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What does 3rd world countries mean. Third World countries. third world. Key Features of Developing Countries

The Third World is represented by countries that have never fought in the ideological war between the socialist camp and the capitalist countries, often by the Third World we mean backward or developing countries, although today all countries of the world except the developed countries of the West can be equated with developing countries. So, the world is divided into First, Second and Third. The first world is all developed capitalist countries, including all of Western Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea and some other states and territories. The term third world is the most common, since the countries of the First World are often simply called the developed West, the countries of the Second World are the former Soviet ones.

It is believed that the term Third World first appeared in 1952 in an article by the French scientist Alfred Sauvy, where the words were used to identify countries that did not belong to the Warsaw Pact and NATO. The Tritium World is traditionally a place for which the countries of the former socialist and capitalist camps are fighting, today Russia is mainly represented by the socialist camp. The Third World often remains neutral in the struggle between the Western world and Russia. Since 1974, attempts have been made to turn the Third World into an independent international political force, for example, from China to Maoism - political theory and practice, the basis of which is the system of ideological attitudes of Mao Zedong.

The Third World has traditionally been characterized by low incomes local population, but since the 1980s, the GDP of many Third World countries has increased so much that it has surpassed the Second World countries.

Economic Gap Between First and Third World

Third World countries today show higher rates of economic growth than Western countries, but there are drawbacks here in that, as a rule, in Third World countries, incomes increase primarily among a handful of the elite, and the bulk of the population lives in poverty. The impetus for the economic development of the Third World countries is globalization, the improvement economic ties between leading business players among leading and lagging countries.

The growth of the economies of the Third World countries is associated with an improvement in social living conditions, an increase in the level of education, investments from Western countries, however, various wars and civil unrest often take place in such regions, which weaken the growing economy. In this regard, the example of the countries of the Middle East and other countries that are sitting on the oil needle is indicative.

We also note that some Third World countries were once overseas colonies of European empires, after the Second World War most of them gained independence, but at the same time worsened their economic indicators, as they lost support and reasonable management. Many Third World countries are completely dependent on trade and economic ties with First or Second World countries.

Third World countries are often remembered when it comes to migration or refugees to Europe or the USA, which are also competitors for refugees from Second World countries, surprisingly Russia is the world leader in refugees, at least it was until the start of the active phase of the conflict in Syria, although there have been no wars in Russia for a long time.

Developing countries, the list of which includes the states of Latin America, Africa, Asia and Europe, are a special association of states that differ in the history of their development and have a special specification in the conduct of the economy. Key countries developing countries are India, Brazil, China and Mexico.

Developing countries are approaching a new stage in their development, playing the role of one of the main actors in world relations.

The development of young states was facilitated by the rise in indicators in the world economy. They also insist on equal conditions between participants in international business. Today, their economy is aimed at increasing the indicators of trade, the role in world trade is constantly growing.

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Third world countries, who gets on this list?

What does the very concept of a 3rd world country mean? Wikipedia answers this question briefly - countries that did not take part in the Cold War. Initially, the term "Third World" had just such a meaning. Now the third world is called countries with economic backwardness, developing their economies.

States in Latin America, Asia and Africa belong to this classification.

I must say that this is a larger number of representatives of these continents.

The total population is about seventy-five percent and lives in most of the hemisphere.

Now let's figure out which country is considered a developing country and why.

Key Features of Developing Countries

Let's try to name them all:

  • they are characterized by a relatively low standard of living;
  • there is no "middle class";
  • the financial investments of rich people are many times higher than the incomes of ordinary citizens;
  • foreign investors are not attracted, as there is no legislative framework;
  • the tax reform has not been improved;
  • the banking system is not developed;
  • an effective management apparatus has not been created;
  • due to small salary, most of the citizens cannot afford a full-fledged diet and the necessary level of medicine;
  • high unemployment - more than thirty-five percent of the population do not have a permanent income;
  • third world countries have a very high birth rate - from twenty to fifty born per one thousand population;
  • underage young people (and this is more than 40% of total), do not have a job, part-time job or any business that brings at least some kind of income;
  • very high mortality rate.

Developing countries - definition

Developing countries include:

  1. Those states that have a low level of GDP per capita. The comparison is with Western states and second world countries (more developed socialist).
  2. States with underdeveloped economy and scientific and technical potential. At the same time, there are sufficient reserves of natural resources.
  3. Some of their representatives are former colonies. In Asia - Nepal, Bhutan and Yemen. In Latin America - Haiti, representatives of the African continent - Niger, Sudan, Chad, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mauritania and others.

List of developing countries

So, we have given the basic definition and listed the characteristic features of the developing countries of the world.

Their list is divided into:

  • first world countries;
  • second world states (many socialist, and our Russia);
  • 3rd world countries or developing countries.

Let's give a list of developing or classical developing countries of the world (they are one and the same).

The list is as follows:

  1. Representatives of the classical third world in Europe are: Pakistan, Mongolia, India, Egypt and countries to the south of them, many Arab: Syria, Albania, Iran. Characteristically: there are sources of accumulation of resources within the country, they are diverse, but the population is on the verge of starvation.
  2. The following representatives are oil-refining states:, Saudi Arabia,. Characteristically, only one economic sector is developed - oil production and export. There are large deposits of oil products in the territories. The government does not care about the development of other industries, which are not even reflected in the statistics.
  3. The list of African countries includes: Tanzania, Togo, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Western Sahara; Asia: Laos and Kampuchea; Latin America: Honduras, Guatemala, Tahiti, Guiana. Characteristically: there is the right amount of resources, but it is not enough to fully provide the population. Lack of external investment and underdeveloped production. The government is focused on importing products and has no interest in developing its own industry. A large increase in population does not improve the level of income, but causes starvation of people and increased mortality. This group supplies inexpensive raw materials, residents often travel to other countries (1st and 2nd world) for low-paid jobs.
  4. Central Asia -, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan,. Characteristically: there are signs of the states of the 2nd world, left over from being part of the Soviet republic. These elements decrease, do not develop.

Emerging Economies - List for 2018


Representative rankings are as follows:

