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Geghark'unik'
Geghark'unik () is one of the provinces of Armenia. It is in the east of the country, bordering Azerbaijan. Much of its area is the lake Sevena Lich. Its capital is Gavarr.
The province includes the Armenian exclave of Artsvashen which is completely surrounded by Azerbaijan (and currently occupied by the said country).
External links
- [http://www.cilicia.com/rediscover.pl?Gegharkunik_Marz Gegharkunik Guidebook Chapter]
- [http://www.armeniapedia.org/index.php?title=Rediscovering_Armenia_Guidebook-_Gegharkunik_Marz Gegharkunik Marz Tourist Guide]
Category:Provinces of Armenia
Provinces of Armenia
The Republic of Armenia, or Armenia (Armenian: , Hayastan, , Hayq), is a landlocked country in the southern Caucasus, between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia to the north, Azerbaijan to the east and Iran (Persia) and the Nakhichevan exclave of Azerbaijan to the south. Armenia is a member of the Council of Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States and for centuries has been on the crossroads between the West and East.
Origin of the name
The original Armenian name for the country was Hayq, later Hayastan, translated as the land of Haik, and consisting of the name Haik and the Persian suffix '-stan' (land). According to legend, Haik was a great-great-grandson of Noah (son of Togarmah, who was a son of Gomer, a son of Noah's son, Japheth), and according to Christian tradition, a forefather of all Armenians. He is said to have settled below Mount Ararat, travelled to assist in building the Tower of Babel, and, after his return, defeated the Assyrian king Nimrod near Lake Van in present-day Turkey.
Hayastan was given the name Armenia by the surrounding states, as it was the name of the strongest tribe living in the historic Armenian lands, who called themselves Armens. It is traditionally derived from Armenak or Aram (the great-grandson of Haik's great-grandson, and another leader who is, according to Armenian tradition, the ancestor of all Armenians). Some Jewish and Christian scholars write that the name 'Armenia' was derived from Har-Minni, that is 'Mountains of Minni' (or Mannai). Pre-Christian accounts suggest that Nairi, meaning land of rivers, was an ancient name for the country's mountainous region, first used by Greek historians around 800 BC; while the first recorded inscription bearing the name Armenia, namely the Behistun Inscription in Iran, dates from 521 BC.
History
Armenia has been populated by humans since prehistoric times, and has been proposed as the site of the Biblical Garden of Eden.
Armenia was a regional empire with a rich culture in the years leading up to the 1st century, spanning from the shores of the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea and the Mediterranean Sea during the rule of Tigranes the Great.
Armenia's strategic location between two continents has subjected it to invasions by many peoples, including the Assyrians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Turks and Mongols.
In AD 301, Armenia became the first state to adopt Christianity as its official state religion, twelve years before the Roman Empire granted Christianity official toleration under Galerius, and some 30-40 years before Constantine was baptised. There had been various pagan communities before Christianity, but they were converted by an influx of Christian missionaries.
Having changed between various dynasties -- including Parthian (Iranian), Roman, Arab, Mongol and Persian occupations -- Armenia was substantially weakened. In 1500's, the Ottoman Empire and Safavid Persia divided Armenia among themselves.
In 1813 and 1828, present-day Armenia (consisting of the Erivan and Karabakh khanates) was temporarily incorporated into the Russian Empire. After a short-lived independent republic established after the Bolshevik Revolution in Petrograd, Armenia was incorporated into the USSR. Between 1922 and 1936 it existed as the Transcaucasian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic (with Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan), and from 1936 to 1991 as the Armenian SSR.
During the final years of the Ottoman Empire (1915-1922), a large proportion of Armenians living in Anatolia perished as a result of what is termed the Armenian Genocide, regarded by Armenians and many Western historians to have been state-sponsored mass killings. Turkish authorities, however, maintain that the deaths were a result of a civil war coupled with disease and famine, with casualties incurred by both sides. Most estimates for the number of Armenians killed range from 600,000 to 1,500,000, and these events are traditionally commemorated yearly on April 24. Armenians and a handful of other countries worldwide have been campaigning for official recognition of the events as genocide for over 30 years.
Armenia remained preoccupied by a long conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, a mostly Armenian-populated enclave that, Armenians allege, Stalin had placed in Soviet Azerbaijan. A military conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan began in 1988, and the fighting escalated after both countries gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. By May 1994, when a cease-fire took hold, Armenian forces controlled not only Nagorno-Karabakh but also the surrounding districts of Azerbaijan proper. The economies of both countries have been hurt in the absence of a peaceful resolution.
Politics
The Government of Armenia's stated aim is to build a Western-style parliamentary democracy as the basis of its form of government. However, international observers have questioned the fairness of Armenia's parliamentary and presidential elections and constitutional referenda since 1995, citing polling deficiencies, lack of cooperation by the electoral commission, and poor maintenance of electoral lists and polling places. For the most part however, Armenia is considered one of the more pro-democratic nations in the Commonwealth of Independent States.
The unicameral parliament (also called the National Assembly) is controlled by a coalition of three political parties: the conservative Republican party [http://www.hhk.am], the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, and the Country of Law party. The main opposition is comprised of several smaller parties joined in the Justice Bloc.
