The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic (ArSSR), also known as Soviet Armenia, or simply Armenia, was one of the
constituent republics of the
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
, located in the
Caucasus
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...
region of
Eurasia
Eurasia ( , ) is a continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. According to some geographers, Physical geography, physiographically, Eurasia is a single supercontinent. The concept of Europe and Asia as distinct continents d ...
. Soviet Armenia bordered the Soviet republics of
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...
and
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
and the independent states of
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
and
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
. The capital of the republic was
Yerevan
Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...
and it contained thirty-seven
districts (raions). Other major cities in the Armenian SSR included
Leninakan,
Kirovakan,
Hrazdan,
Etchmiadzin, and
Kapan
Kapan ( ) is a town in southeast Armenia, serving as the administrative centre of the Kapan Municipality and also as the provincial capital of Syunik Province. It is located in the valley of the Voghji (river), Voghji River and is on the norther ...
. The republic was governed by
Communist Party of Armenia, a republican branch of the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...
.
Soviet Armenia was established on 29 November 1920, with the
Sovietisation of the short-lived
First Republic of Armenia
The First Republic of Armenia, officially known at the time of its existence as the Republic of Armenia, was an independent History of Armenia, Armenian state that existed from May (28th ''de jure'', 30th ''de facto'') 1918 to 2 December 1920 in ...
. Consequently, it has been referred to as the Second Republic of Armenia. It became part of the
Transcaucasian SFSR (TSFSR), along with neighboring Georgia and Azerbaijan, which comprised one of the four
founding republics of the USSR. When the TSFSR was dissolved in 1936, Armenia became a constituent republic of the Soviet Union.
As part of the Soviet Union, Armenia initially experienced stabilization under the administration of
Alexander Miasnikian during
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...
's
New Economic Policy (NEP). During its seventy-one year history, the republic was transformed from a largely agricultural
hinterland to an important industrial production center, while its population almost quadrupled from around 880,000 in 1926 to 3.3 million in 1989 due to natural growth and large-scale influx of
Armenian genocide survivors and their descendants.
Soviet Armenia suffered during the
Great Purge
The Great Purge, or the Great Terror (), also known as the Year of '37 () and the Yezhovshchina ( , ), was a political purge in the Soviet Union that took place from 1936 to 1938. After the Assassination of Sergei Kirov, assassination of ...
of
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...
, but contributed significantly to the Soviet victory in the
Great Patriotic War of World War II. After the
death of Stalin, Armenia experienced a new period of liberalization during the
Khrushchev Thaw. Following the
Brezhnev era,
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...
's reforms of ''
glasnost'' and ''
perestroika
''Perestroika'' ( ; rus, перестройка, r=perestrojka, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg, links=no) was a political reform movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s, widely associ ...
'' saw the
rise of nationalist movements challenging the republic's territorial configuration within the Soviet Union. Local authorities
declared state sovereignty on 23 August 1990 and boycotted the
March 1991 referendum on the
New Union Treaty. An
independence referendum held on 21 September 1991 was supported by more than 99% of voters. With the
dissolution of the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...
on 26 December 1991, the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic ceased to exist and Armenia became an independent state.
Formal name
Following the Sovietization of Armenia, the republic became officially known as the ''Socialist Soviet Republic of Armenia''. After the dissolution of the TSFSR in 1936, the name was changed to the ''Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic'', which was used until 1991.
In
Armenian, the official name had been variously changed since the creation of the ArSSR. It was initially "''Hayastani Socʼialistakan Xorhrdayin Hanrapetutʼyun''" (, ''Socialist Soviet Republic of Armenia''). The second name, in accordance to the then latest
Soviet Constitution, was adopted on 5 December 1936 as ''Haykakan Xorhrdayin Socʻialistakan Hanrapetutʻyun'' (, ''Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic''), with the term ''haykakan'' (
հայկական, "Armenian") replacing ''Hayastani'' (
Հայաստան, "Armenia"), and transposing the second (սոցիալիստական, ''socialist'') and third (Խորհրդային, ''soviet'') words. It was ratified by the ninth All-Armenian Extraordinary Congress of Soviets on 23 March 1937.
Thereafter, direct borrowings of ''soviet'' (սովետական, ''sovetakan'') and ''republic'' (ռեսպուբլիկա, ''ṙespublika'') were included in the formal name on 22 August 1940, in accordance with a regulation approved by the People's Commissariat of Enlightenment of the Armenian SSR. In 1966, the original term for republic was restored.