  1. China has been in the lead since 1978. Its economy is considered to be one of the fastest growing. The average income per person is $3,700.
  2. India is in second place with a GDP of $1.3 trillion. dollars. The agricultural sector (rice, cotton, tea, potatoes) and industry (textile production, oil refining industry) are developed.
  3. Russia - the main income is the export of oil and gas.
  • Foreign policy European countries in the 18th century
  • Leading countries of the world in the XIX century.
    • Leading countries of the world in the XIX century.
    • International relations and the revolutionary movement in Europe in the 19th century
      • Defeat of the Napoleonic Empire
      • Spanish Revolution
      • Greek uprising
      • February Revolution in France
      • Revolutions in Austria, Germany, Italy
      • Education German Empire
      • National Unification of Italy
    • Bourgeois revolutions in Latin America, USA, Japan
      • American Civil War
      • Japan in the 19th century
    • Formation of an industrial civilization
      • Features of the industrial revolution in various countries
      • Social Consequences of the Industrial Revolution
      • Ideological and political currents
      • Trade union movement and the formation of political parties
      • State monopoly capitalism
      • Agriculture
      • Financial oligarchy and concentration of production
      • Colonies and colonial policy
      • Militarization of Europe
      • State- legal organization capitalist countries
  • Russia in the 19th century
    • Political and socio-economic development of Russia at the beginning of the XIX century.
      • Patriotic War of 1812
      • The position of Russia after the war. Decembrist movement
      • "Russian Truth" Pestel. "Constitution" by N. Muravyov
      • Decembrist revolt
    • Russia of the era of Nicholas I
      • Foreign policy of Nicholas I
    • Russia in the second half of the XIX century.
      • Implementation of other reforms
      • Transition to reaction
      • Post-reform development of Russia
      • Socio-political movement
  • World Wars of the XX century. Causes and consequences
    • The World Historical Process and the 20th Century
    • Causes of World Wars
    • First World War
      • The beginning of the war
      • The results of the war
    • The birth of fascism. The world on the eve of World War II
    • The Second World War
      • Progress of World War II
      • Results of World War II
  • major economic crises. The phenomenon of the state-monopoly economy
    • Economic crises of the first half of the XX century.
      • Formation of state-monopoly capitalism
      • The economic crisis of 1929-1933
      • Ways out of the crisis
    • Economic crises of the second half of the XX century.
      • Structural crises
      • World economic crisis 1980-1982
      • Anti-crisis state regulation
  • The collapse of the colonial system. Developing countries and their role in international development
    • colonial system
    • Stages of the collapse of the colonial system
    • Third World countries
    • Newly industrialized countries
    • Formation of the world system of socialism
      • Socialist regimes in Asia
    • Stages of development of the world socialist system
    • The collapse of the world socialist system
  • Third scientific and technological revolution
    • Stages of modern scientific and technological revolution
      • Achievements of scientific and technological revolution
      • Consequences of scientific and technological revolution
    • Transition to post-industrial civilization
  • The main trends in world development at the present stage
    • Internationalization of the economy
      • Integration processes in Western Europe
      • Integration processes of North American countries
      • Integration processes in the Asia-Pacific region
    • Three world centers of capitalism
    • Global problems of our time
  • Russia in the first half of the 20th century
    • Russia in the XX century
    • Revolutions in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century.
      • Bourgeois-democratic revolution of 1905-1907
      • Russia's participation in the First World War
      • February Revolution of 1917
      • October armed uprising
    • The main stages in the development of the country of the Soviets in the pre-war period (X. 1917 - VI. 1941)
      • Civil war and military intervention
      • New Economic Policy (NEP)
      • Formation of the USSR
      • Accelerated construction of state socialism
      • Planned centralized management of the economy
      • Foreign policy of the USSR in the 20-30s.
    • Great Patriotic War (1941-1945)
      • War with Japan. End of World War II
    • Russia in the second half of the 20th century
    • Post-war restoration of the national economy
      • Post-war restoration of the national economy - page 2
    • Socio-economic and political reasons that made it difficult for the country to reach new frontiers
      • Socio-economic and political reasons that made it difficult for the country to reach new frontiers - page 2
      • Socio-economic and political reasons that made it difficult for the country to reach new frontiers - page 3
    • The collapse of the USSR. Post-communist Russia
      • The collapse of the USSR. Post-communist Russia - page 2

Third World countries

At the same time, a number of very serious problems arose for the liberated countries, called developing countries, or Third World countries. These problems are not only regional, but also global character and therefore can only be resolved with the active participation of all countries of the world community.

Developing countries, in accordance with the fairly flexible classification of the United Nations, include most of the world's countries, with the exception of developed industrial countries.

Despite the huge variety economic life, Third World countries also have similar characteristics that allow them to be grouped into this category. The main one is the colonial past, the consequences of which can be found in the economy, politics, and culture of these countries.

They have one way of forming a functioning industrial structure - the prevalence of manual production throughout the colonial period and a program of transition to industrial methods of production after independence.

Therefore, in developing countries, pre-industrial and industrial types of production, as well as production based on the latest achievements of the scientific and technological revolution, closely coexist.

But basically the first two types predominate. The economy of all countries of the Third World is characterized by inharmonious development of the branches of the national economy, which is also explained by the fact that they have not gone through successive phases of economic development in full, as leading countries.

Most developing countries are characterized by a policy of etatism, i.e. direct state intervention in the economy in order to accelerate its growth. The lack of a sufficient amount of private investment and foreign investment forces the state to take on the functions of an investor.

True, in last years Many developing countries have embarked on a policy of denationalization of enterprises - privatization, supported by measures to stimulate the private sector: preferential taxation, liberalization of imports and protectionism against the most important privately owned enterprises.

Despite the important common characteristics that unite developing countries, they can be conditionally divided into several groups of the same type. At the same time, it is necessary to be guided by such criteria as: the structure of the country's economy, exports and imports, the degree of openness of the country and its involvement in the world economy, some features economic policy states.

Least developed countries. The least developed countries include a number of states in Tropical Africa (Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Chad, Togo, Tanzania, Somalia, Western Sahara), Asia (Kampuchea, Laos), Latin America (Tahiti, Guatemala, Guiana, Honduras, etc.). These countries are characterized by low or even negative growth rates.

The structure of the economy of these countries is dominated by the agricultural sector (up to 80-90%), although it is not able to meet domestic needs for food and raw materials.

The low profitability of the main sector of the economy does not allow relying on internal sources of accumulation for much-needed investments in the development of production, the training of qualified work force, improvement of technology, etc.

The least developed countries are characterized by a weak development of the market mechanism. This is due to routine Agriculture(Employed on average 80% of the economically active population, which creates only 42% of the gross domestic product, the underdevelopment of industry, low purchasing power of the population).

Most of the national capital, however, is concentrated in the commercial sphere. However, he prefers to occupy the niche of trade in imported goods and not invest in national production due to the high degree of risk.

The economy of this group of countries is characterized by the underdevelopment of the production, auxiliary infrastructure, transport network, electric power industry, communication system, banking, which does not at all contribute to attracting foreign investment and hinders the development of the economy based on meager domestic savings. Moreover, the 80-90s. there has been a trend towards a decrease in the inflow of foreign investment into their economy, which thereby becomes less open.

Does not contribute to the openness of the economy and the structure of foreign trade. All countries in this group are both exporters of agricultural products, the prices of which are most subject to fluctuations in the external market, and the largest importers of industrial products.

The demographic situation has a negative impact on the economic development of these countries. High population growth rates contribute to maintaining a low level of income, hinder the growth of purchasing power. And low agricultural productivity, combined with population growth, leads to food shortages and hunger.

In the world economy, the least developed countries take the place of the periphery, performing the functions of suppliers of raw materials and cheap labor.

Countries with an average level of development. The large group of developing countries with an average level of economic development includes Egypt, Syria, Tunisia, Algeria, the Philippines, Indonesia, Peru, Colombia, etc. The structure of the economy of these countries is characterized by a large share of industry compared to the agricultural sector, more developed domestic and foreign trade .

This group of countries has great potential for development due to the presence of internal sources of accumulation. These countries do not face the same acute problem of poverty and hunger. Their place in the world economy is determined by a significant technological gap with developed countries and a large external debt.

oil producing countries. The oil-producing countries, such as Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and others, which previously bore the characteristic features of lagging states, are distinguished by significant specifics of the economy. The world's largest oil reserves, actively exploited in these countries, allowed them to quickly become one of the richest (in terms of annual per capita income) states in the world.

However, the structure of the economy as a whole is characterized by extreme one-sidedness, imbalance, and therefore potential vulnerability. Along with the high development of the extractive industry, other industries do not really play a significant role in the economy.

In the system of the world economy, these countries firmly occupy the place of the largest oil exporters. Largely due to this, this group of countries is also becoming the largest international banking center.

The Republic of Armenia (self-name Hayastan), a state in the west of Asia, in the Transcaucasus. Area 29.8 thousand square meters. km. It borders Georgia in the north, Azerbaijan in the east, Iran and Azerbaijan in the south, and Turkey in the west. The capital of Armenia is Yerevan.