Armenians voted overwhelmingly for independence in a September 1991 referendum. Levon Ter-Petrossian was president until January 1998, when public demonstrations against his increasingly authoritarian regime and his domestic and foreign policies forced his resignation. In 1999, as the Prime Minister Vazgen Sargsian, parliament Speaker Karen Demirchian, and six other officials were killed in the attack on the National Assembly [http://www.aaainc.org/ArTW/article.php?articleID=468], the country experienced a period of political instability. President Robert Kocharian was successful in riding out the unrest, and currently rules with the support of the parliamentary coalition.
Administrative Provinces
Robert Kocharian
Armenia is divided into 11 provinces (marzer, singular - marz):
#Aragatsotn ()
#Ararat ()
#Armavir ()
#Geghark'unik' ()
#Kotayk' ()
#Lorri ()
#Shirak ()
#Syunik' ()
#Tavush ()
#Vayots' Dzor ()
#Yerevan ()
Geography
Yerevan
Armenia is a landlocked country, lacking a seacoast or port. It is technically part of Asia, however as it also has much in common with Europe, it is sometimes claimed to fall within that continent. It is found between the Black and the Caspian Seas, bordered on the north and east by Georgia and Azerbaijan, and on the south and west by Iran and Turkey.
The terrain is mostly mountainous, with fast flowing rivers and few forests. The climate is highland continental: hot summers and cold winters. The land rises to 4,095 m above sea-level at Mount Aragats, and no point is below 400 m above sea level. Mount Ararat, regarded by the Armenians as a symbol of their land, is the highest mountain in the region and used to be part of Armenia until around 1915, when it fell to the Turks.
Armenia is trying to address its environmental problems. It has established a Ministry of Nature Protection and introduced taxes for air and water pollution and solid waste disposal, whose revenues are used for environmental protection activities. Armenia is interested in cooperating with other members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS, a group of 12 former Soviet republics) and with members of the international community on environmental issues. The Armenian Government is working toward closing its Nuclear Power Plant at Medzamor near Yerevan as soon as alternative energy sources are identified.
Economy
Until independence, Armenia's economy was largely industry-based – chemicals, electronics, machinery, processed food, synthetic rubber, and textile – and highly dependent on outside resources. Agriculture contributed only 20% of net material product and 10% of employment before the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. Armenian mines produce copper, zinc, gold, and lead. The vast majority of energy is produced with fuel imported from Russia, including gas and nuclear fuel (for its one nuclear power plant); the main domestic energy source is hydroelectric. Small amounts of coal, gas, and petroleum have not yet been developed.
Like other newly independent states of the former Soviet Union, Armenia's economy suffers from the legacy of a centrally planned economy and the breakdown of former Soviet trading patterns. Soviet investment in and support of Armenian industry has virtually disappeared, so that few major enterprises are still able to function. In addition, the effects of the 1988 Spitak Earthquake, which killed more than 25,000 people and made 500,000 homeless, are still being felt. The conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh has not been resolved. The closure of Azerbaijani and Turkish borders has devastated the economy, because Armenia depends on outside supplies of energy and most raw materials. Land routes through Georgia and Iran are inadequate or unreliable. GDP fell nearly 60% from 1989 until 1992–1993. The national currency, the dram, suffered hyperinflation for the first years after its introduction in 1993.
Nevertheless, the government was able to make wide-ranging economic reforms that paid off in dramatically lower inflation and steady growth. The 1994 cease-fire in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has also helped the economy. Armenia has had strong economic growth since 1995, building on the turnaround that began the previous year, and inflation has been negligible for the past several years. New sectors, such as precious stone processing and jewelry making, information and communication technology, and even tourism are beginning to supplement more traditional sectors in the economy, such as agriculture.
This steady economic progress has earned Armenia increasing support from international institutions. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and other international financial institutions (IFIs) and foreign countries are extending considerable grants and loans. Loans to Armenia since 1993 exceed $1.1 billion. These loans are targeted at reducing the budget deficit, stabilizing the currency; developing private businesses; energy; the agriculture, food processing, transportation, and health and education sectors; and ongoing rehabilitation in the earthquake zone. The government joined the World Trade Organization on February 5, 2003. But one of the main sources of foreign direct investments remains the Armenian diaspora, which finances major parts of the reconstruction of infrastructure and other public projects. Being a growing democratic state, Armenia also hopes to get more financial aid from the Western World.
A liberal foreign investment law was approved in June 1994, and a Law on Privatization was adopted in 1997, as well as a program on state property privatization. Continued progress will depend on the ability of the government to strengthen its macroeconomic management, including increasing revenue collection, improving the investment climate, and making strides against corruption.
Demographics
Armenia has a population of 2,982,904 (July 2005 est.) and is the second most densely populated of the former Soviet republics. There is a serious problem of population decline, with widespread emigration increasing since the break-up of the USSR. A drastically reduced birth rate is not nearly sufficient to keep the population from dropping in the long term. Some observers estimate that as many as one-third of Armenia's population lives in Russia illegally, and that Armenia has no more than about two million residents. Some have observed that this could pose a threat if Azerbaijan, which has had a much less severe problem with demographic decline, seeks to regain its lost territories.
