InternationalArmenia on the road to independence
On September 21, 1991, Armenia chose the road to independent statehood
Published: Saturday September 20, 2008
We are all prisoners of the Soviet Unoin. Autumn, 1988. Photolure
Yerevan - In the early spring of 1991, Mikhail Gorbachev, the first and last president of the Soviet Union, made a final attempt to prevent the inevitable death of the empire. On March 17 a referendum was held on preserving the Soviet Union. Approximately three-quarters of the population voted for the continuation of the Soviet Union. The Armenian republic, together with five other republics - the Georgian, Moldovan, Latvian, Lithuanian, and Estonian - boycotted the referendum. On March 1 the Supreme Council of Armenia refused to hold the referendum in its territory and decided to hold its own referendum on independence six months later.
On August 23, 1990, the Supreme Council had already accepted the Declaration of Independence, by which the new and no-longer-Communist authorities of Armenia had chosen the path of creating a free and independent state. The document was signed by Levon Ter-Petrossian, the president of the Supreme Council at the time. Aram Manukian, a member of the parliament and of the ruling elite, read the text out loud for the very first time.
"To date that document is politically untouchable, legally exceptional, and not a single political power casts doubts on that document. It is a document from the romantic period, but the pragmatism and realism is deep," Mr. Manukian remembers proudly, years later.
The inevitability of the Soviet Union's collapse was obvious to the Armenian authorities. After the referendum, the sick empire survived for only another 16 months. The economy was in an awful state, the decentralizing forces had expanded, and uncontrollable processes, which accelerated the collapse of the empire, were taking place.
Jumping off the train in time
In his famous article, "It is Time to Jump off the Train," Vazgen Manukian, the Armenian National Movement ideologist, wrote: "If an attempt is made to halt the processes in the country, then after a short time it will inevitably bring chaos and explosion and the Empire will collapse even faster. In that scenario, we are in danger of remaining under the ruins of the empire. It is preferable to approach that destruction as an independent state, recognized by the rest of the states of the world, and not as a result of such an explosion."
During those years, the majority of Armenia's citizens could not even imagine that it was possible to live independently of Russia and blockaded by an enemy country such as Turkey. If you asked people what should not be done, they would answer, "Not become independent from the Soviet Union." However, the issue was not whether Armenia wanted that independence. The issue was that independence was going to become inevitable. Independence was going to knock on our door and we had to be ready to accept it.
Mr. Manukian and Mr. Ter-Petrossian, who in 1990 occupied the posts of prime minister and president of the Supreme Council respectively, insisted that the Armenian nation should only rely on its own powers to achieve its national aspirations. They considered the points of view of those figures who believed Armenia could only preserve itself under the shelter of a strong state, being surrounded by enemy nations of another faith, as politically bankrupt and dangerous.
"This mindset takes our nation toward moral slavery and deprives it of the opportunity of becoming a political ally, which is the guarantor of success in politics. The concept of Armenia as an obstacle to Pan-Turkism and therefore a factor in Russia's interests brings the Armenian Question back into complex international relations, which is full of danger for the destiny of our nation," said Mr. Ter-Petrossian.
The failed attempted coup in Moscow in August 1991 accelerated the collapse of the Soviet state. On August 24, Ukraine declared independence; Kyrgyzstan on August 31; Azerbaijan on August 30; Uzbekistan on September 1; Turkmenistan on October 27; and Kazakhstan on December 16.
The ideals of independence
On September 21, as had been envisaged half a year before, Armenia held its referendum on independence. About 94.5 percent of eligible voters participated, and more than 99 percent said "Yes" to the Armenian dream of having an independent, free, and self-governing state. Legally, Armenia's independence was declared on September 21, but in fact it had taken the road toward independence on August 23 of the previous year.
As foundations of statehood, the founders of the third republic, headed by the ANM, put forward universally accepted ideas such as the creation of a free, independent, self-governing, and democratic state; free and independent media; the establishment of free economic relations; and living with neighbors in peace. However, most of these ideas were discredited during the years of ANM rule. This created disillusionment not only toward the authorities, but also toward the idea of independence. About one million people left independent Armenia.
Seventeen years should have been long enough for independence to have become an absolute value for the citizens of Armenia. Each year September 21 is celebrated on the state level; it is a public holiday. Has the public holiday become a national celebration? Do the people of Armenia and the Armenians of the world celebrate it with pride, joy, and mirth?
That the journey toward independence would involve privation and losses everyone understood. But the expectation was that the privations and losses would we shared by all.
Even today, 17 years after independence, a segment of the population praises the repressive Soviet times. It's not because the Soviet period was good and gentle, but because they cannot bear the insolence that has become part of the fabric of our everyday lives in Armenia.
Independence Day is a happy day, a proud day. It will become all the more joyful the more people feel that their votes, their views, and their rights are protected by the state.
