:''Alternate uses: see
Armenia (disambiguation).''
The
Republic of Armenia
is a landlocked country in southern
Transcaucasia, between the
Black_Sea and the
Caspian_Sea, with
Turkey to the west and
Georgia to the north, and sharing borders with
Azerbaijan in the east, and
Iran and the
Naxcivan exclave of Azerbaijan in the south.
{| border=1 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=0 align=right style="margin-left:0.5em;" width="300px"
|+
Hayastani Hanrapetut'yunՀայաստանի Հանրապետություն
|-
| style="background:#efefef;" align="center" colspan="2" |
{| border="0" cellpadding=2 cellspacing=0
|-
| align="center" width="140px" | || align="center" width="140px" |
|-
.html">In Detail) .html">Full size)
|}
|-
| align="center" colspan=2 style="border-bottom:3px solid gray;" | ''National
motto: ''
|-
| align=center colspan=2 |
|-
.html">.html">Armenian
|-
.html">|
Yerevan
|-
.html">| 40° 16' N, 44° 34' E
|-
| Largest City || Yerevan
|-
.html">President ||
Robert_Kocharian
|-
.html">Prime minister ||
Andranik_Markaryan
|-
.html">.html">Ranked 138th
29'800 km2 4.7%
|-
.html">Density.html">Population density.html">Ranked 128th 3'326'448 112/km2
|-
.html">| From
Soviet_Union September_23,
1991
|-
.html">|
Dram (AMD)
|-
.html">.html">UTC +4 (
DST +5)
|-
.html">National anthem ||
Mer_Hayrenik (Our Fatherland)
|-
.html">Internet TLD || .AM
|-
.html">Calling Code || 374
|}
History
''Main article:
History_of_Armenia''
Armenia was incorporated into
Russian_Empire in
1828 and the
USSR in
1920. Armenian leaders remain preoccupied by the long conflict with
Azerbaijan over
Nagorno-Karabakh, a primarily Armenian-populated
exclave, assigned to Soviet Azerbaijan in the 1920s by Moscow. Armenia and Azerbaijan began fighting over the exclave in
1988; the struggle escalated after both countries attained independence from the Soviet Union in
1991. By May
1994, when a cease-fire took hold, Armenian forces held not only Nagorno-Karabakh but also a significant portion of Azerbaijan proper.
The economies of both sides have been hurt by their inability to make substantial progress toward a peaceful resolution, and the Turkish economic blockade of Armenia.
Also of note is the
Armenian_Genocide, an event that killed 1.5 million Armenians living within present day Turkish borders beginning April 24, 1915.
Politics
''Main article:
Politics_of_Armenia''
The Government of Armenia's stated aim is to build a Western-style
parliamentary_democracy as the basis of its form of government. However, international observers have questioned the inherent fairness of parliamentary and presidential elections and constitutional referenda since 1995, citing polling deficiencies, lack of cooperation by the electoral commission, and poor maintenance of electoral lists and polling places.
The unicameral parliament (also called the National Assembly) is dominated by a coalition, called "Unity" (Miasnutyun). A new party, the Republic Party, is headed by ex-Prime Minister
Aram_Sargsian and has become the primary voice of the opposition.
Armenians voted overwhelmingly for independence in a September
1991 referendum.
Levin_Ter-Petrosian was president until January 1998, when public demonstrations against his policies on Nagorno-Karabakh forced his resignation. In
1999, the assassination of Prime Minister
Vazgen_Sargsian, parliament Speaker
Karen_Demirchian and six other officials led to a period of political instability, however President
Robert_Kocharian was successful in riding out the unrest.
Provinces
''Main article:
Provinces_of_Armenia''
Armenia is divided into 11 provinces (''marzer'', singular - ''marz''):
#
Aragatsotn
#
Ararat
#
Armavir
#
Geghark'unik'
#
Kotayk'
#
Lorri
#
Shirak
#
Syunik'
#
Tavush
#
Vayots'_Dzor
#
Yerevan
Geography
''Main article:
Geography_of_Armenia''
Armenia is a landlocked country located in south-west , and no point is below 400m above sea-level. Pollution from toxic chemicals such as DDT is not helping the already poor soil quality in many parts of the county. An energy blockade, the result of the conflict with Azerbaijan, has led to
deforestation.
Economy
''Main article:
Economy_of_Armenia''
Demographics
''Main article:
Demographics_of_Armenia''
Armenia is a primarily
Oriental Orthodox country. Armenia is considered the first nation to adopt Christianity, tracing its church's roots back to the 3rd and 4th centuries.
Culture
''Main article:
Culture_of_Armenia''
Music_of_Armenia
Miscellaneous topics
Armenian_People
Communications_in_Armenia
Transportation_in_Armenia
Military__of_Armenia
Foreign_relations_of_Armenia
Holidays_in_Armenia
External links and references
Home |
Index |
mail
Search at Google.Com | Search at MSN.Com
History:
Copyright (c) 2004
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2
or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation.
A copy of the license is included in the section entitled
"GNU Free Documentation License".