Armenia. The capital is Yerevan. Population: 3.62 thousand people (1997). Density: 121 people per 1 sq. km. The ratio of urban and rural population: 68% and 32%. Area: 29.8 thousand square meters km. The highest point: Mount Aragats (4090 m above sea level). Lowest point: 350 m. Official language: Armenian. Main religion: Christianity (Armenian-Gregorian). Administrative-territorial division: 11 regions (marzes). Monetary unit: dram. National holiday: Independence Day - 28 May. National Anthem: Our Fatherland.

Armenia. The capital is Yerevan. Population: 3.62 thousand people (1997). Density: 121 people per 1 sq. km. The ratio of urban and rural population: 68% and 32%. Area: 29.8 thousand square meters km. The highest point: Mount Aragats (4090 m above sea level). Lowest point: 350 m. Official language: Armenian. Main religion: Christianity (Armenian-Gregorian). Administrative-territorial division: 11 regions (marzes). Monetary unit: dram. National holiday: Independence Day - 28 May. National anthem: "Our Motherland".

The first Armenian state of Urartu was formed in the area of ​​the lake. Van in the 7th c. BC. Armenian states, both small and large in size, sometimes independent, sometimes dependent on stronger neighbors, existed until the 11th century. AD Historical territory of Armenia in different time was under the rule of the Seljuks, Georgians, Mongols, and then, in the 11-16 centuries. - Turks, after which it was divided between Turkey and Persia. At the beginning of the 19th century Russia conquered Persian Armenia and part of Turkish Armenia. In most of the territory of Russian Armenia, the independent Republic of Armenia was formed in May 1918, and Soviet power was established there in 1920. In 1922, Armenia, together with Georgia and Azerbaijan, formed the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic (TSFSR), which joined the USSR. In 1936 the federation was abolished and Armenia became a union republic within the USSR. After the collapse of the USSR in 1991, the Republic of Armenia was restored. December 21, 1991 she became a member of the Commonwealth Independent States(CIS).

NATURE

Surface structure. The Republic of Armenia is located in the northeast of the Armenian Highlands. It presents a complex combination of folded and volcanic mountains, lava plateaus, accumulative plains, river valleys and lake basins. About 90% of the country's area is located at altitudes over 1000 m above sea level. ( average height 1800 m). The highest point is Mount Aragats (4090 m). The lowest heights, about 350 m, are confined to the gorges of the Debed rivers in the northeast of the country and the Araks in the southwest and southeast. In the north-east of Armenia rise the mountains of the central part of the Lesser Caucasus. In the northwest and in the center of the country there is a vast volcanic region with lava plateaus and highlands, as well as extinct volcanoes, including the huge four-headed Mount Aragats. In the south, folded mountains stretch, dissected by a dense network of valleys, many of which are deep gorges. In the west, the Ararat plain partially enters the borders of Armenia, which is distinguished by a rather flat relief.

Rivers and lakes. The most long river In Armenia, the Araks flows along the borders with Turkey and Iran and flows into the Kura River in the territory of Azerbaijan. The major tributaries of the Araks in Armenia are Akhuryan, Kasakh, Hrazdan, Arpa and Vorotan. The rivers Debed, Aghstev and Ahum flow into the Kura, which flows into the Caspian Sea. Of the more than a hundred lakes in Armenia, the largest - Sevan - is confined to the intermountain basin in the east of the country. The edge of the lake was 1914 m above sea level, the area was 1417 sq. km. After the implementation of the hydropower project in 1948, the area of ​​​​Sevan was reduced to 1240 square meters. km, and the level dropped by 15 m. Attempts to raise the level of the lake again by artificially diverting some small rivers into its water area did not improve the situation, and the polluted waters of these rivers led to the death of many fish species.

Climate.

There are six climatic regions in Armenia. In the extreme southeast, at altitudes less than 1000 m, the climate is dry subtropical with long hot summers and mild snowless winters. On the Ararat Plain and in the basin of the Arpa River, the climate is dry continental with hot summers, cold winters and low rainfall. In the foothills around the Ararat Plain, the climate is moderately dry with warm summer, cold winters and heavy rainfall (up to 640 mm per year). In the north of the country, at altitudes of 1500-1800 m, the climate is moderately cold with cool summers and frosty winters with heavy snowfalls; the average annual precipitation is 760 mm. At high altitudes (1800-3000 m) the climate is even more severe. Above 3000 m, mountain-tundra landscapes appear. The soils of Armenia are developed mainly on volcanic rocks. At relatively low altitudes, mountain-brown and mountain-chestnut soils are common, in some places - solonetzes and solonchaks. Mountain chernozems are widely represented in the middle belt of mountains, and mountain-meadow soils are found at high altitudes.

Vegetation and fauna. The most common plant formations in Armenia are steppes and semi-deserts. At low altitudes, sagebrush semi-deserts are developed, in some places turning into saltwort and Achilles-dzhuzgun deserts. In the middle belt of mountains, grass and herb-cereal steppes dominate, which give way to meadow steppes and alpine meadows with height. Broad-leaved forests dominated by oak, beech and hornbeam occupy no more than 1/8 of the country's area and are confined to its northeastern regions. Poplar and walnut stand out in the composition of forest plantations. Significant areas on volcanic plateaus are occupied by stone placers practically devoid of vegetation. Of the mammals in Armenia, the wolf, bear, hare, fox, badger are ubiquitous, as well as the bezoar goat, mouflon, roe deer, lynx, leopard, forest and reed cat, wild boar, porcupine, squirrel, jackal, ground squirrel, marten. Numerous species of birds nest: crane, stork, partridge, quail, black grouse, eagle, vulture, snowcock. Crane (Krunk in Armenian) is national symbol country. Among many reptiles, the poisonous Caucasian viper stands out. Scorpions are a big threat. Among the lake fish, the Sevan trout, ishkhan, khramulya and barbel are characteristic. Sika and red deer, as well as nutria are acclimatized in Armenia, and whitefish in Sevan.

POPULATION

According to the 1989 census, the population of Armenia was 3283 thousand people and the share of ethnic Armenians accounted for 93.3%. Significant minorities were Azerbaijanis (2.6%), Kurds (1.7%) and Russians (1.5%). As a result ethnic conflicts In 1989-1993, almost all Azerbaijanis left the country, and 200,000 Armenians living in Azerbaijan moved to Armenia.
Ethnogenesis. The prevailing opinion is that the Armenians are the descendants of the Indo-European peoples who moved to Asia Minor from the Balkan Peninsula. Moving east through Anatolia, they reached the Armenian Highlands, where they mingled with the local population. According to one of the new versions, the Armenian Highland is the ancestral home of the Indo-Europeans, and the Armenians are the descendants of the natives of this region (Urartians).

Language. The Armenian language belongs to the family of Indo-European languages. Classical Armenian language (ancient Armenian Grabar - written language) is currently used only in worship. The modern Armenian language has two main, closely related dialects: the eastern (also called Ararat) dialect, which is spoken by the population of the Republic of Armenia and Armenians living in other CIS countries and Iran, and the western dialect, which is spoken by Armenians living in Turkey or who are natives of this country. Armenians have their own alphabet created by Mesrop Mashtots at the beginning of the 5th century. AD

Religion. The Armenians were converted to Christianity thanks to the work of St. Gregory the Illuminator (Armenian Grigor Lusavorich) in 301 or somewhat later, in 314 AD. Thus, Armenia became the first country to adopt Christianity as a state religion. Although the Armenian apostolic church was originally independent, it maintained ties with other Christian churches until the first ecumenical councils - Chalcedon (451) and Constantinople (553), and then retained close ties only with the Monophysite churches - Coptic (Egypt), Ethiopian and Jacobite (Syria). The Armenian Church is headed by the Catholicos of All Armenians, whose residence has been in Echmiadzin since 1441. Four dioceses (patriarchies) are subordinate to him: Echmiadzin, Cilicia (from 1293 to 1930 the residence in the city of Sis, now the city of Kozan in Turkey, and since 1930 - in Antelia, Lebanon ), Jerusalem (founded in 1311) and Constantinople (founded in the 16th century). From the 12th century a small part of the Armenians began to recognize the supremacy of the Roman Catholic Church and the Pope of Rome. Supported by the Dominican missionaries of the Order of Jesus (Jesuits), they united into the Armenian Catholic Church with a patriarchal residence in Beirut (Lebanon). The spread of Protestantism among the Armenians was facilitated by American Congregational missionaries who arrived from Boston in 1830. Since then, there have been many Armenian Protestant congregations.

