Bourdain, off the cuff: Armenia

Synopsis: Bourdain travels to Armenia, a nation that “remains a dream, a subject of stories,” a place that has been engaged in a “long existential struggle for survival” for decades. Alongside System of a Down’s Serj Tankian, he reflects on the massive Armenian diaspora and its deeply entrenched nationalism and feelings of unity. Bourdain visits the highly contested Nagorno-Karabakh region, known to Armenians as the Republic of Artsakh, to make sense of Armenia’s tense, incredibly complex diplomatic relations with its neighbors.

On the mystique of Armenia:

“Armenia remains a dream, a subject of stories; it is still, against all odds, a place.”

“Armenia is a small, landlocked Christian nation surrounded by mostly non-Christian neighbors.”

“I needed an Armenian to push me over the edge, help me find a window, a lens through which to look at a country for some reason I’ve managed to not visit in my travels.”

“This is a landlocked country in the middle of meat-on-a-stick zone.”

On the Armenian diaspora’s struggles and triumphs:

“There are 3 million Armenians living in Armenia. There are another 8 million around the world. Ever since the genocide, it’s been a long existential struggle for survival.”

“They never forgot about the past and who and what had pushed them from their homeland.”

“Diaspora Armenian communities, wherever they are, have been bonded together by deep feelings of nationalism and injustice for what happened to them.”

On the legacy of Soviet occupation:

“When Armenia was swallowed up by the Soviet Union in 1920, it became the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic. With that came purges and paranoia, but also a rapid industrialization, the evidence of which is still seen today in the abandoned factories and workers blocks of another time. A Soviet mentality and sizable Russian presence still hang over the country like a dead weight. No matter how you felt about Soviet rule, the transition was a rough one.”

“Armenia enjoyed a somewhat celebrated status during Soviet times. Russian influence is everywhere still. Chess is taught in public schools, a basic life skill. It’s probably the fact that Armenia was such a powerhouse of smart, highly educated brainiacs with strong backgrounds in engineering, math, rocketry, and technology—a veritable Silicon Valley of the Caucasus, which largely spared them the worst of Soviet rule.”

“When the borders of the South Caucasus were drawn by the Russian conquerors 200 years ago, a strong Russian presence kept ethnic and religious rivalries in check. But whenever disorder hit Russia, war has broken out here—most recently after the fall of the USSR.”

On the ugliness of the Nagorno-Karabakh territorial dispute:

“The brutal conflict went largely unknown internationally. As with any war—particularly wars with an ethnic or religious component—over territory, it was ugly, murderous, and with atrocities carried out by both sides.”

“Russia’s role in the conflict [between Armenia and Azerbaijan] is suspiciously cynical. They actively arm, support, and advise both sides, as it appears to be in their interests that there is no lasting resolution.”

Guest quotes:

Serj Tankian: “How Armenian am I? That’s a good question, man. The majority of the Armenians who live in the diaspora didn’t voluntarily migrate. You know, there were forced migrations and pogroms. After the genocide, they ended up in the Middle East, Europe, and other parts of the world. We have this feeling of being kicked out. That longing is different from other diasporas, I think.”

Serj Tankian: “I remember, the first time I flew back to LA [from Armenia], the feeling I got getting out of the plane was, Why am I back here? It’s this inescapable feeling of the land having some kind of pull on the blood or something like that.”

Richard Giragosian: “We also need to go beyond victimization and take more pride in survival.”

Richard Giragosian: “This is, now, the turning point, Armenia looking to normalize relations with Turkey—not because of the genocide, but despite the genocide.”

Nazareth Seferian: “What remains from the Soviet times?”

Mariam’s grandmother: “People were much friendlier before. This has changed a lot. Now things have changed and everyone has turned into individualists.” Anthony Bourdain: “You sound wistful about the old days. Are things better now or worse?” Miriam’s grandmother: “It’s hard to say whether it’s good or bad since it’s both.”

Mariam Movsisyan: “I think we’re observing a very interesting period of our history, when change is happening little by little and it’s up to us to make it right.”

Pegor Papazian: “It’s very much a legacy of the Soviet Union in many ways. Armenia was kind of the nerd republic in a way. They [Soviet Union] specialized in many republics, and Armenia was where they concentrated science and technology.”

Ruben Muradyan: “When you are being oppressed throughout your history, knowledge is something that can’t be taken from you. Anything might happen: The Soviet Union might collapse, there can be pogroms, there can be emigration. They can take your home, they can take your fortune, but knowledge and skill remain with you all the time.”

Tatul Hakobyan: “I think there is a clear understanding in Armenian society that we can only depend on ourselves.”

“I think there is a clear understanding in Armenian society that we can only depend on ourselves.”