Armenia's Newest Sniper Revealed

About a year and a half ago I blogged about Armenia's purchase of some weapons from the famous Zastava factory in Serbia. Very few details were available at the time.

The picture above is a Zastava M93 Black Arrow sniper rifle, believed to be part of that large order. It shoots the mighty .50 caliber round and can engage targets over 2 kilometers away.

Oh, and who are those two fellows eye raping it?

More information on the rifle can be found here.

Is Kim Kardashian Dating Vanes Martirosyan?

There have been rumors circulating that these two are seeing each other. We've found this picture which makes things even more complicated. What do YOU think?

Parking Tickets in Armenia are...Different

Click to enlarge.

Keep this little tidbit in mind the next time you're in Armenia: when the police or the parking people or whoever decide that you've parked in the wrong place, they take your license plate to the police station. That means you have to go to the station, pay your fine, and then get your plate back.

How neat is that?

Source: Flickr

April 24, 2008 Photos

First and foremost, it's been nearly a month since the last blog entry. Yes, it's annoying and yes, I hate it, too, but there's only so much free time to go around. However, expect at least an entry a day from this point on - and that's a promise!

Yours truly was unable to attend either of the marches on the 24th, but loyal reader and friend Vardui was kind enough to snap away excellent pictures from the march in the Little Armenia section of Los Angeles. The rest of the pictures can be found here.



Thousands participated.



A different kind of patriotism with a healthy dose of self-expression.



Even Canadians showed their support.

See the rest of the pictures here.

Thanks, Vardui!

Picture: Evolution of the Armenian Alphabet

Click to enlarge. Full size is HUGE so be patient.

Here's a neat chart showing the evolution of our alphabet. Amazing, isn't it?

The Path to Democracy: Dragunov Sniper Rifle

First let's identify the photo: it shows an Armenian Special Forces soldier with a Russian-designed Dragunov sniper rifle, a fearsome semi-automatic weapon that is effective to a range of one kilometers. Think about that for a second, which coincidentally is also the length of time it will take the bullet to get to its farthest target.

What does this have anything to do with Armenia? Besides a glimpse into one of the weapons used by our countrymen, quite a bit. You see, when a given government grows too powerful and too corrupt, it begins to act in a way which is not in harmony with the will of the people and it can get away with that because of its power and the fear that it inspires in people. But what if the government was to be held accountable for its actions, afraid of the very people who created it and who continue to support it, at least for as long as they choose? What if everyone had a Dragunov sniper rifle and the knowledge that anyone in power caught abusing it would be destroyed without questions asked?

Of course, this is all metaphor. Until such power is exercised by the people Armenian, we will continue to see a government acting in its own interest only.

Then again, maybe it's not a metaphor at all; after all, revolutionaries need to be well armed!

Source: mil.am

Pic: Is this the future of Yerevan?

Is this the future of our fair capital? It would be a stretch to compare Moscow to Yerevan, that much is true, but the above picture is a possible glimpse into the future of a fast growing city, one that puts profits ahead of a sustainable, long-term growth.

Photo by Alexander Petrenko. Click for bigger version.

Jet Crashes in Zvartnots, All Survived

Not the kind of news you expect to see on a day as innocent as Valentine's Day.

A plane carrying 21 people has crashed on takeoff from Armenia's capital, but there were no deaths reported...

The plane, a Canadair CRJ-100, was heading for Minsk, Belarus, when it flipped over on the runway at Zvartnots Airport and burst into flames...

What a miracle that no one was injured, but it seems suspicious that they have not yet identified the airline to which the plane belonged. Armavia was at the tip of my tongue, to be honest.

Update: Thanks to reader AB, it seems that the airline was Belavia, the national airline of Belarus. It is also revealed that the airplane's wing clipped the runway on takeoff, causing it to crash. On board were 4 citizens of Belarus, 1 of Russia, 1 of Ukraine, 5 of Georgia, and the rest of Armenia.

Source: AP

Picture: Victoria's Secret in Armenia

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Ah yes, the infamous Victoria's Secret. Did I mention it's a knockoff, probably like most such "branded" stores in Armenia?

Anyway, this is probably not news to anyone who has been there recently, but enjoy it nevertheless! Oh, and do read the Armenian part.

Photo credit: uncorneredmarket on Flickr

Art of the Day - Martiros Saryan

Still Life with Flowers by Martiros Saryan, 1928.

The Armenian Short Bus

Original source here.

It looks like the Armenians have a version of the Short Bus, too!

Of all the possible colors for that van-like thing, they had to choose yellow. Yellow! How could I resist making such an offensive post? For one, I enjoy reading hate mail; for another, it's yellow.

Andranik: The Comic!

Click above to enlarge. Note: it will take some time to open up!