Ethnic Armenians make up 97.9% of the population. Most of Azerbaijan's once sizable population have left since independence, and nearly all of the Armenians in Azerbaijan now live in Nagorno-Karabakh and the occupied territories. There is a large Armenian diaspora, with communities existing all over the world. Kurds make up 1.3%, and Russians 0.5%. There are smaller communities of Assyrians, Georgians, Greeks and Ukrainians.
The predominant religion in Armenia is Christianity. The roots of the Armenian Church go back to the 3rd and 4th centuries. Armenia was the first nation to adopt Christianity as a state religion, in AD 301. Over 95% of Armenian Christians belong to the Armenian Apostolic Church, a form of Oriental (Non-Chalcedonian) Orthodoxy, which is a very ritualistic, conservative church, roughly comparable to the Coptic and Syrian churches. Armenia also has a population of evangelical Protestants, Catholics and followers of the Armenian traditional religion. The Yazidi Kurds, who live in the western part of the country, practise Yazidism. The Armenian Catholic Church is headquartered in Bzoummar, Lebanon.
Ethnic Azeris and Kurds who lived in the country before the Karabakh conflict practised Islam, but most Azeris were driven out of Armenia into Azerbaijan between 1988 and 1991 at the beginning of the conflict. During the same period, Armenia also received a large influx of Armenians scattered throughout Azerbaijan.
Culture
1991, here seen from Yerevan, is the national symbol of Armenia.]]
1991
Armenians have their own highly distinctive alphabet and language. 96% of the people in the country speak Armenian, while 75.8% of the population speaks Russian as well. The adult literacy rate in Armenia is 99% [http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/am.html]. Most adults in Yerevan can communicate in Russian, while English is increasing in popularity.
Caucasian hospitality is legendary and stems from ancient tradition. Social gatherings focused around sumptuous presentations of course after course of elaborately prepared, well-seasoned (but not spicy-hot) food. The host or hostess will often put morsels on a guest's plate whenever it is empty or fill his or her glass when it gets low. After a helping or two it is acceptable to refuse politely or, more simply, just leave a little uneaten food.
The National Art Gallery in Yerevan has more than 16,000 works that date back to the Middle Ages. It houses paintings by many European masters. The Modern Art Museum, the Children’s Picture Gallery, and the Martiros Saryan Museum are only a few of the other noteworthy collections of fine art on display in Yerevan. Moreover, many private galleries are in operation, with many more opening each year. They feature rotating exhibitions and sales.
The world-class Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra performs at the beautifully refurbished city Opera House, where you can also attend a full season of opera. In addition, several chamber ensembles are highly regarded for their musicianship, including the National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia and the Serenade Orchestra. Classical music can also be heard at one of several smaller venues, including the State Music Conservatory and the Chamber Orchestra Hall. Jazz is popular, especially in the summer when live performances are a regular occurrence at one of the city’s many outdoor cafes.
Yerevan’s Vernisage (arts and crafts market), close to Republic Square, bustles with hundreds of vendors selling a variety of crafts, many of superb workmanship, on weekends and Wednesdays (though the selection is much reduced mid-week). The market offers woodcarving, antiques, fine lace, and the hand-knotted wool carpets and kilims that are a Caucasus specialty. Obsidian, which is found locally, is crafted into an amazing assortment of jewelry and ornamental objects. Armenian gold smithery enjoys a long and distinguished tradition, populating one corner of the market with a selection of gold items. Soviet relics and souvenirs of recent Russian manufacture—nesting dolls, watches, enamel boxes and so on, are also available at the Vernisage.
Across from the Opera House, a popular art market fills another city park on the weekends. Armenia’s long history as a crossroads of the ancient world has resulted in a landscape with innumerable fascinating archaeological sites to explore. Medieval, Iron Age, Bronze Age and even Stone Age sites are all within a few hours drive from the city. All but the most spectacular remain virtually undiscovered, allowing visitors to view churches and fortresses in their original settings.
The American University of Armenia has graduate programs in Business and Law, among others. The institution owes its existence to the combined efforts of the Government of Armenia, the Armenian General Benevolent Union, USAID, and the Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California at Berkeley.
The extension programs and the library at AUA form a new focal point for English-language intellectual life in the city. Many of the country’s most successful young entrepreneurs are graduates of this institution.