Cities. The capital city of Yerevan (1250 thousand people, according to an estimate for 1990), founded in the 8th century. BC, the largest in the country. Since 1981, the subway has been operating there. Gyumri (from 1924 to 1992 Leninakan) with a population of 120 thousand people (1989) was the second largest city, but was badly damaged during the Spitak earthquake in December 1988. Now its place is taken by Vanadzor (from 1935 to 1992 Kirovakan) with a population of 150 thousand . Human.

YEREVAN, CAPITAL OF ARMENIA

GOVERNMENT AND POLICY

On August 23, 1990, Armenia declared sovereignty, and on September 23, 1991, independence. Structure reorganization state power ended in 1992.
Political system. The head of state is the president, who is elected for a five-year term. The highest legislative body is the National Assembly, elected for a term of five years. The highest executive and administrative body is the Government of the Republic of Armenia. The first president was elected in October 1991.

Local government. Since 1995, according to the Law on the new administrative division, Armenia consists of 11 regions (marzes) governed by governors. However, the adoption of all important decisions is in the competence of the government of the country.
political organizations. The Communist Party of Armenia (CPA), founded in 1920, was the only party in power during the Soviet period. At the Congress of the CPA in September 1991, it was decided to dissolve itself. The Democratic Party of Armenia (DPA) was created on the basis of the CPA. In 1989, the Armenian National Movement (ANM) became the successor to the Karabakh Committee, which was organized in 1988 by a group of Yerevan intelligentsia demanding the reunification with Armenia of Nagorno-Karabakh (an autonomous region of Azerbaijan populated mainly by Armenians; formerly part of Armenia, but was transferred to Azerbaijan in 1923 ). In 1990, in the elections to the Armenian parliament, the ANM received 36% of the vote. One of its leaders, Levon Ter-Petrosyan, was elected president of the country in 1991 and re-elected in 1996, but due to disagreements with the parliament on the Karabakh issue, he resigned a year later. In the presidential elections of 1998, Robert Kocharyan received the majority of votes. Immediately after the declaration of independence of the Republic of Armenia, the Armenian political parties that existed before the establishment of Soviet power were legalized there. One such party, the Dashnaktsutyun (Armenian Revolutionary Union), founded in 1890, was in power in independent Armenia from 1918-1920. IN Soviet time it was outlawed, but continued its activities in the Armenian diaspora abroad and reinstated in 1991. In the same year, the Liberal Democratic (Armenian Democratic League) and Social Democratic parties were legalized. In addition, in 1990-1991, new parties were created in Armenia itself, including the National Democratic Union, the Party of Democratic Freedom and the National Self-Determination Union. The organization of Karabakh war veterans turned into a powerful political movement, closely connected in 1997-1998 with the Ministry of Defense. In 1998, former CPA leader Karen Demirchyan, aspiring to the presidency, formed a new political party.
Armed Forces and Police. The police of Armenia is the successor of the Soviet militia. Some volunteer and paramilitary formations emerged after 1988 and acquired equipment military units USSR stationed on the territory of the republic. They were replaced by regular units of the Armenian national armed forces, who took the oath of allegiance to the republic in the fall of 1991.
Foreign policy. Under President Ter-Petrosyan, the Republic of Armenia has established close ties with Russia, as well as with the United States and France, where there are large prosperous Armenian communities. At first, Ter-Petrosyan made attempts to establish good neighborly relations with Turkey, but she was not successful due to the Karabakh conflict. Although the Ter-Petrosyan government refused to recognize the independence of the self-proclaimed republic of Nagorno-Karabakh and demand its annexation to Armenia, the very support provided by Armenia to this republic gave rise to deep enmity between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which escalated in 1991-1993. Armenia joined the CIS in 1991 and was admitted to the UN on March 2, 1992. In recent years, Russia has become Armenia's closest ally, and relations with Iran have also improved.

ECONOMY

At the beginning of the 20th century Armenia was an agrarian country, the basis of its economy was animal husbandry and crop production. The industry was poorly developed, there were only small mines and cognac factories. Industrialization began immediately after the establishment of Soviet power. After the collapse of the USSR, most of the industry of Armenia, connected with the maintenance of the military-industrial complex, ceased to function. There are many unemployed people in the country (about 120 thousand people, or 10.8% of the able-bodied population). The main industrial center of Armenia is Yerevan, followed by Gyumri and Vanadzor. The economy of Armenia has always been the most vulnerable compared to other republics former USSR. There is no oil (unlike Azerbaijan), there are no fertile lands and access to the sea (unlike Georgia). As a result of the economic blockade, Armenia was cut off from Turkey and Azerbaijan, as well as temporarily from Georgia, when a civil war was going on there. 90% of Armenian freight traffic was previously sent by rail through Abkhazia, but this route is still closed, and Armenia has the only outlet to the world market through Iran. The current state and prospects for the development of the country's economy are closely related to the solution of the Karabakh problem. Currently, most of the aid coming from abroad goes to Nagorno-Karabakh. After the conclusion of a truce on the Karabakh front (in May 1994) and the receipt of funds from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, the country's economy stabilized. Immediately after the declaration of independence, the process of privatization began. The national currency is now quite stable, inflation has decreased from 5000% to 8-10%, there has been an increase in gross domestic product by 5-7% (according to official data). In 1997, exports were valued at $300 million and imports at $800 million.

Energy. In 1962, the construction of the Sevan-Hrazdan irrigation complex and the cascade of hydroelectric power stations, begun in 1937, was completed. Sevan in order to replenish it water reserves. As a result, part of the electricity generated in the republic was exported to Georgia and Azerbaijan in exchange for natural gas. Gas-fired power plants were built in Yerevan, Hrazdan and Vanadzor. In 1970 they provided more energy than hydroelectric power plants. In 1977-1979, a powerful nuclear power plant with two power units was put into operation in Metsamor near Yerevan, which fully met the needs of the republic in electricity. In particular, the requests of an aluminum plant and a large plant for the production of synthetic rubber and car tires were met. The Armenian nuclear power plant was shut down shortly after the Spitak earthquake for fear that aftershocks would lead to catastrophic consequences in Armenia itself and adjacent regions of Turkey. In connection with the energy crisis, the nuclear power plant was put back into operation in 1996.

Transport. The transport network consists of an 830 km electrified railway leading to Iran, and many highways with a total length of 9,500 km, crossing the borders of the republic at 12 points. The main highways connect the Araks valley and the Ararat valley through Agstev with the Kura valley (Georgia), Yerevan and Zangezur through southern Armenia, Yerevan, Gyumri and Akhalkalaki (Georgia). Yerevan Zvartnots Airport serves flights to Moscow, Beirut, Paris, Tbilisi and other cities.