On 25 June 1989, the
Supreme Council of the Armenian SSR passed the bill that constitutionally restored the 1936 name, as well as in other legislative acts.
After declaring the sovereign polity, the Supreme Council adopted the
Declaration of Independence in which the formal name was declared ''Hayastani Hanrapetut’yun'' (, ''Republic of Armenia'') on 23 August 1990.
History
Sovietization

Prior to Soviet rule, the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF, Dashnaksutiun) had governed the
First Republic of Armenia
The First Republic of Armenia, officially known at the time of its existence as the Republic of Armenia, was an independent History of Armenia, Armenian state that existed from May (28th ''de jure'', 30th ''de facto'') 1918 to 2 December 1920 in ...
. The Socialist Soviet Republic of Armenia was founded in 1920. Armenian
diaspora
A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of birth, place of origin. The word is used in reference to people who identify with a specific geographic location, but currently resi ...
s were divided about this; supporters of the nationalist Dashnaksutiun did not support the Soviet state, while supporters of the
Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) were more positive about the newly founded Soviet state.
Eastern Armenia had been part of the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
, since the 1828
Treaty of Turkmenchay up until the
October Revolution
The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...
, and partly confined to the borders of the
Erivan Governorate. After the October Revolution, the
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...
government led by
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...
announced that minority cultures of the empire could pursue a course of
self-determination
Self-determination refers to a people's right to form its own political entity, and internal self-determination is the right to representative government with full suffrage.
Self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international la ...
, and in May 1918 Armenia, and its neighbors
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...
and
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
, declared their independence from Russian rule and each established separate republics. However, the
Red Army overthrew the Azerbaijan Republic and established Azerbaijan SSR by May 1920, and the Armenian government, worried about their sovereignty, responded by sending a mission to Moscow in May to convince the Bolsheviks that "an independent and friendly Armenia would be better for Russian interests in the region". In the meantime, the Bolshevik movement had already arrived in Armenia. Although a minority, the Bolsheviks were vocal and managed to lead a
small May uprising in
Alexandropol, the largest city of the Eastern Armenia, demanding the establishment of a Soviet Republic. The revolt was suppressed by the Armenian government by May 14 and its leaders executed or exiled.
The sources mentioned in ''A Concise History of the Armenian People'' give different interpretations of the precursor events that led to the
Red Army's invasion of Armenia and the establishment of Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic (ArSSR). The sources, sympathetic to the Armenian nationalist and
anti-Sovietism movement (
Dashnaks), claim that the Bolsheviks gave the Armenians false assurances, while awaiting the results of the Soviet-Turkish negotiations. The anti-Dashnak sources point out that the Dashnak government was to blame, because the majority of them refused to work with the
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...
, bringing tension to the relations and forcing the Russian Bolshevik into making a treaty with the Turkish government, signed in Moscow on August 20, 1920. A number of Bolsheviks insisted that the Turks had to give Armenians some territory from western Armenia, but the Turks refused to discuss the issue of borders. Both
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...
, who did not favor the Armenians, and
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...
, who was more concerned about other diplomatic matters, agreed to the proposals of the agreement. Additionally, the Russian Bolsheviks assured cooperation and noninterference during the Turkish invasion of
Armenia
Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...
in late September, the agreement which they effectively was broken shortly afterwards.
By mid-November, the Turks recaptured most of the territories they controlled before the end of
WWI, and the Russian government, worried by the rapid advancement of the Turkish armies, approached the Yerevan government and offered to intercede on their behalf. At the end of November the Bolsheviks encroached onto Armenian territory and sent an ultimatum, proposing that "Armenia's salvation lay in becoming a Bolshevik state, and cutting its ties to the West". Clench between two powerful forces, the Armenian government sent the former Prime Minister
Alexander Khatisian to negotiate with the Turks and appointed a team headed by General
Drastamat Kanayan to transfer the government to the Bolsheviks. On December 2, General Kanayan signed a short-living pact with the Bolsheviks guaranteeing Armenian sovereignty as "independent Soviet state", and moreover, the Bolsheviks promised to restore its pre-September 1920 borders. Dashnaks, as well as other party representatives were guaranteed freedom and continued to serve the state in a number of positions. "A few days" later, Bolsheviks of the
Revolutionary Committee, led by
Sarkis Kasyan and
Avis Nurijanyan and supported by the Red Army, arrived in Yerevan and, violating the agreement made with General Kanayan, arrested a number of Dashnak officials and officers, "wreak
nghavoc for the next two months". In the aftermath, the nationalist of the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation started a short-lived,
anti-Bolshevik rebellion in February–April 1921.
