10.52837 / 25792970-2021-10.2-24
DAVIT AGHABEKYAN
TORN BETWEEN LOYALTY AND IDENTITY : THE CRIMEAN ARMENIANS IN THE POST-SOVIET ERA
Abstract : The following research tries to understand how the lives of the Crimean Armenians were impacted after the collapse of the Soviet Union . After briefly discussing the Crimean Armenian communities in the Soviet Period , the article mainly focuses on the social and political issues that Armenians of Crimea have faced during the post-Soviet period . There are two research questions : 1 . What key problems have the Crimean Armenians encountered during the post-Soviet transformational period ? 2 . How did the 2014 events impact the Crimean Armenians ? With the help of content analysis and interviews , the research looks into these and a set of other relevant questions . The main findings are that Crimean Armenians have mostly perceived the peninsula to be more Russian than Ukrainian , that is why their lives were not dramatically affected after Crimea came under the control of Russia , apart from some issues concerning traveling and visas , documentation and social protection . Keywords : Crimea , Armenian diaspora , Ukraine , Russia , Identity politics
Introduction
Armenians have been residing in the territory of Crimea since the eleventh century . They have left a rich historical and cultural legacy . There are a number of churches , historical monuments and sites which signify the Armenian presence in the peninsula . There has been sufficient research done on the development of Armenian communities of Crimea in the Middle Ages up to the twentieth century . Since the 1900s , Crimea has been under constant transformation periods . In the course of a century , it has been a part of the Russian Empire , Soviet Union , independent Ukraine and the Russian Federation . During each of the four phases , it has had a different status . After the collapse of the Soviet Union , Crimea , like any other post-Soviet state or region , went through a difficult transformation . When discussing Crimea , it is usually perceived as a region within either independent Ukraine or Russia rather than a single distinct area . In the context of the 2014 events , the Crimea is viewed either as a tool in the hands of international actors .
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