Agriculture. 1340 thousand hectares of land are used in Armenian agriculture. However, there are large tracts of arable land only in three regions: on the Ararat plain, where two or three crops are usually harvested a year, in the valley of the Araks river and on the plains around the lake. Sevan. Soil erosion is one of the serious obstacles to the development of agriculture. Only 1/3 of agricultural land is suitable for cultivation. The main crops are vegetables, melons, potatoes, wheat, grapes, fruit trees. Animal husbandry specializes in dairy and beef cattle breeding and especially sheep breeding, which is common in mountainous regions. In 1987 there were 280 collective farms and 513 state farms in Armenia. After 1991, almost 80% of the land was transferred to the peasants. However, during 1992-1997, the area under crops decreased by 25%, and the volume of sales of agricultural products in 1997 amounted to 40% of the 1990 level. About half of the agricultural products are consumed by the peasant farms themselves. Minerals and mining industry. Armenia is rich in ore deposits, especially copper. Known deposits of manganese, molybdenum, copper, iron, zinc, lead, tin, silver, gold. There are huge reserves of building stone, especially the easily worked volcanic tuff. The country has many mineral springs. Some of them, such as Arzni and Jermuk, are of great balneological importance. In Armenia, mining and processing of building materials is carried out on a large scale: basalt, perlite, limestone, pumice, marble, etc. A lot of cement is produced. Copper ore, mined in Kapan, Kajaran, Agarak and Akhtala, is sent to the metallurgical plant in Alaverdi, which smelts copper. Non-ferrous metallurgy of Armenia also produces aluminum and molybdenum.
Manufacturing industry. After 1953, the central planning bodies of the USSR oriented Armenia towards the development of the chemical industry, non-ferrous metallurgy, metalworking, mechanical engineering, textile industry, production of building materials, as well as viticulture, fruit growing, production of wines, brandy and cognacs. Later, precision instrumentation, the production of synthetic rubber and plastics, chemical fibers and electrical appliances were added to this list. In terms of the volume of electrical products produced, Armenia ranked third among the Union Republics of the USSR, and in terms of the volume of machine tool production, it ranked fifth. However, the most important role was played by the chemical industry, which produced mineral fertilizers, synthetic stones for the production of tools and watches, and fiberglass (based on the processing of local tuffs and basalts).
Finance. In November 1993, a new monetary unit, the dram, was introduced. Initially, it was extremely unstable, which generated significant inflation, but foreign aid contributed to a rapid improvement financial position. In 1993 alone, Armenia received millions of dollars in loans from Western countries. The World Bank provided a loan of 12 million dollars, the United States allocated 1 million dollars for the purchase of seed wheat, Russia provided a loan of 20 billion rubles. (approx. 5 million dollars) for the purchase of Russian oil and agricultural products. Dram gradually stabilized and became the basis monetary circulation in the republic. In 1994, 52 local and 8 foreign banks operated in Armenia. The United Nations, the United States, Japan and other countries continue to provide financial assistance to Armenia.

CULTURE

From the 7th c. AD Armenia was an outpost of Christianity in the Muslim world. The Armenian (Monophysite) church preserved the traditions of Eastern Christianity, which opposed both its Western and Eastern branches, from which it was isolated. After the loss of independence by Armenia (1375), it was the church that contributed to the survival of the Armenian people. Starting from the 17th century. contacts are established with Italy, then with France and somewhat later with Russia (from where Western ideas penetrated indirectly). For example, the famous Armenian writer and public figure Mikael Nalbandyan was an ally of such Russian "Westerners" as Herzen and Ogarev. Later, cultural ties between Armenia and the United States began.
Education. Conductors of education until the middle of the 19th century. remained Christian monasteries. The enlightenment of the people and the development of culture were largely facilitated by the creation of Armenian schools in the Ottoman Empire by Armenian Catholic monks from the Mkhitarist order (established in 1717 in Venice by Mkhitar, a native of Sebastia, Turkey) and the activities of American Congregationalist missionaries in the 1830s. In addition, the organization of Armenian schools in areas densely populated by Armenians was assisted by the Armenian church, as well as many Armenians who were educated at universities. Western Europe and USA. Numerous representatives of the Armenian people in the 19-20 centuries. received education in Russia, especially after the creation by Ioakim Lazaryan in 1815 in Moscow of an Armenian school, transformed in 1827 into the Lazarevsky Institute of Oriental Languages. Many outstanding Armenian poets and writers, as well as the famous Russian military and statesman, Minister of the Interior in 1880-1881 Count M. Loris-Melikov. The famous marine painter I.K. Aivazovsky was educated in Petersburg Academy arts. big role in cultural life Armenians of the Russian Empire were also played by the Nersesyan school in Tiflis (Tbilisi), founded in 1824, schools in Yerevan (1830s), in Etchmiadzin, as well as "schools for girls" in Yerevan, Tiflis and Alexandropol (now Gyumri). Mention should also be made of the Armenian schools in Venice and Constantinople. During the Soviet period, an extensive education system was created in Armenia. At present, in addition to numerous primary and secondary schools, there are Yerevan State University, State engineering university, Institute of National Economy, Agricultural Academy, Institute of Foreign Languages, Medical Academy. The most promising undertaking since independence in 1991 was the founding of the American University of Armenia in Yerevan with the support of the University of California at Los Angeles. A Russian-Armenian University was opened in Yerevan. Leading science Center- The Academy of Sciences of Armenia with an extensive network of research institutes. The Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory is world famous.

Literature and art.

