Russians in Armenia (

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

: Русские в Армении, Armenian: Ռուսները Հայաստանում) are ethnic

Russians , native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 '' Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 ...

living in

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''O ...

, where they make up the second largest minority (after the

Yazidis Yazidis or Yezidis (; ku, ئێزیدی, translit=Êzidî) are a Kurmanji-speaking endogamous minority group who are indigenous to Kurdistan, a geographical region in Western Asia that includes parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran. The ma ...

).RUSSIANS , People , Armenia Travel, History, Archeology & Ecology , TourArmenia , Travel Guide to Armenia
/ref> In 2022 census there were 109,000 Russians counted, making up nearly 3.6% of the whole population of Armenia.

History

The first mass-immigration of Russians into Armenia occurred in the late 18th century when Molokans, a break-off sect of the

Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

, were deported to

Amasya Amasya () is a city in northern Turkey and is the capital of Amasya Province, in the Black Sea Region. It was called Amaseia or Amasia in antiquity."Amasya" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th ...

and Sevan, with some 5000 of their descendants still living in the country. After the

Russo-Turkish war The Russo-Turkish wars (or Ottoman–Russian wars) were a series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European histo ...

of 1828-1829 many Russians immigrated to

Russian Armenia Russian Armenia is the period of Armenian history under Russian rule from 1828, when Eastern Armenia became part of the Russian Empire following Qajar Iran's loss in the Russo-Persian War (1826–1828) and the subsequent ceding of its territorie ...

, establishing businesses and churches, and settling throughout mountainous northwest of the country. During Soviet period much more Russians immigrated into

Armenian SSR The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic,; russian: Армянская Советская Социалистическая Республика, translit=Armyanskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialisticheskaya Respublika) also commonly referred to as Soviet A ...

and were engaged in the industry and clerical work. Outward migration of Russians increased after 1990, during the

Dissolution of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

, when economic conditions harshly deteriorated and Armenian became the official language of the country. Traditional Russian villages can still be found in Amassia,

Ashotsk Ashotsk ( hy, Աշոցք, also Romanized as Ashoc’k’ and Ashotsq; formerly, Verin-Gukasyan, Gukasyan, Ghukasyan) is a village and rural community (municipality) in the Shirak Province of Armenia. The Statistical Committee of Armenia The Stati ...

(Shirak), Sevan and Semyonvka (

Gegharkunik Province Gegharkunik ( hy, Գեղարքունիք, ) is a province ('' marz'') of Armenia. Its capital and largest city is Gavar. Gegharkunik Province is located at the eastern part of Armenia, bordering Azerbaijan. It includes the exclave of Artsvas ...

), Filoetovo,

Lermontov Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov (; russian: Михаи́л Ю́рьевич Ле́рмонтов, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ˈjurʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈlʲɛrməntəf; – ) was a Russian Romantic writer, poet and painter, sometimes called "the poet of the Caucas ...

, Pushkino, Sverdlov,

Lernantsk Lernantsk ( hy, Լեռնանցք, also romanized as Lernantsq; formerly, Chorlu and Chorlit) is a village in the Lori Province Lori ( hy, Լոռի, ), is a province ('' marz'') of Armenia. It is located in the north of the country, bordering ...

Medovka Medovka ( hy, Մեդովկա), is a village in the Lori Province of Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world ...

, Lerhovit, Petrovka,

Tashir Tashir ( hy, Տաշիր) is a town and urban municipal community located in Lori Province at the north of Armenia, near the border with Georgia. It is located 42 km north of the provincial centre Vanadzor and 154 north of the capital Ye ...

and Mikaielovska (

Lori Province Lori ( hy, Լոռի, ), is a province ('' marz'') of Armenia. It is located in the north of the country, bordering Georgia. Vanadzor is the capital and largest city of the province. Other important towns include Stepanavan, Alaverdi, and Sp ...

Immigration following 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

Following the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. A ...

, a significant number of Russians (particularly within the

IT sector Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information technology system ( ...

) left for Armenia, primarily due to sanctions and a crackdown on dissent to the war. A majority of them settled within the cities of

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and i ...

and

Gyumri Gyumri ( hy, Գյումրի, ) is an urban municipal community and the second-largest city in Armenia, serving as the administrative center of Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. By the end of the 19th century, when the city w ...

, unintentionally causing a spike in local property prices. For example, Armenian apartments for sale cost much more in 2022 than they did in 2021. The cost of apartments in the city's center increased by an average of 109,000 drams during the course of a year (about 273 Euros). A further wave of Russians left for Armenia in September and October due to the

mobilization Mobilization is the act of assembling and readying military troops and supplies for war. The word ''mobilization'' was first used in a military context in the 1850s to describe the preparation of the Prussian Army. Mobilization theories an ...

of Russian citizens later into the war.

Russian churches in Armenia

Amrakits Amrakits ( hy, Ամրակից) formerly known as ''Nikolayevka'' and later as ''Kirov'',Kiesling, ''Rediscovering Armenia'', p. 63, available online at thUS embassy to Armenia's website is a village in the Lori Province Lori ( hy, Լոռի, ), ...

*Saint Nikolai the Wonderworker's Church, opened in 1848.

Gyumri Gyumri ( hy, Գյումրի, ) is an urban municipal community and the second-largest city in Armenia, serving as the administrative center of Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. By the end of the 19th century, when the city w ...

*Saint Alexandra the Martyr's Church, opened in 1837. *Saint Michael the Archangel's Church, opened in 1880. *Saint Arsenije Church of, opened in 1910.

Vanadzor Vanadzor ( hy, Վանաձոր) is an urban municipal community and the third-largest city in Armenia, serving as the capital of Lori Province in the northern part of the country. It is located about north of the capital Yerevan. As of the 2011 cen ...

*Church of the Nativity of Blessed Virgin Mary, opened in 1895.

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and i ...

* Church of the Intercession of the Holy Mother of God, opened in 1916. *Holy Cross Church, opened in 2017.

Demolished churches

*Russian church of the Seversky 18th Dragoon Regiment, built in 1856 in Gyumri. It was consecrated in 1901 and destroyed during the Soviet days. *Russian church of the Caucasian 7th Rifle Regiment, built during the 1850s in Gyumri. It was destroyed during the Soviet days. *Russian church of the Caucasian 8th Rifle Regiment, built during the 1850s in Gyumri. It was destroyed during the Soviet days. *Russian church of the Baku 154th Infantry Regiment, built during the 1850s in Gyumri. It was destroyed during the Soviet days. * Saint Nikolai Cathedral, Yerevan, built in the 2nd half of the 19th century and destroyed in 1931.

References

{{Ethnic groups in Armenia Ethnic groups in Armenia Armenia–Russia relations Eastern Orthodoxy in Armenia

History

Immigration following 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

Russian churches in Armenia

Amrakits Amrakits ( hy, Ամրակից) formerly known as ''Nikolayevka'' and later as ''Kirov'',Kiesling, ''Rediscovering Armenia'', p. 63, available online at thUS embassy to Armenia's website is a village in the Lori Province Lori ( hy, Լոռի, ), ...

Gyumri Gyumri ( hy, Գյումրի, ) is an urban municipal community and the second-largest city in Armenia, serving as the administrative center of Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. By the end of the 19th century, when the city w ...

Vanadzor Vanadzor ( hy, Վանաձոր) is an urban municipal community and the third-largest city in Armenia, serving as the capital of Lori Province in the northern part of the country. It is located about north of the capital Yerevan. As of the 2011 cen ...

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and i ...

Demolished churches

See also

References