See also
- Artsakh
- Armenian people
- Armenian Genocide
- Castles of Armenia
- Hayastani Azgayin Scautakan Sharjum Kazmakerputiun - the Armenian National Scout Movement
- Nagorno-Karabakh
- Public holidays in Armenia
- Music of Armenia
- Armenian needlelace
- List of Armenians
- Khachkars - intricate Armenian knotwork crosses
Miscellaneous topics
- Communications in Armenia
- Foreign relations of Armenia
- Military of Armenia
- Transportation in Armenia
External links and references
- [http://www.armenica.org Armenica.org: History of Armenia]
- [http://www.ArmeniaNow.com Armenia Now, edited by John Hughes]
- [http://www.theforgotten.org The Armenian Genocide in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Turkish, Russian]
- [http://www.twentyvoices.com Life stories of twenty survivors of the Armenian Genocide]
- [http://www.genocide.ru The Armenian Genocide in Russian]
- [http://www.circle.am circle.am statistic of internet resources about Armenia]
- [http://www.hayastan.com Most visited (22million since 3 years) Armenian portal in Internet , with news and discussion board, armenian-english online translator etc](Armenian,Russian,English)
- [http://www.armeniapedia.org Armeniapedia.org - the Armenian Wiki]
- [http://hayastan.republika.pl/armenia.htm Site about Armenia. There is a general information about Armenia, mount Ararat (Masis), photogallery, etc.](Armenian, English, Polish)
- [http://www.armgate.com/ Armenian News and pictures of Churches and Ararat Mountain]
- [http://www.armeniasearch.com/ Armenian Search Engine and Directory]
- [http://www.armenianhouse.org Armenian literature and history]
- [http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/am.html CIA - The World Factbook -- Armenia]
- [http://www.gov.am/enversion/index.html Government of Armenia]
- [http://www.armeniachat.com Armenia Chat]
- [http://www.loc.gov/rr/international/amed/armenia/armenia.html Library of Congress Portals on the World - Armenia]
- [http://www.caucaz.com/home_uk Caucaz.com : Weekly online publishing articles and reports about Armenia and South Caucasus. Available in English and French]
- [http://www.atlas-of-conflicts.com/areas/armenia-and-karabakh/ Atlas of Conflicts: Historical Maps of Armenia]
- [http://www.groong.org Armenian News Network - Groong]
- [http://www.haias.net Virtual Armenia] (English, Deutsch)
- [http://www.armeniainfo.am Armenia information]
Category:Caucasus
Category:CIS
Category:Southwest Asian countries
Category:Landlocked countries
zh-min-nan:Hayastan
ko:아르메니아
ms:Armenia
ja:アルメニア
simple:Armenia
th:ประเทศอาร์เมเนีย
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan) is a country in the Caucasus, at the crossroads of Europe and Southwest Asia, with a coast on the Caspian Sea. It has frontiers with Russia in the north, Georgia in the northwest, Armenia in the west and southeast and southwest, and Iran in the south. The Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic (an exclave of Azerbaijan) borders Armenia to the north and east, Iran to the south and west, and Turkey to the northwest.
The country’s formal name is the Republic of Azerbaijan (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan Respublikası). Azerbaijan is a secular state, and has been a member of the Council of Europe since 2001. A majority of the population are Shi'a Muslim and of Western Turkic descent, known as Azerbaijanis, or simply Azeris. The country is formally an emerging democracy, however with strong authoritarian rule.
Etymology
There are several hypotheses regarding the origins of the name "Azerbaijan." The most common theory is that it is derived from "Atropatan." Atropat was the satrap at the time of the Persian Achaemenid dynasty, and gained independence after Alexander the Great destroyed the Achaemenids. The region was known as Media Atropatia or Atropatene at the time.
There are also alternative opinions that the term is a slight Turkification of Azarbaijan, in turn an Arabicized version of the original Persian name Azarpayagan, made up of azar+payag+an (azar=fire; payag=base; an=suffix of location); that it traditionally means "the land of eternal flames" or "the land of fire." Some Azeri historians also contend that the name is made up of four Azerbaijani components: az+er+bay+can, which means "the land of the brave Az people" or "an elevated place for the wealthy and exalted."
Historically, a large part of the territory of the present-day Azerbaijan Republic has been called Arran, named after Arran, a legendary founder of Caucasian Albania. However, the precise location identified by this name has shifted somewhat over time, currently referring to the lowland Karabakh plains situated between the Kura and Araks rivers.
Some opponents of the name Azerbaijan assert that it is anachronistic to use it in a historical context before 1918, because, they say, the term was first introduced by the national intelligentsia in early 20th century and later was endorsed by the Bolsheviks, with intention of claiming the northern province of Persia. To substantiate this claim they state that till early 20th century the population of present-day Azerbaijan had no clear ethnic identification and referred to themselves primarily as "Muslims."
History
Main article: History of Azerbaijan
Historically Azerbaijan has been occupied by a variety of peoples, including Armenians, Persians, Romans, Arabs, Turks, Mongols, Greek Empire, and Russians.
The first state to emerge in the territory of present-day Republic of Azerbaijan was Mannae in the 9th century BC, lasting until 616 BC when it was overthrown by the Medes. The satrapies of Atropatene and Caucasian Albania were established in the 4th century BC and included the approximate territories of present-day Azerbaijan and southern parts of Dagestan.
Islam spread in Azerbaijan following the Arab conquests in the 7th–8th centuries. In the 11th century, the Seljuk Turks became the dominant force in Azerbaijan and laid the ethnic foundation of contemporary Azerbaijanis. In the 13–14th centuries, the country experienced Mongol-Tatar invasions.
