Yerevan, in 2003, before a transformative construction boom. Sovfoto / UIG via Getty Images
Yerevan, in 2003, before a transformative construction boom. Sovfoto / UIG via Getty Images
Yerevan, in 2003, before a transformative construction boom. Sovfoto / UIG via Getty Images
Yerevan, in 2003, before a transformative construction boom. Sovfoto / UIG via Getty Images

In post-Soviet Yerevan, a cultural battle between preserving the past and writing the future


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Almost half a century ago, the Polish writer Ryszard Kapuscinski meandered through the back alleys of Yerevan where he happened upon the backyard of the sculptor Benik Petrosyan.

"The backyard, enclosed on four sides by the walls of apartment buildings, is the site of a permanent exhibition of Benik's works," writes Kapuscinski in Imperium, his 1993 classic of Soviet-era reportage. In his account, Kapuscinski describes the artist as "a remarkable talent".

It is possible today for visitors to Yerevan to retrace Kapuscinski’s footsteps, even if rapid development has changed the character of the old town.

For many Armenians, the changes to Yerevan’s urban landscape sit uneasily and, in June last year, many protested against a commercial plan to demolish the 130-year-old Afrikyan Clubhouse and to build a hotel in its place. One of the protesters demanded that authorities respect “a place of memory”.

Down the road from another construction site and a few blocks from where Benik’s outdoor exhibition stood in 1967, lives his daughter Arev. She, too, is an artist. She, too, is preoccupied with memory, although her focus is on her father’s legacy. Like her father, who died in 1996, Arev is a remarkable talent and is renowned as one of Armenia’s leading artists. (Her family is similarly gifted: one brother is a sculptor; another a jazz musician; her mother was a violinist.)

Family photos are scattered across Arev’s mantelpiece, but it is the various works of art that frame an eye-catching vignette. Spanning three generations, they also offer a snapshot of Armenian history. Arev’s work, a large red and yellow painting, acts as a backdrop to a framed abstract piece created by her teenage son and to several of Benik’s sculptures.

For Benik, who was born in 1939, the rawness of the genocide and Armenia’s incorporation into the Soviet empire loomed large over his life.

“Benik was a very lost person in Armenia, very lost in the Soviet Union,” says Arev. “But his art was not trying to be very painful, he was a little bit humorous and sarcastic.”

With pride she presents Benik’s sculpted metallic apple that opens up to show Adam and Eve at the rotten core.

“In his life, he gave about 700 sculptures,” says Arev. Yet as Kapuscinski reported, Benik’s works seldom found their way to exhibitions. Although a temporary exhibition was held at the Armenian Artists’ Union in 2010 to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Benik’s birth, Armenia has done little to honour his works, despite the diaspora minister, Hranush Hakobyan, saying at the time that the artist’s “creations must be preserved”.

The Armenian National Gallery, a sturdy building guarding Yerevan’s Republic Square, is home to works by Donatello, Rubens, Kandinsky, et al. It lists Benik’s work in its catalogue, yet none is on display. The gallery itself is stuffy and worse for wear.

President Serzh Sarkisian, in power since 2008, has to contend with other concerns. Anti-government protests are frequent on Republic Square, the most notable of which took place in October last year, when 10,000 people raised their voices against endemic poverty and entrenched government corruption.

Sarkisian’s government joined the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union in 2014, even though the legacy of the Soviet era stirs the emotions of many younger Armenians who fear Russia’s influence and would prefer that their country looks westwards.

Kapuscinski, though, lists Persia, Turkey, the Arabian caliphate, and Byzantium as other “political colossi, ambitious, expansionist, fanatical, voracious” that threatened Armenia through the ages.

“The source of all of Armenia’s misfortunes was its disastrous geographic location,” he argues.

Sitting atop a hill over Yerevan is the Matenadaran. Opened in 1959, it is an austere and solemn building – a symbol of Armenia’s defiance and resilience in the face of the imperium Kapuscinski studied.

The Matenadaran is the repository of Armenia’s history, of its ancient manuscripts. As a state constantly under threat, theorised Kapuscinski, Armenians sought “salvation in symbols”. The manuscripts, written in an alphabet first devised in 405AD, are the manifestation of the Armenian desire to protect their identity.

However, the resplendent gilded manuscripts track not only Armenian history, but also that of the world. The Armenians translated Greek and Roman philosophers and then the works of the Arab, Persian, Turkish and Byzantine invaders.

Kapuscinski, who died in 2007, tells us that the Matenadaran is for an Armenian “the end of his pilgrimage”. Gregorio, a diaspora Armenian from Argentina, is one such pilgrim, visiting his homeland for the first time.