After the Yerevan was recaptured from the anti-Bolshevik rebellion, the Turks and Russians, without any representatives from Armenia or Georgia, negotiated the fate of Armenia and the rest of
Transcaucasia. In the treaties of
Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
and
Kars, Turkey renounced its claims on
Batumi
Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ), historically Batum or Batoum, is the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), second-largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast ...
to Georgia and guaranteed the independence of Armenian Republic—in exchange they gained rights to the regions of
Kars,
Ardahan, and
Surmalu, including the medieval Armenian capital
Ani and the cultural icon of the Armenian people (
Mount Ararat
Mount Ararat, also known as Masis or Mount Ağrı, is a snow-capped and dormant compound volcano in Eastern Turkey, easternmost Turkey. It consists of two major volcanic cones: Greater Ararat and Little Ararat. Greater Ararat is the highest p ...
). Additionally, despite opposition from Armenian Bolshevik revolutionary
Alexander Miasnikian, the Soviet government granted
Nagorno-Karabakh and
Nakhichevan to
Soviet Azerbaijan, as they did not have direct control over those areas at the time and were primarily concerned with restoring regional stability. Finally, the sides agreed that the treaty would be later signed and ratified by the
Transcaucasian Republics.
New Economic Policy (NEP)

From 12 March 1922 to 5 December 1936, Armenia was a part of the
Transcaucasian SFSR (TSFSR) together with the
Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic and the
Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. The policies of the first Soviet Armenian government (the Revolutionary Committee, headed by young, inexperienced, and
militant communists such as Sarkis Kasyan and Avis Nurijanyan) were implemented in a high-handed manner and did not take into consideration the poor conditions of the republic and the general weariness of the people after years of conflict and civil strife. As the Soviet Armenian historian Bagrat Borian, who was to later perish during
Stalin's purges, wrote in 1929:
Such was the degree and scale of the requisitioning and terror imposed by the local
Cheka that in February 1921 the Armenians, led by former leaders of the republic,
rose up in revolt and briefly unseated the communists in Yerevan. The
Red Army, which was
campaigning in Georgia at the time, returned to suppress the revolt and drove its leaders out of Armenia.
Convinced that these heavy-handed tactics were the source of the alienation of the native population to Soviet rule, in 1921,
Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...
appointed Myasnikyan, an experienced administrator, to carry out a more moderate policy and one better attuned to Armenian national sensibilities. With the introduction of the
New Economic Policy (NEP), Armenians began to enjoy a period of relative stability. Life under Soviet rule proved to be a soothing balm in contrast to the turbulent years of the First Republic.
Alexander Tamanian began to realize his city plan for
Yerevan
Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...
and the population received medicine, food, as well as other provisions from Moscow.
Prior to his debilitating illness, Lenin encouraged the policy of ''
korenizatsiya'' or "
nativization" in the republics which essentially called for the different nationalities of the Soviet Union to "administer their republics", establishing native-language schools, newspapers, and theaters. In Armenia, the Soviet government directed all illiterate citizens up to the age of fifty to attend school and learn to read
Armenian, which became the official language of the republic. Throughout the Soviet era, the number of Armenian-language newspapers (''Sovetakan Hayastan''), magazines (''Garun''), and journals (''Sovetakan Grakanutyun'', ''
Patma-Banasirakan Handes'') grew. A
Kurdish newspaper
A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...
, ''
Riya Teze'' (''The New Path''), was established in Armenia in 1930.
An institute for culture and history was created in 1921 in
Ejmiatsin and the
Yerevan Opera Theatre and a dramatic theater in Yerevan were built and established in the 1920s and 1930s. Popular works in the fields of art and literature were produced by
Martiros Saryan,
Yeghishe Charents,
Axel Bakunts, and
Shushanik Kurghinian who all adhered to the socialist dictum of creating works "national in form, socialist in content."
Armenkino released the first Armenian feature film, ''
Namus'' (Honor) in 1925 and the first
Kurdish film, ''
Zare'', in 1926. Both were directed by
Hamo Bek-Nazaryan, who would later direct the first Armenian sound film ''
Pepo'', released in 1935.