Azerbaijan was part of the Safavid state in 15th–18th centuries. It also underwent a brief period of feudal fragmentation in the mid-18th to early 19th centuries, and consisted of independent khanates. Following the two wars between the Qajar dynasty of Persia and the Russian Empire, Azerbaijan was acquired by Russia through the Treaty of Gulistan in 1813, and the Treaty of Turkmenchay in 1828.
After the collapse of the Russian Empire during World War I, Azerbaijan declared independence and established the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. This first Muslim republic in the world lasted only two years, from 1918 to 1920, before the Soviet Red Army invaded Azerbaijan. Subsequently, Azerbaijan became part of the Soviet Union.
Azerbaijan re-established its independence upon the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Despite a cease-fire in place since 1994, Azerbaijan has yet to resolve its conflict with Armenia over the predominantly ethnic Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh region. Azerbaijan has lost control of 16% of its territory including Karabakh, and must support some 800,000 refugees and internally displaced persons as a result of the conflict.
Politics
Main article: Politics of Azerbaijan
Politics of Azerbaijan
Politics of Azerbaijan
Politics of Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan is a presidential republic. The head of state and head of government are separate from the country’s law-making body. The people elect the president for a five-year term of office. The president appoints all cabinet-level government administrators. A fifty-member national assembly makes the country’s laws. The people of Azerbaijan elect the National Assembly. Azerbaijan has universal suffrage above the age of eighteen.
After the presidential elections of October 15, 2003, an official release of the Central Election Committee (CEC) gave Isa Gambar – leader of the largest opposition bloc, Bizim Azerbaycan ("Our Azerbaijan") – 14% percent of the electorate and the second place in election. Third came, with 3.6%, Lala Shevket Hajiyeva – leader of the National Unity Movement, the first woman to run in presidential election in Azerbaijan and the whole of the Turkic speaking world. Nevertheless, the OSCE, the Council of Europe, Human Rights Watch and other international organizations, as well as local independent political and NGOs voiced concern about observed vote rigging and a badly flawed counting process.
Several independent local and international organizations that had been observing and monitoring the election directly or indirectly declared Isa Gambar winner in the 15 October election. Another view shared by many international organisations is that in reality a second tour of voting should have taken place between the two opposition candidates Isa Gambar and Lala Shevket.
- Human Rights Watch commented on these elections: "Human Rights Watch research found that the government has heavily intervened in the campaigning process in favor of Prime Minister Ilham Aliev, son of current President Heidar Aliev. The government has stacked the Central Election Commission and local election commission with its supporters, and banned local non-governmental organizations from monitoring the vote. As the elections draw nearer, government officials have openly sided with the campaign of Ilham Aliev, constantly obstructing opposition rallies and attempting to limit public participation in opposition events. In some cases, local officials have closed all the roads into town during opposition rallies, or have extended working and school hours—on one occasion, even declaring a Sunday work day—to prevent participation in opposition rallies." (source: [http://www.hrw.org/backgrounder/eca/azerbaijan/index.htm HTML format])
- OSCE’s final report (source: [http://www.osce.org/documents/html/pdftohtml/1151_en.pdf.html HTML format] or [http://www.osce.org/documents/odihr/2003/11/1151_en.pdf PDF format])
Azerbaijan held parliamentary elections on Sunday, 6 November 2005.
Subdivisions
Main article: Subdivisions of Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan is divided into:
- 59 raions (rayonlar; rayon – singular),
- 11 cities (şəhərlər; şəhər – singular),
- 1 autonomous republic (muxtar respublika);
Geography
autonomous republic
Main article: Geography of Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan has an arid climate, except in the southeast near Gilan. Temperatures vary by season. In the southeast lowland, temperatures average 6°C (43°F) in the winter and 26°C (80°F) in the summer — though daily maxima typically reach 32°C (89°F). In the northern and western mountain ranges, temperatures average 12°C (55°F) in the summer and –9°C (20°F) in the winter.
Annual rainfall over most of the country varies from 200 to 400 mm (8 to 16 inches) and is generally lowest in the northeast. In the far southeast, however, the climate is much moister and annual rainfall can be as high as 1300 mm (51 inches). For most of the country, the wettest periods are in spring and autumn, with summers being the driest.
Economy
Main article: Economy of Azerbaijan
The economy is largely based on industry. Industries include machine manufacture, petroleum and other mining, petroleum refining, textile production, and chemical processing. Agriculture accounts for one-third of Azerbaijan’s economy. Most of the nation’s farms are irrigated. In the lowlands, farmers grow such crops as cotton, fruit, grain, tea, tobacco, and many types of vegetables. Silkworms are raised for the production of natural silk for the clothing industry. Azerbaijan’s herders raise cattle, domestic sheep and goats near the mountain ranges. Seafood and fish are caught in the nearby Caspian Sea. Azerbaijan has a highly dynamic economy, mainly because of oil, and has a GDP growth rate of up to 11% a year.