“Being in Armenia is weird, emotional,” he says. “My grandmother, before she died, asked me to visit Armenia.” She was 94 when she died, filled with hatred for the Turks, he adds, although as the genocide centennial approaches, he is at a loss to understand her loathing.

Like many Armenians, he will leave Armenia, perhaps never to return. Yet the Matenadaran will stand and protect its invaluable trove of intellectualism for ­posterity.

Despite a long history of preservation, Armenia’s failure to honour the legacy of Benik, and the destruction of much of Yerevan’s architectural heritage, strike at the heart of a contradiction in post-Soviet Armenia.

Arev takes inspiration from the ancient Armenian alphabet and the Matenadaran’s gold-and-blue-hued manuscripts. In March she announced that she would open a gallery to preserve and display Benik’s work.

This might resonate with Kapuscinski. “The protection of the symbol is an act of patriotism,” he writes.

Richard Ferraris is a senior ­editor at the Delma Institute in Abu Dhabi.

thereview@thenational.ae

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Know your Camel lingo

The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home

Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless

Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers

Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s

Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival

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  2. Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
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  5. Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
  6. The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
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*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year

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Draw:

Group A: Egypt, DR Congo, Uganda, Zimbabwe

Group B: Nigeria, Guinea, Madagascar, Burundi

Group C: Senegal, Algeria, Kenya, Tanzania

Group D: Morocco, Ivory Coast, South Africa, Namibia

Group E: Tunisia, Mali, Mauritania, Angola

Group F: Cameroon, Ghana, Benin, Guinea-Bissau

So what is Spicy Chickenjoy?

Just as McDonald’s has the Big Mac, Jollibee has Spicy Chickenjoy – a piece of fried chicken that’s crispy and spicy on the outside and comes with a side of spaghetti, all covered in tomato sauce and topped with sausage slices and ground beef. It sounds like a recipe that a child would come up with, but perhaps that’s the point – a flavourbomb combination of cheap comfort foods. Chickenjoy is Jollibee’s best-selling product in every country in which it has a presence.
 

Emergency phone numbers in the UAE

Estijaba – 8001717 –  number to call to request coronavirus testing

Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111

Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre

Emirates airline – 600555555

Etihad Airways – 600555666

Ambulance – 998

Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries

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Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor

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Mubalada World Tennis Championship 2018 schedule

Thursday December 27

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Kevin Anderson v Hyeon Chung 4pm

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Novak Djokovic v Thiem/Khachanov 7pm

Saturday December 29

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Expo details

Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia

The world fair will run for six months from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021.

It is expected to attract 25 million visits

Some 70 per cent visitors are projected to come from outside the UAE, the largest proportion of international visitors in the 167-year history of World Expos.

More than 30,000 volunteers are required for Expo 2020

The site covers a total of 4.38 sqkm, including a 2 sqkm gated area

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Sepsis arises when the body tries to fight an infection but damages its own tissue and organs in the process.

The World Health Organisation estimates it affects about 30 million people each year and that about six million die.

Of those about three million are newborns and 1.2 are young children.

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The five pillars of Islam

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2.30pm: Dubai Real Estate Centre – Maiden (TB) Dh60,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: El Baareq, Antonio Fresu, Rashed Bouresly

3pm: Shadwell – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (D) 1,950m; Winner: Lost Eden, Andrea Atzeni, Doug Watson

3.30pm: Keeneland – Handicap (TB) Dh84,000 (D) 1,000m; Winner: Alkaraama, Dane O’Neill, Musabah Al Muhairi

4pm: Keeneland – Handicap (TB) Dh76,000 (D) 1,800m; Winner: Lady Snazz, Saif Al Balushi, Bhupat Seemar

4.30pm: Hive – Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Down On Da Bayou, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer

5pm: Dubai Real Estate Centre – (TB) Handicap Dh64,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Lahmoom, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer

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  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
About Takalam

Date started: early 2020

Founders: Khawla Hammad and Inas Abu Shashieh

Based: Abu Dhabi

Sector: HealthTech and wellness

Number of staff: 4

Funding to date: Bootstrapped

Infiniti QX80 specs

Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6

Power: 450hp

Torque: 700Nm

Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000

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Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
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23-man shortlist for next six Hall of Fame inductees

Tony Adams, David Beckham, Dennis Bergkamp, Sol Campbell, Eric Cantona, Andrew Cole, Ashley Cole, Didier Drogba, Les Ferdinand, Rio Ferdinand, Robbie Fowler, Steven Gerrard, Roy Keane, Frank Lampard, Matt Le Tissier, Michael Owen, Peter Schmeichel, Paul Scholes, John Terry, Robin van Persie, Nemanja Vidic, Patrick Viera, Ian Wright.