Stalinism and the Great Purge

The situation in Armenia and the USSR significantly changed after the
death of Lenin and the rise of
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...
to Soviet leader. In the Caucasus, Stalin's ally in Georgia,
Lavrentiy Beria, sought to consolidate his control over the region, resulting in a political struggle with Armenian First Secretary
Aghasi Khanjian. The struggle culminated in Khanjian's assassination by Beria in
Tiflis
Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...
(Tbilisi) on 9 July 1936, beginning the
Great Purge
The Great Purge, or the Great Terror (), also known as the Year of '37 () and the Yezhovshchina ( , ), was a political purge in the Soviet Union that took place from 1936 to 1938. After the Assassination of Sergei Kirov, assassination of ...
in Armenia. At first, Beria framed Khanjian's death as "suicide", but soon condemned him for abetting "rabid nationalist elements".
After Khanjian's death, Beria promoted his loyalists in Armenia,
Amatuni Amatuni as Armenian First Secretary and
Khachik Mughdusi as chief of the Armenian NKVD.
Under the command of Beria's allies, the campaign against "enemies" intensified. Expressions of "nationalism" were suspect and many leading Armenian intellectuals were executed or imprisoned, including Charents, Bakunts,
Gurgen Mahari,
Vahan Totovents,
Nersik Stepanyan, and others. According to Amatuni in a June 1937 letter to Stalin, 1,365 people were arrested in the ten months after the death of Khanjian, among them 900 "Dashnak-
Trotskyist
Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an ...
s".
The arrest and death of
Sahak Ter-Gabrielyan in August 1937 was a turning point in the repressions. When being interrogated by Mughdusi, Ter-Gabrielyan "either jumped or was thrown from" the window of the NKVD building in
Yerevan
Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...
. Stalin was angered that Mughdusi and Amatuni neglected to inform him about the incident.
In response, in September 1937, he sent
Georgy Malenkov,
Mikhail Litvin, and later
Anastas Mikoyan to oversee a purge of the
Communist Party of Armenia. During his trip to Armenia, Mikoyan tried, but failed, to save one individual (
Daniel "Danush" Shahverdyan) from being executed.
More than a thousand people were arrested and seven of nine members of the Armenian Politburo were sacked from office. The trip also resulted in the appointment of a new Armenian Party leadership, headed by
Grigory Arutinov, who was approved by Beria.
The
Armenian Apostolic Church
The Armenian Apostolic Church () is the Autocephaly, autocephalous national church of Armenia. Part of Oriental Orthodoxy, it is one of the most ancient Christianity, Christian churches. The Armenian Apostolic Church, like the Armenian Catholic ...
was not spared from the repressions. Soviet attacks against the Church under Stalin were known since 1929, but momentarily eased to improve the Soviet Union's relations with the
Armenian diaspora
The Armenian diaspora refers to the communities of Armenians outside Armenia and other locations where Armenians are considered an indigenous population. Since antiquity, Armenians have established communities in many regions throughout the world. ...
. In 1932,
Khoren I became
Catholicos of All Armenians and assumed the leadership of the church. However, in the late 1930s, the Armenian NKVD, led by Mughdusi and his successor,
Viktor Khvorostyan, renewed the attacks against the Church. These attacks culminated in the 1938 murder of Khoren and the closing of the Catholicate of Ejmiatsin, an act for which Beria is usually held responsible. However, the Church survived and was later revived when Stalin eased restrictions on religion at the end of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
In addition to the repression of the Church, tens of thousands of Armenians were executed or deported, as with various other ethnic minorities living in the Soviet Union under Stalin. In 1936, Beria and Stalin worked to deport Armenians to
Siberia
Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...
in an attempt to bring Armenia's population under 700,000 in order to justify an
annexation into Georgia.
Great Patriotic War
Armenia was spared the devastation and destruction that wrought most of the western Soviet Union during the
Great Patriotic War of World War II. The
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...
never reached the
South Caucasus
The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and West Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Armenia, ...
, which they intended to do in order to capture the
oil fields in Azerbaijan. Still, Armenia played a valuable role in the war in providing food, manpower and war material. An estimated 300–500,000 Armenians served in the war, almost half of whom did not return. Many attained the highest honor of
Hero of the Soviet Union
The title Hero of the Soviet Union () was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society. The title was awarded both ...