Demographics
Main article: Demographics of Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan has population of roughly 7,911,974 (July 2005 est), 90.6% of whom are ethnic Azerbaijani, (also called Azeris; 1999 census figures). Azeris also form about 24% of the population of Iran, predominating in the northern regions of the country. Most of Armenia’s Azeri minority have left since independence and the Nagorno-Karabakh war. The second largest ethnic group are Russians, who now form roughly 1.8% of the population, most having emigrated since independence.
The Talysh, an Iranian people, predominate in the southernmost regions of the country around the Talysh mountains and across the border into Iran. Some people argue that the number of Talysh is greater than officially recorded, as many of them are counted as Azerbaijanis.
Numerous 'Dagestani' peoples live around the border with Dagestan. The main peoples are the Lezgis, Avar and the Tsakhur. Smaller groups include the Budukh, Udi, Kryts and Khinalug/Ketsh around the village of Xinaliq. Around the town of Quba in the north live the Tats, also known as the Mountain Jews, who are also to be found in Dagestan. Many Tats have emigrated to Israel in recent years, though this trend has slowed and even reversed more recently.
The country’s large Armenian population mostly fled to Armenia and to other countries with the beginning of the Armenian-Azeri conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. During the same period, Azerbaijan also received a large influx of Azerbaijanis fleeing Armenia and later Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent provinces occupied by the Armenians. Almost all of Azerbaijan’s Armenians now live in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Azerbaijan also contains numerous smaller groups, such as Kurds, Georgians, Tatars and Ukrainians.
Most Azerbaijanis, or Azeris, are Shia Muslim. Other religions or philosophical beliefs that are followed by many in the country are the Sunni and Sufi sects of Islam, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Russian Orthodox Church, and various secular beliefs (many of which are left over from the Soviet era of less tolerance for spirituality). The Tat people around Quba follow Judaism.
Culture
Main article: Culture of Azerbaijan
The official language of Azerbaijan is Azerbaijani, a member of the Oguz subdivision of the Turkic language family, and is spoken by around 95% of the republic’s population, as well as about a third of the population of Iran. Its closest relatives are Turkish and Turkmen. As a result of the language policy of the Soviet Union, Russian is also commonly spoken as a second language among the urbane.
- Music of Azerbaijan
- Islam in Azerbaijan
- Azerbaijani literature
Miscellaneous topics
- Communications in Azerbaijan
- Transportation in Azerbaijan
- Military of Azerbaijan
- Foreign relations of Azerbaijan
- Public holidays in Azerbaijan
- List of Azerbaijanis
- Scout Association of Azerbaijan
- Nagorno-Karabakh
References
- Forrest, Brett (Nov. 28, 2005). "Over A Barrel in Baku". Fortune, pp. 54–60.
External links
- [http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/aj.html CIA World Factbook — Azerbaijan]
- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/country_profiles/1235976.stm BBC Country Profile: Azerbaijan]
- [http://www.azerb.com/ Azerbaijan from A to Z]
- [http://www.azer.com Azerbaijan International] – world's largest website about Azerbaijan
- [http://www.azadlig.org/ Democratic Youth Movement New Idea]
- [http://www.zerbaijan.com/ Virtual Azerbaijan Republic]
- [http://www.caucaz.com/home_uk Caucaz.com]: Weekly online publishing articles and reports about Azerbaijan and South Caucasus. Available in English and French
- [http://www.bakutoday.net Baku Today]
- [http://www.azadliq.az/ independant newspaper Azadliq]
- [http://www.azstat.org/indexen.php State Statistical Committee of the Azerbaijan Republic]
- [http://www.un-az.org United Nations Office in Azerbaijan] with a [http://www.un-az.org/couinf.htm country report]
- [http://ifex.org/en/content/view/full/179/ IFEX: Press Freedom in Azerbaijan]
- [http://www.loc.gov/rr/international/amed/azerbaijan/azerbaijan.html Library of Congress Portals on the World — Azerbaijan]
Category:Caucasus
Category:Southwest Asian countries
Category:Landlocked countries
Category:Bicontinental countries
zh-min-nan:Azerbaijan
ko:아제르바이잔
ms:Azerbaijan
ja:アゼルバイジャン
simple:Azerbaijan
th:ประเทศอาเซอร์ไบจาน
Sevena LichLake Sevan ("Սևանա լիճ" in Armenian), named Gegham Sea ("Գեղամա ծով") in ancient times, also referred to by its Turkish name Gokcha (or Goktscha), is Armenia's largest lake, the largest lake in Transcaucasia and one of the largest high altitude lakes in the world. The entire lake is situated inside the eastern Armenian province of Geghark'unik'. It is fed by 28 rivers and drained by the Hrazdan (Razdan) river. Only 10% of the outgoing water is drained by the Hrazdan, while the remaining 90% evaporates. Along with lake Van and lake Urmia it was one of the three great lakes of the Armenian Kingdom, referred to as the seas of Armenia, and it is the only one within today's Republic of Armenia.
Urmia
Urmia
Before human intervention the lake was 95 metres deep, covered an area of 1,360 km2 (5% of Armenia's entire area), had a volume of 58 km3 and a perimeter of 260 km. The lake was located at an altitude of 1,950 m.
