Country Profile
Armenia officially the Republic of Armenia is a landlocked mountainous country in the South Caucus Region of Eurasia. Armenia was the first nation to adopt Christianity as a State Religion.
Armenia is divided into 10 Provinces with the cityof Yerevan having special administrative status as the country's capital. The chief executive in each of the10 provinces is the marzpet (marz governor), appointed by the Govt. of Armenia. In Yerevan, the chief executive is the mayor, appointed by the President
Capital Yerevan
Currency Dram
Population 3.3 Million(2010 Estimate)
Ethnic Groups 98% Armenian;2%Others
Religion 93% of Armenian belong to the Armenian Apostolic Church
Official Language Armenian(Russian could be considered as de facto "second language")
History
Russian army succeeded in gaining most of Ottoman Armenia during World War I,but the gains were lost with the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917.At the time, Russian-controlled Eastern Armenia, Georgia, andAzerbaijan attempted to bond together in theTranscaucasian Democratic Federative Republic which only lasted from February to May 1918, when all 3 parties decided to dissolve it. As a result, Eastern Armenia became independent as the Democratic Republic of Armenia on May 28,1918.
Armenia was annexed by Bolshevist Russia and along with Georgia and Azerbaijan, it was incorporated into the Soviet Union as part of the Transcaucasian SFSR(TSFSR) on March 4,1922.The TSFSR existed from 1922 to 1936, when it was divided up into three separate entities (Armenian SSR,Azerbaijan SSR and Georgian SSR). Armenians enjoyed a period of relative stability under Soviet rule.Armenia was spared the devastation and destruction that wrought most of the western Soviet Union during the Great Patriotic War(June 1941 to May 1945) of World War II.
On Aug 23, 1990, Armenia declared independence, becoming the first non-Baltic republic to secede from the Soviet Union.
On March 17,1991, Armenia, along with the Baltic States - Georgia and Moldova boycotted a Nationwide Referendum in which 78% of all voters voted for the retention of the Soviet Union in a reformed form.
In the wake of the August Coup(Aug19-21,1991was an attempt by a group of members of the Soviet Union's government to take control of the country from Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. The Coup leaders were hardline members of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union(CPSU) who were opposed to Gorbachev's reform program and the New Union Treaty that he had negotiated which decentralised much of the central government's power to the republics. They were opposed, mainly in Moscow, by a short but effective campaign of Civil Resistance. Although the coup collapsed in only two days and Gorbachev returned to government, the event destabilized the Soviet Union and is widely considered to have contributed to both the demise of the CPSU and the ''Dissolution of the Soviet Union'')a Referendum was held on the question of Secession. Following an overwhelming vote in favor, full independence was declared on Sep 21, 1991. However, recognition did not occur until the formal dissolution of the Soviet Union on Dec 25, 1991.
Government
Armenia is a Presidential Representative Democratic Republic where the President is Head of State and Govt.Executive Power is vested in the Govt. and the Legislative Power is vested in both the Govt and the Parliament.
President of Armenia
Serzh Azati Sargsyan(Republic Party) is the Current and 3rd President of Armenia in office from April 9,2008 having won the 2008 Presidential Election held on Feb 19,2008 securing 53% Votes defeating Levon Ter-Petrossian who secured 22% Votes and Artur Baghdasarian(Rule of Law Party) who secured 18% Votes.
Presidents of Armenia
S No
|
Name
|
Party
|
Tenure
|
1
|
Levon Ter-Petrossian
|
Pan Armenian National Movement
|
Nov 11,1991 to Feb 3,1998
|
2
|
Robert Kocharyan
|
None
|
Feb 4,1998 to April 8,2008
|
3
|
Serzh Azati Sargsyan
|
Republic Party
|
April 9,2008 to Present
|
Parliament of Armenia
The Parliament is controlled by a coalition of 4 political parties -
Republic Party,
Prosperous Armenia Party,
Rule of Law Party and
Armenian Revolutionary Federation
The main Opposition Party is Raffi Hovannisian's Hertiage Party
Party Position after the May 12,2007 National Assembly Election
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