.
Over sixty Armenians were promoted to the rank of general, and with an additional four eventually achieving the rank of
Marshal of the Soviet Union
Marshal of the Soviet Union (, ) was the second-highest military rank of the Soviet Union. Joseph Stalin wore the uniform and insignia of Marshal after World War II.
The rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union was created in 1935 and abolished in ...
:
Ivan Bagramyan (the first non-
Slavic commander to hold the position of front commander when he was assigned to be the commander of the
First Baltic Front in 1943), Admiral
Ivan Isakov,
Hamazasp Babadzhanian, and
Sergei Khudyakov.
Another prominent wartime figure was
Artem Mikoyan, the younger brother of Anastas, who, along with
Mikhail Gurevich, was the designer and co-founder of the Soviet
MiG fighter jet company.
In an effort to shore up popular support for the war effort, the Soviet government allowed certain expressions of nationalism with the publication of Armenian novels such as
Derenik Demirchian's ''
Vardanank'', the production of films like ''
David Bek'' (1944), and the easing of restrictions placed against the Church. Stalin temporarily relaxed his attacks on religion during the war. This led to the election of bishop Gevorg in 1945 as new Catholicos
Gevorg VI. He was subsequently allowed to reside in
Ejmiatsin.
At the end of the war, after Germany's capitulation, the Soviet government attempted to annul the
Treaty of Kars, allowing it to regain the provinces of
Kars,
Ardahan,
Artvin, and
Surmalu. On 7 June 1945, Soviet Foreign Minister
Vyacheslav Molotov informed the Turkish ambassador in
Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
that the disputed provinces should be returned to Soviet Union in the name of both the Armenian and Georgian Soviet Republics. Turkey itself was in no condition to fight a war with the Soviet Union, which had emerged as a superpower after the Second World War. The
Soviet territorial claims were supported by the Armenian Catholicos and by all shades of the Armenian diaspora, including the anti-Soviet Dashnaksutiun. However, with the onset of the
Cold War
The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
, especially the
Truman Doctrine in 1947, Turkey strengthened its ties with the West. The Soviet Union relinquished its claims over the lost territories, and Ankara joined the anti-Soviet
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
military alliance in 1952.
Armenian repatriation

With the republic suffering heavy losses after the war, Stalin allowed an
open immigration policy in Armenia; the
diaspora
A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of birth, place of origin. The word is used in reference to people who identify with a specific geographic location, but currently resi ...
were encouraged to
repatriate to Armenia (''nergaght'') and revitalize the population and bolster the workforce. Armenians living in countries such as
Cyprus
Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
,
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
,
Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
, Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria were primarily the survivors or the descendants of the Armenian genocide, genocide. Offered an expenses paid return, an estimated 150,000 Armenians arrived in Soviet Armenia between 1946 and 1948, settling in Yerevan, Alexandropol uezd, Leninakan, Kirovakan and other towns.
Lured by numerous incentives such as food coupons, better housing and other benefits, they were received coldly by the Armenians living in the Republic upon their arrival. The repatriates spoke the Western Armenian dialect, instead of the Eastern Armenian prevalent in Soviet Armenia. They were often addressed as ''aghbars'' ("brothers") by Armenians living in the republic, due to their different pronunciation of the word. Initially humorous in tone, usage evolved to carry a more pejorative connotation.
Thousands of Armenians were forcibly exiled to the Altai Krai in 1949. Many were Repatriation of Armenians, repatriated Armenians who had arrived from the Armenian diaspora, but who were suspected of being Armenian Revolutionary Federation, Dashnak party members.
[ Lazare Indjeyans ''Les Années volées'' and Armand Maloumians ''Les Fils du Goulag'' are two repatriate narratives about incarceration and eventual escape from the gulags. Many other repatriate narratives explored family memories of the genocide and resettlement in the Soviet Union.]
Khrushchev Thaw in Armenia
Armenia underwent significant social and cultural changed in the aftermath of Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, Stalin's death in 1953 and the emergence of Nikita Khrushchev as the new Soviet leader. One of Khrushchev's advisers and close friends, Armenian Politburo member Anastas Mikoyan, urged Armenians to reaffirm their national identity. In March 1954, two years before Khrushchev denounced Stalin, Mikoyan gave a speech in Yerevan where he encouraged the republication of Raffi (poet), Raffi and Raphael Patkanian, the rehabilitation of Charents, and the revival of the memory of Miasnikian. Behind the scenes, he assisted Soviet Armenian leaders in the rehabilitation of former "enemies" in the republic.