Since the adoption of Christianity, the Armenians have created significant literary monuments, primarily in the historical genre (Movses Khorenai, Yeznik Koghbatsi, the founder of the original Armenian literature of Koryun; they also translated the main religious and theological works into Armenian). In the early Middle Ages, Grigor the Magister worked, creating philosophical and theological Letters, as well as translating Euclid's Geometry into Armenian. Vahram Rabuni (13th century), Hovnan Vorotnetsi (1315-1386) and Grigor Tatevatsi (1346-1408) interpreted the writings of Plato, Aristotle, Porfiry and Philo of Alexandria in their works. At the beginning of the 16th century the so-called. "Greekophile school" in Armenia, which made a great contribution to philosophy. The most famous representatives of this school are Yeznik Kokhbai and David Anakht ("Invincible"). The latter wrote a treatise Definitions of Philosophy and comments on the works of Plato, Aristotle and Porphyry. Historical works were created by Ioannes Draskhanakertsi (9th-10th centuries), the author of the History of Armenia, Tovma Artsruni (960-1030), Stefanos Orbelyan (13th century) and other historians. In the field of mathematics, geography and other natural sciences, Anania Shirakatsi (7th century) made a great contribution, whose works were widely known in the country. In the 8th-9th centuries. the national epic Sasuntsi Davit (David of Sasun) arose, depicting the struggle of the Armenian people for liberation. High degree We see the development of lyrical, moralizing and philosophical poetry of the early period in the work of Grigor Narekatsi (945-1003), Nerses Shnorali ("Blessed") (1102-1172), Konstantin Yerzynkatsi (13th century), Ioannes Tlkurantsi (d. in 1213) , Frika (13-14 centuries) and others. In the 13th century. the great Armenian fabulists Mkhitar Gosh and Vartan Aigektsi worked. Theatrical art originated in Armenia a very long time ago. It is known that the Armenian king Tigran II the Great (1st century BC) built an amphitheater in the capital Tigranakert (ruins have been preserved), where Greek artists invited by him staged Greek tragedies and comedies. According to Plutarch, the Armenian king Artavazd II composed tragedies that were staged in Artashat, the second capital of Armenia (1st century AD). The Bacchantes of Euripides were also shown there. In the future, after the adoption of Christianity, there were only wandering troupes of artists with entertainment or satirical programs. On the active spiritual life of Armenians in the 9th-10th centuries. testifies to the movement of the Paulicians, who preached a return to the original attitudes and moral values ​​of Christianity; they rejected ecclesiastical hierarchy and ecclesiastical land ownership. More radical was the heretical movement of the Tondrakians (the name comes from the village of Tondrak, where it originated). They did not recognize the immortality of the soul, denied the afterlife, the church liturgy, the church right to land, preached the equality of men and women, as well as legal and property equality. This movement soon penetrated into Byzantium, but was forcibly suppressed. Architecture and church music were developed in medieval Armenia. The books were often illustrated with miniature drawings, which in themselves were of great artistic value. In the 19th century Armenian literature and art developed in new ways, influenced by Russian Western European culture. At this time, historical narratives appeared (authors - Mikael Chamchyan, Ghevond Alishan, Nikolay Adonts, Leo), novels (authors Khachatur Abovyan, Raffi, Muratsan, Alexander Shirvanzade), poems and poems (Demrchibashyan, Petros Duryan, Siamanto, Daniel Varuzhan, Vahan Teryan, Hovhannes Tumanyan, Vahan Mirakyan), dramas (Gabriel Sundukyan, Alexander Shirvanzade, Hakob Paronyan). Armenian composers and folklorists (Komitas and Grigor Suny) collected folk songs and used them for concert performances. Armenians created such Western-style classical music as the operas of Tigran Chukhadzhyan, Alexander Spendiaryan and Armen Tiranyan. The works of Western classics and Armenian playwrights - Sundukyan, Shirvanzade and Paronyan - were staged on the Armenian stage. In Soviet Armenia, despite the dominance of communist ideology, certain successes were achieved in the development of national culture. At that time, such prominent poets as Avetik Isahakyan, Yeghishe Charents and Nairi Zaryan worked, outstanding composers Aram Khachaturyan, Mikael Tariverdiev and Arno Babajanyan, wonderful painters Vardges Surenyan, Martiros Saryan and Hakob Kojoyan. The most famous Armenian actor Vahram Papazyan created the image of Shakespeare's Othello on many stages of the world. Outside of Armenia, writers of Armenian origin Michael Arlen in Great Britain, Georges Amado and Henri Troyat in France and William Saroyan in the USA, singer, actor and film actor Charles Aznavour in France won fame. In Yerevan in 1921, the largest Armenian Drama Theater was created. G. Sundukyan, and in 1933 - the Yerevan Opera and Ballet Theater, on the stage of which the famous Armenian singers Pavel Lisitsian, Zara Dolukhanova, Gohar Gasparyan performed.
Museums and libraries. In Yerevan there are the State Historical Museum, the Museum of the History of Yerevan, the State Art Gallery and the Museum of Children's Art, in Sardarabad - the Museum of Ethnography and Folklore, in Etchmiadzin - the Museum of Religious Art. Of the major libraries, mention should be made of the State Library. Myasnikyan, the Library of the Academy of Sciences of Armenia and the Library of Yerevan state university. Matenadaran them. Mesrop Mashtots is the largest repository of ancient and medieval books and manuscripts, numbering approx. 20 thousand units (more than half of them are in Armenian). History of printing and media mass media. In 1512, the first printed book in Armenian Explanatory calendar (Parzatumar). In 1513, the Prayer Book (Akhtark), the Missal (Pataragamatuyts) and the Saints (Parzatumar), and then the Psalter (Sagmosaran) were published there. Subsequently, Armenian printing houses appeared in Constantinople (1567), Rome (1584), Paris (1633), Leipzig (1680), Amsterdam, New Julfa (Iran), Lvov, St. Petersburg, Astrakhan, Moscow, Tbilisi, Baku. In 1794, the first Armenian weekly newspaper, Azdarar (translated from Armenian as Vestnik), was published in Madras (India), and somewhat later, the journal Azgaser (Patriot) appeared in Calcutta. In the first half of the 19th century published in different countries of the world approx. 30 magazines and newspapers in Armenian, of which 6 - in Constantinople, 5 - in Venice, 3 (including the newspapers "Kavkaz" and "Ararat") - in Tiflis. In Moscow, the magazine "Yusisapail" ("Northern Lights") was published, which played huge role in the spiritual life of Armenians. In Soviet Armenia, numerous newspapers and magazines were under strict censorship by the Communist Party. From 1988, new periodicals began to appear, reflecting a wide variety of points of view. Published in Armenia approx. 250 newspapers and 50 magazines. The largest newspapers: "Ekir" (30 thousand copies in Armenian), "Azg" (20 thousand in Armenian), "Respublika Armenia" (10 thousand copies in Russian and Armenian). Outside the republic, the Armenian press has become a significant factor uniting the Armenian communities of different countries of the world. Armenia has its own film studio "Armenfilm". In 1926, the first radio station began operating in Yerevan, and in 1956, a television center. During the Soviet period, a wide radio and television network was created.

customs and holidays. Armenia has preserved many traditional folk customs, including several pagan ones, such as the blessing of the first harvest in August or the sacrifice of lambs during some religious holidays. A traditional holiday for Armenians is Vardanank (St. Vardan's Day), celebrated on February 15 in memory of the defeat of the Armenian troops led by Vardan Mamikonyan in the battle with the Persian army in the Avarayr field. In this war, the Persians intended to convert the Armenians to paganism by force, but after their victory, having suffered huge losses, they abandoned their intention. Thus, the Armenians preserved the Christian faith, defending it with weapons in their hands. In the 20th century Armenians also have a day of mourning: April 24 is the day of the Armenian genocide in Turkey in 1915. May 28 -National holiday Republic Day, the anniversary of the establishment of the first Republic of Armenia in 1918, and September 23 marks the independence day of the second Republic of Armenia.

HISTORY

Origin and ancient history. The first information about the Armenian Highlands dates back to the 14th century. BC. There existed the states of Nairi in the basin of the lake. Van and the states of Hayasa and Alzi in the nearby mountains. In the 9th century BC. here a certain alliance arose with the self-name Biaynili, or Biaynele (the Assyrians called it Urartu, and the ancient Jews - Ararat). Although the origin of the Armenians themselves is still unclear, it can be said that the first Armenian state arose as a result of the collapse of the union of states of Urartu immediately after the fall of the Assyrian Empire in 612 BC. Being first under the domination of Media, in 550 BC. Armenia is part of the Persian Achaemenid Empire After the conquest of Persia by Alexander the Great, Armenia recognized his supreme power, and representatives of the Orontid dynasty (Armenian Yervanduni) began to rule the country. After the death of Alexander in 323 BC. Armenia became a vassal of the Syrian Seleucids. When the latter were defeated by the Romans in the battle of Magnesia (189 BC), three Armenian states arose - Lesser Armenia west of the Euphrates, Sophene - east of this river and Greater Armenia with a center in the Ararat plain. Under the rule of the Artashid (Artashesyan) dynasty, one of the branches of the Yervandids, Greater Armenia expanded its territory up to the Caspian Sea. Later, Tigran II the Great (95-56 BC) conquered Sophena and, taking advantage of the protracted war between Rome and Parthia, created a vast but short-lived empire that stretched from the Lesser Caucasus to the borders of Palestine. The sudden expansion of Armenia under Tigran the Great clearly showed how great the strategic importance of the Armenian Highlands was. Possession of it allowed to dominate the entire Middle East. It is for this reason that Armenia later becomes a bone of contention in the struggle between neighboring states and empires - Rome and Parthia, Rome and Persia, Byzantium and Persia, Byzantium and Arabs, Byzantium and the Seljuk Turks, Ayubids and Georgia, the Ottoman Empire and Persia, Persia and Russia, Russia and the Ottoman Empire. In 387 AD Rome and Persia divided Armenia, which at the same time, although on a much smaller scale, was preserved. Byzantine Empire and Persia carried out a new division of Armenia in 591 AD. The Arabs who appeared here in 640 defeated the Persian Empire and turned Armenia into a vassal kingdom headed by an Arab governor.