Apparently published in 1930 in "NY Journal American," this cool comic-like art speaks highly of the great Andranik. This picture was sent to me anonymously so if you have any more information, let me know.

Read the whole thing!

Picture: Armenian Soldiers in Iraq

Well, not soldiers per se. If you recall, they are: "...truck drivers, 10 sappers, 3 medics and 2 officers" or some combination thereof.

The Top Secret Armenian Google!

This is not a joke! It turns out Google has a version for just about every language and country, including Armenia. See it for yourself: google.am.

"Google Hayastan" is the official name. Neat, eh?

Soviet-era Arcade in Yerevan

This photo brings back a lot of good memories! Before Nintendos, Ataris, and Colecovisions made their way into private arcades, these were the games that we'd play.

Original and higher resolution version can be found on Flickr

Expensive Armenian License Plates

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Here are some pictures of unusual license plates. These plates are different and their owners had to pay big sums for the privilege. Of course, plates with repeating digits signify someone with significantly more connections, whether in the criminal underworld or some other place of high power.

And back in the United States, our idea of individuality is to write Armenian words in English, such as HAMOVIK.

Picture by Arthur Papyan

The Funny & Pathetic Turks

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It seems every month there is a funny Turk story taking place and this one is no exception. Sure, it may be over two years old, but the sheer stupidity portrayed deserves an audience. In case you are wondering, here are the details:

Turkish demonstration in Washington on April 24, the 90th anniversary of the Armenian genocide. You can see from the picture the outrageously ahistorical character of their claims: 3 million Turks were killed by Armenians and Greeks? This is the inversion of history. I suppose soon we will advance from Holocaust denial to the claim that Jews killed six million Germans.

There is a serious side to this, of course: that of misinformation, revision of history, and so on. Regardless, I ask all of you to look at the other side, the side which shows every single pathetically uneducated Turk making a fool of himself and herself in Washington D.C. under the guise of patriotic duty. One thing's for sure, it's utterly funny and pathetic!

Source: JihadWatch.org

The Armenian Viper Snake

The Armenian Viper is a venomous snake and is found in Armenia, Turkey, Iran, and Azerbaijan. Here's some more information:

Armenian vipers are rather short, stout venomous snakes with a total length of 60-80 cm, which includes a short tail. Their head is broad and flat, and covered with small scales, except for the large scales above the eyes.

Did you also know that in 2002 the Armenian Viper was honored on Armenian stamps?

You can learn more about the Armenian Viper by clicking on the link below.

Source: Waza

Picture: Hate Graffiti in Armenia

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You may know by now that I am not one to shy away from controversial issues, whether it be exposing unpleasant events in the past or exploring current issues which are a lot less impactful. So you can imagine my reaction when I came across the picture above: it shows a graffiti in Armenia that reads "no arabs" adorned with a swastika.

As victims of nationalism and xenophobia in Russia, Turkey, and other regions, we should know better than to perpetuate the same sort of hate, whether against Turks, Arabs, Azeris, or others. What will such an expression accomplish other than agreement amongst like-minded people and even greater anger against our neighbors? And what of the swastika? Have we forgotten that our own people were massacred in a bloody genocide from which Hitler was compelled to carry out his own? Is this graffiti then saying that we should also hate Arabs or other groups and eliminate them in a similar manner?

I doubt the person who took ten seconds out of his life to write that message ever considered what he or she was doing and what deeper meaning it may have. Perhaps it is the work of a kid with too much time on his hands and a determination to practice defacing one wall of our small country in his quest to get his skewed views across. Or maybe it is something much more sinister lurking beneath the surface of our society.

Source: Amhoov on Flickr

Pictures: Armenian Carnival Ride

We can all agree that Armenia is as close as one can come to heaven, other than Southern California, the French Riviera, the Alps, and so on. Regardless, it's a great place to be, albeit a little hazardous. If you've ever wondered why kids who grow up in Armenia are tougher, then have a look at these pictures of an Armenian thrill ride!

Click images to enlarge them.


Obviously there won't be any power, so you have to do it yourself. You use your arms, your legs, and your mental determination to get the thing moving!


You somehow jump on and hang on for dear life. Notice the many ways in which you can be injured if you lose concentration!


Will it hold? It seems to be held together by rust and sharp pieces of metal.


Oh my, what a pleasant and completely safe view!

Compare this to the plasticky and soft toys found in the United States. Did kids get hurt on these rides? You bet! Did they cut their heads wide open? Weekly. But just as toddlers must fall down to learn how to walk, kids must learn to deal with danger, learn about reliance on friends and themselves, and in general form into healthy adults. For without danger one becomes complacent and complacency is the deadliest thing of all!

Oh, and to be completely fair it seems that the ride in the pictures is not found in an amusement park. Rather, it is an old and decommissioned ride that is thrown in some yard for kids to have fun with.

Source: Amhoov on Flickr