Recap from last Blog (Armenia under USSR: Part 1 The Youth Camp )
My first trip to Armenia was in the 1977. I went with a team of 6 boys and 6 girls representing our school along with one teacher/supervisor, to attend the annual Armenian youth gathering in Kirovakan in USSR Armenia (name changed to “Vanadzor” after December 25th, 1991 Armenia independence from former USSR).
We spent two weeks in the camp then two weeks I spent with my dad’s cousin and his family in Yerevan. My last blog was about the two weeks in the camp, and this blog is the continuation of the second two weeks before riding a plane and heading back home. Unfortunately, I do not have pictures, it was the life before the social media and powerful cameras in everyone’s pocket phone was totally different and the priorities were different.
Me in Moscow for one night
That one night we spend in Moscow as transit on our way to Yerevan is my only visit to Moscow. I never had the chance to visit Moscow again, it is definitely in my to do list, but I know Moscow today is totally different than the Moscow under Leonid Brezhnev.
Just as a recap, Brezhnev was the general secretary of the supreme Soviet Union for 18 years (1964-1982). He was the second longest leader after Joseph Stalin, and at his 18 years of leadership, the corruption was at its peak, the technological advancement in the USSR was at its lowest but he spent all his capabilities on the military driving the whole world to the long and exhausting cold war.
I remember when I landed in Moscow, the airport felt cold, not cold as in low temperature, cold as big and lifeless, excessively big airport with very few people. It looked huge and empty with clean and polished marbles everywhere, duty free shop empty from goods and people with uniforms and without any specific job standing everywhere looking with cold blue eyes, no facial expressions, and no smile (I remember that as if it were yesterday).
The airport was empty, so we made it to the passport control very fast, the passport control officer was a young guy I remember, with short blond hair, and lifeless blue eye, he kept looking at the passport and then at me for more than a minute. That minute felt like eternity the officer has cold lifeless looks, his looks felt like mutant attempting to read my mind. Then without a word or a smile, he through the stamped passport back to me, pushed the button for the electronic gate to open, and he looked at the second person in line, so I knew I am cleared and can leave.
After around half an hour we were out of the airport, and an Armenian girl studying in Moscow, came to greet us and took us to her accommodation, where we stayed overnight. That night she took us for a quick tour to Moscow by public transport. First, I noticed that the public transport was extremely clean, almost empty, and free. They had busses run on electricity, and it was my first-time riding anything like that.
The other thing I noticed, were the people. People did not smile, they keep to themselves, and they were looking at us with unpleasant looks, maybe because we looked different and we were speaking some language they did not understand. In Moscow, was the first time, I saw a couple kissing passionately in public. I remember seeing one couple they were acting as if they were in their bed in their house and not in a public bus.
First stop was the Lenin’s Tomb (Lenin’s Mausoleum) in the Red Square. It was another huge white marble building with many huge projectors. The red flag on top of the building was what drew my attention, it was after sunset, and the flag with the projector lights, looked like burning flame, that is something engraved in my memory and can’t forget it. The girl touring us, told us a brief about the building and why it is important, I cannot remember details, but I remember we stood there for half an hour.
Then we walked the empty streets (looked exceptionally clean and very safe) and did some window shopping at the huge and empty stores each looked like museum. When I asked the girl, why all the shelves had the same items with no variety. She looked at me confused and that is when our teacher dragged me and asked me not to ask too many questions. I knew I said something wrong and I kept quiet.
Then we went to the famous Moscow metro, which was majestic, clean and no smoking (that is strange for a population addicted to smoking). she told us the story of how Stalin was able to keep the metros clean and smoke free. She said – I could not confirm this story, but it was stuck in my mind since – she said, that the first day Stalin ordered the 11 people caught smoking, to be executed and hanged on the metro station doors for smoking, the second day that number came down to 3 only, and no one smoked in the metro since. Even though I was there decades after death of Stalin, but still people were afraid of smoking in the metro. Stalin’s terror was felt till that day and you can see it in people’s eyes.