Medieval Armenia. With the weakening of Arab domination in Armenia, several local kingdoms arose, which flourished in the 9th-11th centuries. The largest of them was the kingdom of the Bagratids (Bagratuni) with its capital in Ani (884-1045), but soon it fell apart and two more kingdoms were formed on its lands: one, with its center in Kars (west of Mount Ararat), existed from 962 to 1064 , and another - in Lori, in the north of Armenia (982-1090). At the same time, an independent Vaspurakan kingdom arose in the lake basin. Van. The Sunids formed a kingdom in Syunik (now Zangezur) south of the lake. Sevan (970-1166). At the same time, several principalities arose. Despite numerous wars, it was a period of economic and cultural upsurge. However, the invasions of the Byzantines, and then the Seljuk Turks in the 11th century. put an end to it. A new, original "Armenia in exile" was formed in the valleys of Cilicia in the northeastern Mediterranean (earlier, not without the consent of Byzantium, many Armenians, especially farmers, moved here). At first it was a principality, and later (since 1090) a kingdom was formed with the Ruben and Lusinyan dynasties. It existed until it was conquered by the Egyptian Mamelukes in 1375. Armenia's own territory was partly under the control of Georgia, and partly under the control of the Mongols (13th century). In the 14th century Armenia was conquered and ravaged by the hordes of Tamerlane. In the next two centuries, it became the object of a fierce struggle, first between the Turkmen tribes, and later between the Ottoman Empire and Persia.

Modern Armenia.

National revival. Divided between the Ottoman Empire and Persia in 1639, Armenia remained relatively stable until the fall of the Safavid dynasty in 1722. Around this time, Russian expansion into the region begins. Russia annexed Persian Armenia in 1813-1827 and part of Turkish Armenia in 1828 and 1878. In the 1870s, an Armenian national movement was born, the leaders of which tried to benefit for themselves from the rivalry of the great powers of that time, who tried to subjugate the Ottoman Empire. Shortly after the outbreak of the First World War, the Turks set about solving the "Armenian question" by forcibly expelling all Armenians from Asia Minor. The Armenian soldiers who served in the Turkish army were demobilized and shot, women, children and the elderly were forcibly expelled into the deserts of Syria. Estimates of the death toll vary widely, ranging from 600,000 to 1 million people. Some Armenians managed to survive thanks to help from the Turks and Kurds, and most of them fled to Russian Armenia or other countries in the Middle East. Russian Armenia was proclaimed an independent republic on May 28, 1918. Despite the famine, the massive influx of refugees and conflicts with neighboring countries - Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, the republic bravely fought for its existence. In 1920, units of the Red Army entered Armenia, and on December 2, 1920, a Soviet republic was proclaimed there.

Soviet Armenia. Since then, Armenia, officially considered independent, was ruled by instructions from Moscow. The rigid implementation of the Soviet order, accompanied by violent requisitions of the property of wealthy citizens, led to an anti-Soviet uprising on February 8 - July 13, 1921. After the suppression of this uprising, a more moderate rule was introduced, headed by Alexander Myasnikyan, who was guided by the instructions of V.I. Lenin to avoid excesses. On December 13, 1922, Armenia united with Georgia and Azerbaijan, forming the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic (TSFSR). At the end of December, this federation became part of the USSR as an independent entity. During the years of the NEP, Armenia, a predominantly agricultural country, began to slowly heal its wounds. The foundations for the development of the most important branches of cultural life were laid, a system of school education was created, work began on the systematization of archaeological and other historical materials. In 1922-1936, 40,000 refugees from the former Ottoman Empire repatriated to Armenia. Many Armenian artists, writers and other intellectuals came to Armenia from Tiflis (the center of Armenian culture in the Russian Empire) as well as from abroad. The Republic, in its economic program, relied on industrialization, although it had to reckon with almost total absence energy resources and limited water resources. Therefore, Armenia was forced to build hydroelectric power plants on shallow but fast rivers. At the same time, irrigation canals were laid: in 1922, a canal named after A. Lenin, and two years later the Shirak Canal was put into operation in the north of the republic. The first hydroelectric power station was built in 1926 on the Hrazdan River near Yerevan. However, the widespread use of water resources for the production of electricity, the needs of industry and agriculture began in 1929, after the adoption of the first five-year plan.

The era of Stalinism.

Under Stalin, a dictatorship was established in the country, accompanied by the forced collectivization of agriculture and industrialization (with an emphasis on heavy industry and the military industry), rapid urbanization, the brutal persecution of religion and the establishment of an official "party line" in all areas of Soviet society - from literature to plant genetics. Strict censorship was introduced, all dissidents were persecuted and subjected to repression. In 1936, approx. 25 thousand Armenians opposed the policy of collectivization. During the Stalinist purges, the first secretary of the Armenian Communist Party Aghasi Khanjyan, Catholicos Khoren Muradbekyan, a number of government ministers, prominent Armenian writers and poets (Yegishe Charents, Aksel Bakunts and others) were killed. In 1936, the TSFSR was liquidated, and Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan, which were part of it, were proclaimed independent union republics within the USSR. Although Armenia was not the scene of hostilities during the Second World War, approx. 450 thousand Armenians. Of these, 60 became generals of various branches of the armed forces; three were promoted to admirals, Hovhannes (Ivan) Bagramyan became Marshal of the Soviet Union, and Sergei Khudyakov (Armenak Khanperyan) became Air Marshal. More than a hundred Armenians became Heroes of the Soviet Union, and one of them - Nelson Stepanyan (pilot) - was twice a hero. Despite heavy losses during the war, Armenia's population growth continued, averaging 18.3 per 1,000 inhabitants. After the end of the war, Stalin, realizing that the Armenian diaspora abroad had large funds and highly qualified specialists, made some concessions to the Armenian church (in particular, provided it with land plots for creating collective farms in order to provide economic support to the Etchmiadzin Patriarchate) and suggested that the Catholicos turn to foreign Armenians with a call for repatriation to Soviet Armenia. From 1945 to 1948, approx. 150 thousand Armenians, mainly from the countries of the Middle East and relatively few from the countries of the West. Subsequently, many of them were repressed. In July 1949, the mass deportation of the Armenian intelligentsia with their families to Central Asia was carried out, where most of them died.

Post-Stalin period. After Stalin's death in 1953, a slow but steady rise in the well-being of the people began, accompanied by a gradual liberalization of certain spheres of public life. In the 1960s, Armenia turned from a predominantly agricultural country into an industrialized country with a high level of urbanization. Thanks to state support, culture, education, science and art have reached high level development. When M. S. Gorbachev (1985-1991) became the leader of the USSR, proclaiming a program of radical reforms, the population of Armenia openly expressed a desire to reunite their country with the area densely populated by Armenians - Nagorno-Karabakh, which, at the behest of Stalin, was transferred to Azerbaijan in 1923. In February 1988 mass demonstrations broke out in the republic. The critical situation was aggravated by a strong earthquake in December 1988, which claimed 25 thousand lives and left approx. 100 thousand people. The cities of Spitak, Leninakan and Kirovakan were destroyed. Shortly thereafter, approx. 200 thousand Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan.