Khrushchev, in his speech "On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences" delivered before the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, 20th Party Congress in 1956, Khrushchev sharply denounced Stalin and his crimes. During the subsequent Khrushchev Thaw Soviet leadership loosened the grip of the pervasive NKVD and rehabilitated dead communists executed during the Great Purge
The Great Purge, or the Great Terror (), also known as the Year of '37 () and the Yezhovshchina ( , ), was a political purge in the Soviet Union that took place from 1936 to 1938. After the Assassination of Sergei Kirov, assassination of ...
, such as Khanjian and Charents, as well as the releasing thousands political prisoners from the Siberian gulag. The works of Raffi and Raphael Patkanian were returned to print. In 1962, the massive statue of Stalin that towered over Yerevan was pulled down from its pedestal by troops and replaced in 1967 with that of Mother Armenia. Moreover, the Union-wide economic reforms affected Armenia, diversifying its grain production, farmers were permitted to cultivate small plots for their own personal use, and the newly-integrated production of livestock and various irrigation projects increased Armenia's agricultural output.
Freedom of religion, Religious freedom, to a limited degree, was granted to Armenia when Catholicos of All Armenians, Catholicos Vazgen I assumed office in 1955. The party once again accepted Armenian language and culture, and a new policy of "nativization" emerged. Armenians from other parts of the USSR came, as well as Armenians from Iran, came to Yerevan. Contacts between Armenia and the diaspora were revived, and Armenians from abroad were able to visit the republic more frequently. In 1959, the Matenadaran was opened in Yerevan as an archive to house the nationalized monastic collections of Echmiadzin, and to encourage preservation of the manuscripts, to promote historical studies and publish materials.
Brezhnev era
After Leonid Brezhnev assumed power in 1964, many of Khrushchev's reforms were partly curtailed, wary of a potential Armenian nationalism resurgence, however it did not impose the sort of restrictions seen during Stalin's time. On 24 April 1965, 1965 Yerevan demonstrations, thousands of Armenians demonstrated in the streets of Yerevan during the fiftieth anniversary of the Armenian genocide. In the aftermath of these demonstrations, the memorial in honor of the genocide victims was erected at the Tsitsernakaberd hill above the Hrazdan Canyon, gorge in Yerevan in 1967. The government also permitted the construction of other monuments honoring the important events of the History of Armenia, Armenian history, such as monuments commemorating the Battle of Sardarapat, Sardarapat and Battle of Bash Abaran, Bash Abaran, as well as creation of statues dedicated to popular Armenian figures like the fifth-century military commander Vardan Mamikonian and the folk hero David of Sassoun.
The History of the Soviet Union (1964–1982), Brezhnev era saw the rise of corruption and Second economy of the Soviet Union, shadow economy. Materials allocated for the Brezhnevka, building of new homes, such as cement and concrete, were diverted for other uses, and bribery and a lack of oversight produced shoddily built and weakly supported apartment buildings. The underqualified development proved to be vital during the 1988 Armenian earthquake—when the earthquake hit, the Brezhnevka apartments were the most susceptible to collapse, while the older buildings better withstood the quake. When compared to other republics, the regions of Transcaucasia and Central Asia had the highest levels of corruption.
In the more politically liberated climate, new intelligentsia appeared in Armenia who despised the prevailing situation, and felt that "the corruption, emigration of talented individuals, pollution and general loss of ethics had put Armenia on the road to disaster". Theis anti-Soviet sentiment resulted in the removal of Anton Kochinyan, the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Armenia from 1966 until 1974, and the promotion of Karen Demirchyan, whose main prerogative was to "clean up the Republic". Demirjian promises and activities raised hopes for those Armenians who demanded concrete changes. His government undertook the battle with corruption and established major construction projects, such as the Yerevan Metro, Karen Demirchyan Complex, the new airport. However, Soviet system was too encumbered, and some Armenians believed that Demirjian government delivered their promises too slow.
In 1978, during the debate over a 1977 Constitution of the Soviet Union, new Soviet Constitution, the Armenians unsuccessfully petitioned Moscow for the separation of Mountainous Karabakh and Nakhichevan from Azerbaijan Republic. Around the same time, Moscow considered removing a part of the constitution that guaranteed the use of native languages as the official languages of the republics, but Armenians, alongside Georgians, fervently protested and defeated the proposition.