The next day we were on a plane to Yerevan and then a bus to Kirovakan, please read the previous Blog for the story about Kirovakan.
Yerevan at Last
My dad’s cousin was one of very few that went back to Armenia after the 1915 genocide. He moved back with his family motivated by the Russian propaganda news. He had his business as jeweler, a wife and I think one of the three daughters when he moved, the other two daughters were born in Yerevan.
Of course, upon his arrival to Yerevan, the Soviet government confiscated most of the belongings and he was left with some jewels and money that he hides them well and was not found. He immediately knew he was tricked, and it was a great mistake moving back.
When I met him was my first time meeting him, and after that trip, I never saw him again. At the time he had three daughters, the house (apartment) was four bedroom I remember, one of the daughters moved out to give her room to me. Armenians in general, and especially the ones living in Armenia are very welcoming and when you visit them, they will do everything to make you feel home.
Coming from the camp with many days no shower, the first thing I wanted to do is to have shower. They did not have continuous hot water all the time, they had to heat water an hour before shower. So, they started heating the water and, in the meantime, we had a table full of food, fresh fruits and cold cuts and all type of small dishes.
They had a half size piano at home (we never had musical instruments in our home, we had many recorders and speakers everywhere in the house like a nightclub but not one musical instrument). I asked why they had the Piano at home. It turned out that all the daughters play the piano and sing, that is their pass time beside the usual school homework. One of the daughters was studying pharmacy and the other two still in secondary school aiming at medical school.
After a lot of eating and chit chat about their life in Soviet Union, the hot water was ready and at last and after 2 weeks of no proper shower I was in a tub with hot water and enough time to clean up the past two weeks of dirt.
Exploring Yerevan, Armenia
The next day, I woke up early, and we had beautiful breakfast, I offered to wax the wooden floors, that is a daily activity, and became my contribution doing the house chores for the coming two weeks. After breakfast, we went out and using taxis and buses to see the city (Yerevan Metro was not yet available, The Metro was established in 1981).
First stop I remember was the Republic Square which is called “Herabarak” in Armenian. Like in all old cities, the city starts from a central circle, where the main church or temple and the governor’s or princes building are located. But in communist countries, there were no churches so there were the City Hall with big Soviet flag, one or two biggest hotels run by the communist party, and the building of the communist party and I think a police station.
In the middle of the Hrabarak there is the famous Yerevan water fountain and at that time the fountain use to change colors and increase and decrease in water pressure and even change to different water features as the music changed. Of course, you cannot compare it with today’s Bellagio – Las Vegas or Dubai water fountains, but for 1970s that was very impressive. I remember the music was all classical music, I cannot recall any Armenian music at that fountain during that visit. I fell in love with Classical music since then.
The life and the Economy in Yerevan in the 1970s.
One thing I noticed was that all people looked the same. People wearing similar type of clothing, same way of walking, extremely limited color choices in clothing, even women looked like wearing similar clothing. The life was extremely cheap for us but awfully expensive for them. One dollar in the bank was 75 Kobeks (0.75 Rubles), while the exchange rate that my uncle helped me to get was more than 4 Rubles per dollar (six or seven time more than the bank). At the time the whole USSR used the Russian Rubles, but after independence Armenia changed the currency and adopted the new Armenian Dram (these days 400 ADM equal around $1).
As I was walking with my uncle and looking at the fruit and food markets, I noticed that the fruit sold in most markets were so bad. While the fruits and the food at my uncle’s house were different, big apples, peaches, pears, and the famous Armenian grapes and pomegranates full of color and smell and so fresh. The unbelievable dry fruits, and jams, and the butter and the bread, nothing like that I was able to find on the shelves, in the market.
