Developments from Armenia continue to come fast and furious, and yet what it all means is unclear as ever. Most surprisingly, the sudden announcement that Turkey and Armenia will be opening the border which has been essentially closed in one way or another for a century to citizens of other countries seems to suggest progress in normalization, though exactly when and how this will take place is still unknown. The very same day, Azerbaijan abruptly closed its land border with Turkey to travelers, while warning of renewed hostilities with Armenia. While we ponder what these big questions all mean, there are many other stories in the world of Armenian social media which might have flown under your radar. As always, our round-up brings you up to speed:
Thank you #Armenia for shining a limelight on #science and honoring scientists. Yes! This is an actual stamp with my face on it, tweeps! I am trying to figure out how to process all this... pic.twitter.com/zMexgrAKiF
— Ardem Patapoutian (@ardemp) June 14, 2022
One of the world’s newest Nobel laureates- and the only one to claim Armenian ancestry- recently completed a trip to his homeland, where he gave commencement addresses at universities, consulted with government officials, and took in the sights.
Ardem Patapoutian, the first Armenian Nobel laureate, donated his Nobel Prize medal to the History Museum of Armenia yesterday https://t.co/7rODzrpuej pic.twitter.com/5t9IGBa4uG
— Hov Nazaretyan (@HovhanNaz) June 15, 2022
Perhaps his biggest splash came with his donation of one of the Nobel medals he was issued [laureates receive one solid gold and up to three gold-plated replicas] to be on display in Armenia. A note he wrote with it expressed his hope that it would inspire the next generation of scientists in Armenia.
Congrats S/o to @DetroitPistons asst Coach @RexKalamian ??????who just led the Armenian National Basketball Team to the Championship win in the @FIBA Europe Small Countries Championship.
— MarkJonesESPN (@MarkJonesESPN) July 3, 2022
After Malta jumped out to an early big lead..Armenia stormed back to win 84-68.
Speaking of the next generation, there’s a new age afoot in the world of Armenian basketball under the direction of recently-named head coach Rex Kalamian. The team drew attention from ESPN play-by-play voice Mark Jones throughout the recent International Basketball Federation European Small Countries Championship. Team Armenia has been impressive and we can look forward to more success from them.
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— Tatevik Hayrapetyan (@TatevikHayrape1) July 3, 2022
??#Armenia basketball team is the Champion of Europe among small countries!
Thank you for making us so proud! ❤️???? https://t.co/T9Zb6adEwZ pic.twitter.com/GEcmAPLLtF
Here’s a clip of their celebration.
While @HenrikhMkh is the first Nerazzurro from Armenia, a certain player with Armenian origins used to play for us. But who exactly? ???
— Inter (@Inter_en) July 2, 2022
The five fastest answers get a follow back ?#InterQuiz #ForzaInter
Also in sports news, a great deal of Armenian soccer fans have suddenly switched loyalties for favorite international team to Football Club Internazionale Milano with the news they have signed Henrikh Mkhitaryan. As the team’s Twitter account hinted above, it isn’t the first time they’ve had a star Armenian player (though Henrikh is the first from Armenia), as French-born Youri Djorkaeff was also a member of the team from 1996-1999.
@SevOhanian and @NQasabian have been invited to join @TheAcademy. pic.twitter.com/j51BVqN4i6
— Armenian Film Society (@armenianfilms) June 28, 2022
In entertainment news, these two young Armenians have been invited to join the Academy of Motion Pictures, the organization best known for its annual awarding of the Oscars. Dr. Eric Esrailian was also elected a member of the Academy Museum’s Board of Trustees.
Ok i’m the first HipHop artist to perform in ??Yerevan Armenia ?GLG?GreenLightGang ?I will be Back! • https://t.co/jnbpt4Vpb3 pic.twitter.com/yDL8fhf6op
— 50cent (@50cent) July 2, 2022
Also in entertainment, the much anticipated 50 Cent concert in Yerevan was a success. It seems the performer enjoyed his time, though many were left questioning his claim he was the first hip hop artist to perform in Armenia. While he is likely the first to have had an organized stadium performance, many memories immediately returned to Kanye West’s now iconic yet impromptu Swan Lake concert of 2015.
"Snap" by Rosa Linn received its biggest day so far on Spotify yesterday with 504,223 streams registered on June 29. It beats its previous May 15 record of 477,715. #Eurovision ??
— Eurovision Charts (@esc_charts) June 30, 2022
Though Armenia placed an underwhelming 20th at this May’s Eurovision Song Contest, its song “Snap” by Rosa Linn has taken on a life of its own as a popular ‘meme song’ on TikTok. In recent days it has surpassed all other 2022 Eurovision songs for most daily plays on Spotify.
Canada is opening an embassy in Armenia. This will allow for stronger ties between our countries and increased Canadian support for Armenian democracy.????
— Mélanie Joly (@melaniejoly) June 29, 2022
As the rules that ensured stability & security are challenged, Canada will work to protect peace & democracy globally.
Canadian-Armenians rejoiced as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada announced, after decades of waiting, that it was finally opening a Canadian embassy in Armenia. It will be Canada’s first embassy in the Caucasus. A tweet soon after however created some diplomatic waves as it said Canada is“push[ing] back on Russian influence” by “increasing their footprint” in the Baltic states and Armenia. The Russian Embassy to Armenia condemned the tweet, musing how such a line from Canada might affect the well-being and safety of the Armenian people. The Canadian Foreign Ministry deleted and reposted the tweet with Armenia removed from the list of countries…
????The video tells about #Charentsavan, the first city built in Soviet Armenia. Charentsavan was selected among 70 cities in the #EU4Culture project and received funding from the European Union to prepare the Cultural Development Strategy. ?https://t.co/urr93DcUyW pic.twitter.com/dIUkTYrWbj
— EU Armenia (@EU_Armenia) June 1, 2022
Did you know the city of Charentsavan - just 30 minutes outside Yerevan - was built from nothing after World War II and originally called Lusavan? In honor of it being named one of 70 cities to receive funding in the #EU4Culture project, the EU in Armenia shared this video about the city’s history.
Thought myself inured to violent conflict-related death from an early age, but I saw this kid's Dad sitting on his grave earlier at Yerablur, smoking & bawling his eyes out. Then I started bawling my eyes out too. His name was Vazgin Aslanian. I'm not sure if he quite made 19. pic.twitter.com/02BT5unG8e
— Gerry Lynch (@gerrylynch) June 9, 2022
This account has been sharing pictures from his trip to Armenia over the past month, well worth taking a look through, but this one in particular moved many people.
A basalt idol, dated to circa 700 BC, which was converted to an early khachkar, post 301 AD. Such objects are physical evidence of the transition of Armenia, one of the world’s oldest societies, from pre-Christian to Christian civilization. pic.twitter.com/ILwgb4jmrJ
— Gfoeller Renaissance Foundation (@GfoellerFndtn) July 2, 2022
Finally here’s one more account which appeared recently that is well worth following, as it shares all manner of archeological discovery and history from Armenia. This fascinating artifact is particularly gripping, as it essentially contains the evolution of Armenian history in one stone.
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