In the 1970s a Soviet census revealed that over 99 percent of the people of Armenia (including Kurds, Assyrians, and Azeris) considered Armenian, rather than Russian, their national language, which is much higher than the numbers amassed in other republics. However, only two thirds of the Armenians of the USSR lived in Armenia, with the remaining one-third primarily settling in Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Russia.
Glasnost and perestroika
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...
's introduction of the reforms of '' glasnost'' and ''perestroika
''Perestroika'' ( ; rus, перестройка, r=perestrojka, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg, links=no) was a political reform movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s, widely associ ...
'' in the 1980s fueled Armenian visions of a better life under Soviet rule. Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, which was promised to Armenia by the Bolsheviks but transferred to Soviet Azerbaijan, began a movement to unite the area with Armenia. The majority Armenian population expressed concern about the forced "Azerification" of the region. On February 20, 1988, the Supreme Soviet of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast voted to unify with Armenia.
Demonstrations took place in Yerevan in support of the Karabakh Armenians, and grew into what became known as the Karabakh movement. By the beginning of 1988, nearly one million Armenians from several regions of the republic engaged in these demonstrations, centered on Yerevan's Theater Square (currently Freedom Square, Yerevan, Freedom Square). However, in neighboring Azerbaijan, Sumgait pogrom, violence against Armenians erupted in the city of Sumgait. Ethnic rioting soon broke out between Armenians and Azerbaijanis, Azeris, preventing any peaceful resolution from taking place. Armenians became increasingly disillusioned with the Kremlin, Kremlin's response toward the issue. Gorbachev, who had until then been viewed favorably in Armenia, saw his standing among Armenians deteriorate significantly.
Tension between the central government in Moscow and the local government in Yerevan heightened in the final years of the Soviet Union. The reasons largely stemmed from Moscow's perceived indecision on Karabakh, ongoing difficulties with earthquake relief, and the shortcomings of the Soviet economy. On August 23, 1990, the Supreme Council of Armenia, Supreme Soviet of the Armenian SSR adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty of Armenia, Declaration of Independence of Armenia, declaring the Republic of Armenia to be a subject of international law. On 17 March 1991, Armenia, along with the Baltic states, Baltics, Georgia and Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic, Moldova, boycotted the 1991 Soviet Union referendum, union-wide referendum in which 78% of all voters voted for the retention of the Soviet Union in a reformed form. Armenia confirmed its independence in a 1991 Armenian independence referendum, referendum on 21 September 1991 after the 1991 Soviet coup attempt, unsuccessful coup attempt in Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
by the CPSU hardliners.[''Маркедонов Сергей']
Самоопределение по ленинским принципам
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The republic's independence became official with the Belovezh Accords and the formal dissolution of the Soviet Union on December 26, 1991, making Armenia a sovereign, independent state. The constitution of 1978 remained in effect until July 5, 1995, when a Constitution of Armenia, new constitution was adopted.
Politics
The structure of government in the Armenian SSR was identical to that of the other Soviet republics. The List of leaders of Armenia, First Secretary was the administrative head of the republic, and the head of government was the Prime Minister of Armenia, Chairman of the Council of Ministers. The republic's legislative body was the Supreme Council of Armenia, Armenian Supreme Soviet, which included the highest judicial branch of the republic, the supreme court. Members of the Supreme Soviet served for a term of five years, whereas regional deputies served for two and a half years. All officials holding office were mandated to be members of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Communist Party and sessions were convened in the Supreme Soviet building in Yerevan.
The Districts of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic, administrative divisions of the Armenian SSR from 1930 consisted of up 37 raions and 22 city districts. In the aftermath of the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the districts were abolished in 1995 and replaced by larger ''Administrative divisions of Armenia, marzer'' ("provinces").
Depending on the historical period, Soviet authorities would variously tolerate, co-opt, undermine, or sometimes even attempt to eliminate certain currents within Armenian society, such as nationalism and religion, to strengthen the cohesiveness of the Union. In the eyes of early Soviet policymakers, Armenians, along with Russians, Ukrainian people, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Georgian people, Georgians, Germans, and Jews were deemed "advanced" (as opposed to "backward") peoples, and were grouped together with Western nationalities. The Caucasus and particularly Armenia were recognized by academic scholars and in Soviet textbooks as the "oldest civilisation on the territory" of the Soviet Union. By mid-70s, Armenian nationalism had resurfaced, mostly directed against the Turks, and the Demirjian government allowed the not-too-overt expression of it. More books about conditions in Karabakh and the destruction of Armenian monuments in Nakhichevan were published. The "Armenian question" was "raised unofficially in some circles". The Armenian government formally adopted Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day in 1988.