Intervention
In 1910 Soukias Manasserian (one of the civil engineers behind the interventions that caused the Aral Sea disaster) published a study Evaporating billions and stagnation of the Russian Capital, suggesting to lower the lake to 45 metres and use the water for irrigation and hydroelectricity.
In the Stalin era the plan was slightly modified: the water level would be reduced by 55 metres (5 metres more than suggested by Manasserian), the perimeter would shrink to 80 km and the volume to only 5 km3. Nut and oak trees would be planted on newly acquired land, and introducing some trout species into the remainder of the lake would increase fishery production by ten times.
The Armenian Supreme Soviet approved the plan without consulting the local people and the major works started in 1933. The river bed of the Hrazdan was deepened and construction of a tunnel 40 metres below the original water level started. The work was delayed due to World War 2 and was only finished in 1949 when the water level began to fall by more than one metre per year.
An ecological disaster like that in Aral Sea was avoided when the Stalinist era ended in 1956 and the project and its consequences were reviewed thoroughly. As there were troubles with planting oaks and nuts and with fishery, the Sevan committee was established with the mission "to raise the level as much as possible". Hydro-electric power stations on the Hrazdan would be replaced with thermal power stations. In 1962 the level stabilised at 18 metres below the original level, but two years later the lake started to "bloom" due to eutrophic algae.
In 1981, a 49 km tunnel was constructed, diverting water from the Arpa river (from a reservoir near Kechut) to the lake near Artsvanist. The level rose only 1.5 metres, so another 22 km tunnel was begun from Vorotan (further south from Kechut). Only 18 km were constructed because in 1988 Azerbaijan imposed an economic blockade on Armenia due to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the work had to be stopped.
The Armenian government completed the Vorotan tunnel in 2003, but water has not yet begun to flow into the lake. The level stabilised at 20 metres below the original, and the lake's area is now 940 km2.
Due to recent rain and other changes, the water level is again slowly rising (as of 2005).
Fauna
Sevan trout (Salmo ischan) was an endemic species of the lake, but it is endangered as some competitors were introduced into the lake, including common whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus) from Lake Ladoga, goldfish (Carrasius auratus), and crayfish (Astacus leptodactylus). If the Sevan trout is likely to become extinct in its "home" lake, it seems that it will survive in Issyk-Kul lake (Kyrgyzstan) where it was introduced.
Beaches
There are numerous beaches along the entire lake shore. The most famous cultural monument is the Sevanavank monastery near the town of Sevan at the northwestern shore. Initially the monastery was located on an island, but the fall of the water level turned it into a peninsula. Another monastery at the western shore is Hayrivank, and further south, near Noratus, there is a field of khachkars, a cemetery with approximately 900 khachkars of different styles. When the water level fell, many archaeological artifacts were found, dated to 2000 years of age and older (some as old as the early Bronze Age). Most of them are now displayed in Yerevan.
Sevan
Exclave
An exclave is a territory that belongs to a political entity but is not connected to it by land (islands are not counted) and is surrounded by other political entities. A good example is the region around the Russian city Kaliningrad. It belongs to the Russian Federation, but is separated from the rest of that country by territory belonging to Lithuania and Poland.
Although both meanings are close, an exclave may not necessarily be an enclave. For example, Kaliningrad is surrounded not by one state, but by two: Lithuania and Poland; it also borders the Baltic Sea. On the other hand, the Spanish exclave of Llívia is an enclave in France.
Many exclaves today have some sort of ideology to become independent, especially if the exclave is far away from the Mainland.
A much more obscure use means, in medical discussion, a detached part of an organ, as of the pancreas, thyroid, or other gland.
The lists below are of various types of exclaves that are not enclaves.
True exclaves
- Angola: Cabinda, located between Democratic Republic of Congo (former Zaire) and the Republic of Congo
- Azerbaijan: Nakhchivan
- Brunei: Temburong is a unconnected to the larger western part of the country; thus, it is an exclave of Brunei
- Croatia: Dubrovnik
- East Timor: Oecussi-Ambeno
- Northern Cyprus: Kokkina.
- Oman: Musandam
- Russia: Kaliningrad
- Spain: The cities of Ceuta and Melilla, on the north African Moroccan coast
- United States: Alaska (Hawaii is not counted because it is made up of islands)
Subnational exclaves
- United States:
- California: The City and County of San Francisco has an exclave on Alameda Island, across San Francisco Bay and adjoining Alameda County. The exclave came into being as land on the border between the two counties was reclaimed from the Bay to build the Naval Air Station Alameda, now decommissioned. This small piece of open space can only be reached from San Francisco by crossing the Bay Bridge and passing through Oakland and Alameda.
- Colorado: Arapahoe County has two exclaves entirely surrounded by Denver County.
- Kentucky: The westernmost fragment of the state, a piece of land known as the Madrid Bend, is surrounded on three sides by the Mississippi River, with Missouri on the opposite shore. Road access to the rest of Kentucky is only available by initially going south into Tennessee.
- Louisiana: St. Martin Parish has an exclave which is separated from the main part of the parish by Iberia Parish.