I asked him, I said “uncle why the fruits here look awful and where do you get your fruits from?”. He told me to lower my voice, he looked around him and said “dakitz” meaning from the same places but under the table and much higher price than the government forced prices. This is how farmers make money.
My uncle took me to few places to buy the souvenirs that my grandmother asked me to buy, extremely specific things that every Armenian visited Yerevan should have in their houses. For example, the mother of pearl Backgammon, the crystal table clock and some other dry fruits, and couple of bottles of the Armenian Cognac…etc.
The other thing I learned, that the western brand sunglasses and pare of American Jeans (wrangler, Levi’s ..etc.) worth more than month or two worth of their salary. Chewing gum was something rare and can be traded for good Armenian Cognac. The Marlboro cigarette was a commodity and people exchanged one cigarette at a time like a silver coin. That is the trade most Armenian visiting Yerevan in the 70s use to do. That was what our supervisor/teacher busy with. She was not there to supervise us; she was there to trade and do business.
People usually take two boxes of American cigarette, few pairs of American jeans, sunglasses, American chewing gums, and trade them for Armenian Cognac, artifacts that are cheap there but can sell ten-fold outside the USSR.
The day visit to Sevan Lake
Because my Uncle did not have a car, he arranged a car to drive us to Sevan lake 40 miles away. It took us good hour to get there, of course the driver offered us all type of cognac and dried fruits and asked if I have cigarette with me or gums ..etc. my uncle talked to him in the same Eastern Armenian accent and told him to mind his own busines and just drive (the Armenian language used in Armenia use to be very hard for me to understand, my uncle use to speak English and Armenian but our spurkahay accent that I use it is an accent used by “Armenians in exile”, which we are. Still the Eastern Armenian used in Armenia today is hard for me to understand.
After an hour drive, we reached the famous Sevan lake (which I use to hear in songs), we had a boat tour, then my uncle asked me if I want to swim a bit in the Lake, which I was waiting for impatiently, I already had my swimsuit on me. I took off my jeans and my T-shirt and went to swim. As my uncle was watching me, a guy came and stole my shirt and pants and ran. I tried to run after him, but it was too late. Now I am left wet in my swimming suit, and no shoes, pent or shirt. I did not know how I will get back.
People were gathered seeing what happened, and I was mad and furious and could not control my teenage temper. One man with his family, he was so angry at the situation, and he was saying how dare these thieves steel from tourist, now this tourist will go back and say Armenians are thieves. I calmed him down saying I am Armenian, and my uncle talked to him as well, and the guy after he calmed down, he gave me his shoes, pants and shirt and told me to wear them as I go back. I had no other choice, it was double my size, I looked like Charlie Chaplin in his movies, but it saved the day.
Last thoughts
Armenian people suffered a great deal under the Soviet Union Bolshevik rule. Just before the independence in 1989, there was a 6.8 M earthquake on 7th of December 1988 “Spitak earthquake”, which devastated the country and cost 25,000 lives and 15,000 injured and more than half a million homeless (that equates almost 17% of the population). The USSR did very little to help.
After independence, Armenia a landlock country, was left with no resources, surrounded by other former Soviet countries with great deal of animosity due to the Soviet tactics where they use to relocate people and create conflict as part of their vision of one USSR without ethnic boarders, but what happened is that the countries after they took independence start fighting between each other over unsettled boarders. Armenia went through very tough times and still have the conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh.
Armenians all over the world financially help a great deal, many Armenian charity organizations, artists, billionaires help to rebuild the country. Of course, most of the credit goes to the local Armenians that had the vision, the will and determination to change their country to what it is today. I really felt so proud when I saw how far Yerevan and the whole Armenia changed during my trip on 2012 when I visited Yerevan for the first time after this trip.
What I saw in 1977, was a corrupt, dead, and people with no inspiration, no vision, and no future. What I see now in Yerevan, people extremely ambitious, full of energy, and there is a huge will to fight the corruption left by the social regime. I see now modern Armenia vibrant and full of opportunities.
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