Like all the other republics of the Soviet Union, Armenia had Flag of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic, its own flag and coat of arms. According to Nikita Khrushchev, the latter became a source of dispute between the Soviet Union and Turkey in the 1950s, when Ankara objected the coat of arms that would include Mount Ararat
Mount Ararat, also known as Masis or Mount Ağrı, is a snow-capped and dormant compound volcano in Eastern Turkey, easternmost Turkey. It consists of two major volcanic cones: Greater Ararat and Little Ararat. Greater Ararat is the highest p ...
, which holds a deep symbolic importance for Armenians but has been located on Turkish territory since early 20th century. Turkey felt that the presence of such an image implied Soviet designs on Turkish territory. Khrushchev retorted by asking, "Why do you have a moon depicted on your flag? After all, the moon doesn't belong to Turkey, not even half the moon. Do you want to take over the whole universe?" Turkey dropped the issue after this.
Economy
Under the Planned economy, centralized economy, the Armenian Republic imposed a ban on private property—beginning in the late 1920s, privately owned farms in Armenia were collectivized and placed under the directive of the state, which was often met with active resistance from the peasantry. The communist society collectively owned the means of production, divided into state property and cooperative and Collective farming, collective-farm property. The economic life of the Republic was determined and guided by the state economic plan.
In the nansent Soviet Armenia eighty percent of its population engaged in agriculture. During the 1929–1936, the government began the process of Industrialisation, industrialization in Armenia, and by 1935, the gross product from agriculture reached the 132% and the gross product from industry reached the 650%, both compared to the production in 1928. The economic revolution of the 1930s, however, came with a cost, breaking up the traditional peasant family and village institution and compelling many living in the rural countryside to settle in urban areas. At the time of the republic's dissolution, close to 80 percent of its population lived in urban centers and engaged in heavy industry, management, and services.
During Nikita Khrushchev's secretaryship, the large collective farms were divided into smaller ones, and farmers were permitted to cultivate small plots for their own personal use. Armenia was permitted to plant other crops besides grain—including the production of tobacco, vegetables, grapes and other fruits—more suitable to Armenia's soil and climate. The newly-introduced production of livestock and various irrigation projects increased Armenia's agricultural output. However, the lack of land suitable for farming meant the republic's agricultural output was less compared to other republics.
The History of the Soviet Union (1964–1982), Brezhnev era signified the prospering tourism sector, which constituted a substantial fraction of Soviet Armenia's economy. Hotels and museums were opened and cultural exchange programs were established.
Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant has been constructed and launched in 1976, satisfying the electricity needs of Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan. During this period, the rising industrial output of Armenia, the levels of pollution has increased, which caused the growth in cancer cases, "every major river in Armenia was declared ecologically dead, and poorly planned projects resulted in the lowering of Lake Sevan's water level".
Military forces
The military forces of the Armenian SSR were provided by the Soviet Army's 7th Guards Army, 7th Guards Combined Arms Army of the Transcaucasian Military District. It was organized into the following:
* HQ of the 7th Guards Combined Arms Army - Yerevan
* 15th Motor Rifle Division, Kirovakan
* 127th Motor Rifle Division (Soviet Union), 127th Motor Rifle Division, Leninakan (today the Russian 102nd Military Base)
* 7th Fortified Area, Leninakan – Originally formed as 55th Fortified Region on 4 February 1941 and covered Turkish border during World War II. Became a part of the 7th Guards Army during the late 1980s.
* 9th Fortified Area, Ejmiatsin – Originally formed as 69th Fortified Region at Kazan in April 1942. Fought in Battle of the Caucasus and later transferred to Ejmiatsin as part of the 45th Army. Became a part of the 7th Guards Army during the late 1980s.
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{{Coord, 40.23, N, 44.57, E, display=title
Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic,
Former socialist republics
Republics of the Soviet Union
Communism in Armenia
States and territories established in 1920
States and territories disestablished in 1991
1920 establishments in Russia
1991 disestablishments in the Soviet Union