because they’re part of Russia, the federation of 21 repu…

”Holy Father, go f--k your uncle's wife. What do you want from me?” This is what Armenia's prime minister Nikol Pashinyan posted on Facebook on 29 May – a message directed at archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, a politically active cleric. He's been mobilising and leading anti-Pashinyan protests across th…

In 2018, Armenians pulled off something rare: a peaceful overthrow of a corrupt government. What started as street protests led by ordinary citizens grew into a movement that toppled Serzh Sargsyan's long-standing regime. Since then, the country has taken small but important steps toward democracy. …

In Yerevan's fertility clinics, 40- to 50-year-old parents sit waiting. Not just for news of a pregnancy, but for a second chance. For many, the child they hope for already has a name: the name of a son lost in war. Most of the 3825 soldiers killed during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war were between 1…

For centuries, thousands of Armenian settlements thrived across the Ottoman Empire, specifically in the territory of modern-day Türkiye. Nowadays, only Vakıflı remains – a village of 130 Armenians clinging to their heritage between Musa Dagh mountain peaks and the Mediterranean coast. 110 years afte…

A billboard on Yerevan's central Abovyan Street reads: ”Caution: Reading enhances intellectual abilities.” While such messages in public spaces might seem unusual, Armenians have grown accustomed to these reminders. For several years, Armenia's government has been actively promoting lifelong learnin…

Azerbaijan has never been a beacon of democracy, but lately, it's not just tightening control – it's shutting the world out. It's the only country in Europe still keeping all its land borders closed since 2020, clinging to the long-expired excuse of COVID-19. In reality, this is just one piece of Ba…

Ever feel like books and reading could use a boost in our fast-paced, short-attention-span world? Armenians certainly thought so. Since 2008, every 19 February, Armenia celebrates a unique holiday – Book Giving Day. Established to honour Hovhannes Tumanyan's birthday, Armenia's revered national poet…

314 — that’s the number of days in 2024 when Yerevan residents couldn't breathe fresh air, as dust levels consistently exceeded safe limits. While 2024 is behind us, Armenia's capital continues to struggle with its alarming air pollution problem – one that remains unaddressed. Several factors contri…

How far has your government gone to fight corruption? In Armenia, which has long been considered one of the most corrupt places in Europe, the government, led by prime minister Nikol Pashinyan, has decided to go the extra mile, making it mandatory for all residents to declare all kinds of income exc…

After nearly a year of relative calm between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Baku's leadership has issued fresh, Putin-esque threats against Armenia. On 7 January, Azerbaijani dictator Ilham Aliyev labelled Armenia ”a fascist state” and threatened to destroy it if its leadership did not root out what he cal…

In recent years, like in most places around Europe, clubbing and rave culture have become increasingly popular among the Armenian youth. In Yerevan, the capital, numerous electronic and techno clubs draw hundreds of young Armenians every weekend. These venues have become more than just nightlife hub…

”Blessed is the one who dies for the freedom of his nation.” These solemn words conclude the Armenian anthem ”Mer Hayrenik” (Our Fatherland): it was first adopted as a national anthem in 1918 when the nation first declared its independence before the Red Soviet Army invaded Armenia in 1920. Now, 106…

This year, 27 non-combat deaths have occurred in the Armenian army, nine of which were suicides. Road and training accidents, as well as murder, were also major causes of young conscripts' deaths. These losses have sparked public debate about the state of the Armenian military. In Armenia, conscrip…

”A Christian would never celebrate a Satanic holiday,” declares a teenage Armenian girl in a recent anti-Halloween reel circulating on social media. For over a decade, Halloween has been a contentious topic in Armenian society. Before that, Armenians knew Halloween only through screens, viewing it a…

On 14 October, Armen Grigoryan, Armenia's Security Council Secretary, proposed at a conference in Yerevan that Armenians transition from a wheat-based diet to a rice-based one. This would reduce Russia's economic influence and enhance national security, as nearly 70% of Armenia's wheat supply curren…

Armenia's prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, isn't your average politician on Instagram. One day, he's cycling through the streets of Yerevan; the next, he's cooking with his wife, boarding an economy flight from Brussels to New York, or dancing and DJing alongside teenagers. Whether he's in the kitch…

In Eastern Europe, a region ravaged by wars, genocides, and ethnic cleansing, division often prevails. Time and time again, ethnic, religious, and cultural divergences are manipulated into devastating conflicts and crises – from Ukraine to Nagorno-Karabakh, from Transnistria to the breakaway regions…

When I first visited Nagorno-Karabakh in 2017, it felt unusual and weird to hear the Karabakh dialect of Armenian everywhere – from busy streets to local markets. Since this dialect is quite different from standard Armenian, I barely understood it. I was surprised to see that many signs, banners, an…

In the past couple of years, Armenia has registered an unprecedented increase in tourist arrivals. Armenia’s mountainous terrain, ancient churches, pristine nature, and scenic towns attracted more than 2 million visitors in 2023 – a number previously unmatched. While most tourists come from Russia,…

Alongside democracy, the rule of law, and fair elections, Armenia’s 2018 Velvet Revolution also introduced bikes to the country. Right after prime minister Nikol Pashinyan came to power, footage of him riding a bicycle to work sparked many Armenians’ attention, and the bike became a symbol of Armeni…

Like many other countries in Eastern and Southern Europe, Armenia ranks relatively high by the percentage of people living in the capital city. More than a third of its 2.7 million population lives in the capital city of Yerevan. Since Armenia’s independence from the Soviet Union, many regional town…

Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced on 12 June that the country will formally leave the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), a Russian-led military alliance that Armenia has been part of since 1994. Withdrawing from CSTO has been speculated about for years, but the Armenian…

With the beginning of summer and the peak tourism season, most Europeans will enjoy their right to free and easy mobility, travelling from their country of origin to other parts of the continent. For Armenian citizens, however, travelling to most parts of Europe is a significantly time- and money-co…

After 26 EU member states decided to allocate approximately €10 million of ”non-lethal” military aid to Armenia from the European Peace Facility, Hungary vetoed the decision in the European Council. According to Radio Free Europe, their source, who appears to be linked to a European government, has …

Approximately 60 TikTokers have been detained and summoned by Azerbaijan's Ministry of Internal Affairs for allegations of posting ”immoral” content. Anar Gafarov, the Ministry's spokesperson, stated that the country's authorities have been taking action against dozens of Tiktok users for content th…

Every year on 24 April, Armenians all over the world flock to memorials to commemorate the memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide – the greatest tragedy in Armenian history. On this day, rallies, marches, and demonstrations are organised and attended by thousands of Armenians from Yerevan to…

In Europe, military service deferral for education is nowhere as limited and complicated as it is in Armenia. Since introducing a 2018 law, deferral for education has become restricted in Armenia. The law established stringent criteria, allowing the postponement of military service for a select few …

In Europe, military service deferral for education is nowhere as limited and complicated as it is in Armenia. Since the introduction of the 2018 law, deferral for education has become notably restricted in Armenia. The law established stringent criteria, allowing the postponement of military service…

The Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan has recently stated that his government will hand some territories in Armenia's north-east to Azerbaijan to avoid a new military confrontation and facilitate the peace process between the two South Caucasian countries.  The territories in question are four uninhabited…

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has recently reaffirmed its commitment to fostering closer ties with the nations of the South Caucasus. While the specific focus of the alliance's engagement varies across each country from political to economic and military domains, there is a unified m…