Republic. On August 23, 1990, the legislative body of Armenia (then the Supreme Soviet of the Armenian SSR) proclaimed the sovereignty of the republic, voted for a new official name - the Republic of Armenia - and the restoration of the previously banned "erekguyn" (a tricolor consisting of red, blue and orange stripes) as a national flag. On September 23, 1991, the Republic of Armenia declared its independence, and on December 21 of the same year joined the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). By the end of 1991 ca. 80% of cultivated land was given to those who cultivated it. On December 25, 1991, the Republic of Armenia was recognized by the United States, and on March 22, 1992, it was admitted to the UN. In the spring of 1992, paramilitary units of Armenia established control over Nagorno-Karabakh. In 1993, the armed forces of the Karabakh Armenians attacked the positions of the Azerbaijanis, from which the latter fired at Karabakh and villages located in the east of Armenia. Civil war broke out in Azerbaijan itself, and the armed forces of Karabakh seized a significant part of the Azerbaijani territory north and south of the Karabakh enclave, clearing the Lachin corridor that separated Karabakh from Armenia. Hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis left their homes and became refugees. In May 1994, with the mediation of Russia, an agreement was concluded on the cessation of hostilities. Meanwhile, the Armenian economy was paralyzed, partly due to the collapse of the USSR, but mainly due to the blockade of the republic imposed by Azerbaijan. In 1993, the production of meat, eggs and other necessary food products decreased, imports exceeded exports by 50%, and the budget deficit increased sharply. Factories and schools were closed, traffic in the cities was suspended. The standard of living began to fall sharply, food rationing had to be introduced. Corruption flourished under these conditions, and organized local criminal groups took control of some sectors of the economy. During these years, approx. 10% of the population (300 thousand people). In 1994, after two winters without heating and almost without electricity, the government began to consider the possibility of launching the Metsamor nuclear power plant, which was mothballed after the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. In the mid-1990s, negotiations were held with Turkmenistan and Iran on the import of natural gas into Armenia and signed a trilateral agreement on cooperation in the areas of trade, energy, banking and transport. In 1994, the construction of a modern bridge across the Araks River connecting Armenia with Iran near the city of Meghri began, which was completed in 1996. It is open to two-way traffic. In the summer of 1996, a trade agreement was concluded with the United States, the implementation of which, however, was linked to the cessation of the war in Nagorno-Karabakh. In 1994, dissatisfaction with President Ter-Petrosyan and his ANM party began to grow against the backdrop of a worsening economic crisis and widespread corruption in the government itself. Armenia gained a reputation as a state that was successfully developing the process of democratization, but in late 1994 the government banned the activities of the Dashnaktsutyun party and the publication of several opposition newspapers. The following year, the results of a referendum on a new constitution and parliamentary elections were rigged. For this constitution, 68% of the votes were cast (against - 28%), and for the parliamentary elections - only 37% (against - 16%). The constitution provided for strengthening the power of the president by reducing the powers of parliament. Numerous violations were committed in the parliamentary elections, and foreign observers assessed these elections as free, but flawed. Republican bloc led by Armenian national movement, the successor to the Karabakh movement, won a landslide victory. Even more striking was the result of the presidential elections held on September 22, 1996. Ter-Petrosyan won 52% of the vote (according to government estimates), and the main opposition candidate Vazgen Manukyan - 41%. Ter-Petrosyan won by a margin of 21,981 votes, but a difference of 22,013 votes was found between the total number of voters and the number of officially registered ballots. In September 1996, the army and police were thrown against the street demonstrators. President Ter-Petrosyan became particularly unpopular when he proposed a bold compromise solution to the Karabakh conflict and adopted the international community's plan for Nagorno-Karabakh to formally remain part of Azerbaijan, but be granted full autonomy and self-government. Even the closest political associates turned away from Ter-Petrosyan, and he had to resign in February 1998. After the new elections, Robert Kocharyan became the president of Armenia, former leader Nagorno-Karabakh. Kocharyan's policy on the Karabakh issue turned out to be less flexible, but the government resolutely undertook to eradicate corruption and improve relations with the opposition (the Dashnaktsutyun party was again legalized).

Traditionally, the world has long been divided into groups of countries. There are first world countries - or the "golden billion", second world countries - many of them used to be socialist, and third world countries - or developing ones. In recent years, scientific circles have also begun to single out countries of the fourth world - these are the poorest states that cannot be called developing, because they do not develop anywhere at all, but slowly decay.

In addition to dividing countries into groups on an economic basis, it would be more correct to divide countries into 4 groups on a civilizational basis. The most intelligent, civilized, cultured countries, in which everything is ordered, written and tested in all settlements, technologies are debugged to automatism - this is the first world.

The second world is where the cities have a centralized layout, but there is often no novelty and luxury, the population is not always well educated, but nonetheless quite quick-witted and savvy, access to the main benefits of civilization like water, light, communications is present.


The third world is a huge number of countries, in principle, very different. They are united by the primitiveness and downtroddenness of the local population (a hallmark of many such countries is to shout "Uh" or "hello" at the sight of a foreigner and poke fingers at him, which is not accepted in the first and second world), people are native, wild and often primitive, villages often characterized by medieval poverty and primitivism, and cities are chaotic and absurd - with sidewalks clogged with vendors, dirty courtyards, streets crowded with cars. With education and money in such countries are often problems.

Fourth world countries - in which there are no basic things like light, water, telephone, food and shops, people often do not have clothes.

Now, after the classification, I will try to sort many countries into these groups. What is the first world, and where is the third?

So let's start with Europe.
1. First world. France is the classic first world. In the same category, you can safely include Belgium, Holland, Germany. The first world is also Eastern European Poland and the Czech Republic, as well as Hungary. World 1 includes Scandinavia, and other other countries of the West. Europe. Of course, only Southern Italy is in question ...

2. Second world. The classic second world is Russia, Ukraine. From Europe, this group includes Bulgaria, Romania, Latvia, Montenegro, Serbia, Lithuania, Belarus, Estonia (the last four countries are slightly similar in some elements to the first world, but they are still very far from it). Despite low salaries and a weak economy, Moldova can rightly be considered a second world. Recently, China has also been climbing from the third to the second world, but this process is lengthy.

2+. Slovakia stands apart here, which is in a transitional stage between the second and the first world - it is stuck somewhere in the middle between them.

3. Third world. The classic third world is Egypt, India, Pakistan, Mongolia and most of the countries to the south of them. Many Arab countries, such as Syria, can also be included in this group. Interesting countries Central Asia, such as Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan. Being essentially the third world, they retained in their appearance some features of the second world (in which they, at least in large settlements, were under the USSR). Nevertheless, these remnants of the second world are diminishing in them, and the third is becoming more and more pronounced. The only country in the region in which elements of the second world are preserved in quantity and will remain in the future, although the country itself is rather in the third, is Kazakhstan.

3+. Some countries are on the way between the third world and the second and are completely stuck on this road without a chance to move forward - the characteristic countries for such a "Twine" are Turkey and Kosovo. On the same road, but somewhat closer to the third world, are Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia.

It is also curious that there is one country from the third world on the European continent - this is Albania. Iran is also curious - being so far practically a perfect third world, it has a chance in a few decades to become halfway between the third and second worlds - that is, to approach Turkey, there is a certain tendency towards that.

I can talk about the fourth world only theoretically, I have not been to these countries yet, but it traditionally includes Zimbabwe, a Democrat. rep. Congo, Chad, Afghanistan. This is what is called - there is nowhere worse.

Here is such a division, here is such a classification. Every time you visit a new country, it is very interesting in the first couple of days to classify it and place it on one of these four shelves. Or even, in a difficult situation, hang between two shelves. :)