Soviet Army Day

Today is a holiday here in Armenia, something like Veteran's Day back home- but instead of celebrating soldiers who have served in the Armenian military, this holiday honors those men (and apparently women as well, although I haven't met any female veterans so far) who served as soldiers in the Soviet Army, back when Armenia was a Soviet Republic. All day I've seen people congratulating and thanking the older men of Sisian for their service. It's a strong reminder of what a different role Russia plays in Armenian culture.

In America, Russians are the villains in movies. Russia is depicted as a resource-poor country with long winters and hardened people. In Armenia, people over the age of 30 remember the Soviet Era as a time of relative prosperity: every one had a job at the local factory (which exported goods to the rest of the Soviet Union), every one had access to free healthcare, and housing was provided by the government, along with cars. That's not to say there weren't problems, but those were nothing compared to the economic collapse and political turmoil that followed the fall of the Soviet Union, and were compounded by the Nagorno Karabakh war with neighboring Azerbaijan which started shortly thereafter.

And that cultural heritage doesn't even start to address the role that Russia plays in current day Armenia. The Russian military patrols the boarder between Armenia and Turkey. Russia backs Armenian interests in the border war with Azerbaijan. Russia is Armenia's literal protector. It also serves as a major economic provider for this tiny country with closed borders. Many imported goods come to Armenia via Russia. Most food found at the markets carry Russian labels. Russian manufactured items are regarded as high-quality and reliable.

Furthermore, Russia provides many, many Armenian men with jobs. It is extremely common for Armenian men, who due to high unemployment aren't able to find jobs in Armenia, to move to Russia for work. There, Armenians are thought of with the same kind of stereotype regarding construction as many men from Central America are thought of with regard to gardening and agricultural work. Armenian men working in Russia are able to send money home to their families: making the Russian job market directly responsible for many Armenian's primary source of income.

And so while I feel vaguely uncomfortable today- wondering if perhaps Americans are still the villains in Russian films, and how all these former cold-war era Soviet soldiers perceive me and my country- it's fascinating to consider Russia in a different light than one is exposed to at home.