Armenia

Many travelers will be in awe of Tbilisi’s historical buildings, and the numerous church spires which sprout up from the city. The city itself has been a crossroads for empires, religions and peoples. But, the Armenian contribution to the city’s history seems to be on the wane, and nothing exemplifies this more than the neglected Armenian churches which once dominated the cityscape.

Neil Hauer is a Canadian freelance journalist, analyst and researcher writing on the North and South Caucasus. His stories were published on CNN, Guardian, Foreign Policy and AlJazeera. He has years of experience living and reporting on the ground from all over the region. He has covered the conflicts in Syria and Chechnya. More recently, Neil has been reporting live from the frontlines in Nagorno-Karabakh. Neil was one of the few foreign journalists, who has been covering the war and its aftermath while being on the ground almost all the time.

When talking about Armenian writers on a global scale, Armenians usually mention William Saroyan and Sergey Dovlatov. But that’s past. And who are the most successful authors with Armenian descent today?

Art & Music festival Alteration opened on May 30th in Yerevan, with world famous DJ Nina Kraviz performing on the stage of the legendary "Ayrarat" cinema hall, abandoned after the collapse of the USSR. Alteration will last till June 18, and will have events both with local and international artists.

Yerevan Wine Days is the most anticipated event of the year both for the locals and the tourists. Everyone awaits for the opening of the tourism season to take a glass of wine in their hand and enjoy the summer. In 2019, the event hosted 35,000 wine aesthetes within two days. The situation was significantly different in 2020 due to the Covid outbreak, however, the organizers found another way to keep the presence of the Yerevan Wine Days active and make the year-long quarantine gap less harmful for the winemakers in Armenia. Regional Post talked to Mary Badalyan, the co-founder of the Yerevan Wine Days, about the hardships of the previous year and the upcoming return of the wine celebration on the streets of Yerevan.

During the recent decades the use of fuelwood and dung for heating and cooking purposes has been a common practice in the rural households of Armenia. Unsustainable production and inefficient use of these fuels is linked to different areas including household economics, health, energy, and forests. Excessive use of fuelwood has negative consequences for human well-being and forests. There is a need to increase the efficiency of households’ heating as well as to explore and promote the alternatives. This will help to conserve the limited forest resources of Armenia for future generations and improve the livelihoods in rural Armenia.

Literary critic, chief editor of “Antares” publishing house Arkmenik Nikoghosyan tells about the recent trends in the Armenian literary market and its main bestsellers.

During the events, now known as the Second Artsakh war, the information field was the second frontline. Regional Post discussed with cybersecurity specialist Samvel Martirosyan whether it was all quiet on the cyber front.