- Massachusetts: Norfolk County is not fully contiguous; the towns of Brookline and Cohasset are part of Norfolk County, but are surrounded on all sides by other counties.
"Practical" exclaves
Some territories, while not geographically detached from their motherland, are more easily reached by entering a foreign country, because of their location in a hilly area, or because the only road available enters that foreign place before coming back to the mother country. These territories may be called "practical exclaves," "pene-exclaves" or "quasi-exclaves" and can be found along many borders, particularly those that are not heavily defended. They will only be attached to the motherland via an extremely small or thin slice of land.
- Canada: St. Regis, Quebec: Part of the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River, it is attached by land to the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation in New York State; road access to the rest of Canada is only available through New York State.
- United States:
- Alaska: The Alaska Panhandle, though connected geographically, is inaccessible by road from the rest of the state. One must drive through Canada to reach the area from elsewhere in the state
- Minnesota: The Northwest Angle is attached by land to the Canadian province of Manitoba; road access to the rest of the United States is only available through Manitoba
- Washington: Point Roberts is at the southern end of peninsula; road access to the rest of the United States is only available through the Canadian province of British Columbia
"Practical" Subnational exclaves
- United States:
- Virginia :The Eastern Shore, comprising Accomack County and Northampton County, is located at the southern tip of the Delmarva Peninsula. It is connected to the rest of Virginia via the 23 mile (37 km) long Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel.
- Iowa: Carter Lake, a part of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, is surrounded by Omaha, Nebraska on three sides and the Missouri River on the fourth; road access to Iowa is only available through Nebraska.
- Michigan: The Upper Peninsula is attached by land to Wisconsin. It can be reached from the Lower Peninsula of Michigan by the 5 mile (8 km) long Mackinac Bridge.
Historical exclaves
- East Prussia, a German exclave during the Weimar Republic: it was separated from Germany after World War I, when Poland regained access to the sea. East Prussia later became part of Poland and Russia (see Kaliningrad above).
- East Bengal (1947-1955) / East Pakistan (1955-1971), nowadays People's Republic of Bangladesh, was an exclave separated from West Pakistan by 1600 kilometers of foreign territory. East Pakistan accounted for 70% of the exports of the country and was more populous than West Pakistan, and so in a sense it was actually the physically larger and politically more influential West that was the enclave and East Pakistan that was the Mainland.
- Walvis Bay was a South African exclave in Namibia, before being incorporated with Namibia upon its independence.
External links
- [http://vwww.abo.fi/users/rpalmber/enclaves.htm Enclaves of the world]
- [http://geosite.jankrogh.com/exclaves.htm Jan S. Krogh's Geosite]
- [http://www.hiddeneurope.co.uk/carticles.php?tPath=5?osCsid=135c5c5d78127711a10fe6d43fecec8b Article 'Tangled Territories' on European exclaves by Nicky Gardner of hidden europe magazine]
- [http://exclave.info/territory_list.html exclave.info]
Exclave
Category:Provinces of ArmeniaProvinces of Armenia
Category:First-order administrative divisions
Armenia
Category:Geography of Armenia
Category:Subdivisions of Armenia
Category:Armenia
Арня ӵукна«Арня ӵукна» – Удмурт радиоын уно аръёс ӵоже арня нуналъёсы потӥсь литературно-музыкальной радиожурнал.
Нырысьсэ «Арня ӵукна» эфире потӥз 3 мартэ 1955 аре. Радиожурнал кылдытэмын вал со вакытэ Удмурт радиоын ужась кылбурчилэн Гай Сабитовлэн кичӧлтэмезъя. Со ачиз ик луиз та радиожурналлэн нырысетӥ нуисез но сое кызь ар ӵоже нуиз, соин ик «Арня ӵукна» радиожурналлэн нимыз люконтэм герӟаськемын Гай Сабитовлэн нимыныз. Озьы ик, «Арня ӵукнаез» пӧртэм вакытъёсы нуэм мукет журналистъёс но туж нимо-дано луо: Милитина Гаврилова (Решитько), Ольга Ведрова, Анастасия Гребина. «Арня ӵукналэн» нырысетӥ режиссёрез вал Борис Саушкин, собере – Анатолий Митрофанов но Леонид Гусев.
«Арня ӵукналэн» тематикаез – Удмуртиысь культура но устолык, удмурт композиторъёслэн, суредасьёслэн, писательёслэн но театр удысын ужасьёслэн выль ужъёссы, озьы ик, музейёслэн, библиотекаослэн ужамзы.
«Арня ӵукналэсь» адӟем карыса ик Удмурт радиоын кылдытэмын вал мукет передачаос но: «Ладилэн азбараз», «Кылбурет удысын», «Ялыке», «Марӟанъёс».
Линкъёс
- [http://infoart.udm.ru/issue/infopanorama/00/6/16.htm «Арня ӵукна» радиожурналлы – 45] (Ӟ)
- [http://dayudm.ru/lenta.php?id=10893 «Арня ӵукна» радиожурналлы – 50] (Ӟ)
Категория:Масс-медиа Удмуртиын
wagi Zamwienia publiczne tanie latanie, tanie loty pociel wegetarianizm
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