Armenia: Waiting for Lenin

How an Armenian village chose communism, after the Soviet Union had ended.

By Marianna Grigorian and Gayane Mkrtchian in Lernamerdz (CRS No. 342, 01-June-06)

In Soviet times, the village of Lernamerdz was one of the few places in Armenia that did not have a statue of Lenin. The villagers say that they were fairly passive communists and that there were only seven communist activists amongst them.

But then, after Armenia became independent, and statues and busts of the great leader were taken down all over the country, in 1996 the people of Lernamerdz (its name means “near the mountains” in Armenian) erected a basalt bust of Lenin in the middle of the village. It weighs two tonnes and is now an important part of the village and a source of great pride.

The villagers say they came to understand the value of communism only after it had disappeared.

“In 1990, when the Soviet order fell apart, we wanted to know what was right in this life,” explained Azat Barseghian, secretary of the local communist organisation in Lernamerdz, situated in the Ararat valley not far from Yerevan. “It took us six years to work it out, and in the end we realised that there is only one truth - socialism. We adopted the communist ideology and we bear our cross to this day.”

“As soon as Lenin returns, water will babble in the streams and people will begin to live better,” said 41-year-old Ararat.

Lernamerdz is known as “Little Cuba” in Armenia. The spirit of communism reigns in almost every house. There are 103 households and 530 residents in the village. According to village elder and staunch communist Saak Mirzoyan, 102 of the 103 households are communist.

Little Cuba has become a tourist attraction. Visitors from Russia, Vietnam, France, Belarus, Greece, Cyprus and other countries record their impressions, good wishes and appreciation in Lernamerdz’s visitors’ book, which has a portrait of Lenin on the first page.

In one corner of a red stone house, 61-year-old Azat carefully adjusts a large photograph of Lenin. Elsewhere, there is a small bust of Lenin behind the glass door of a cupboard - a small shrine to communism.

“The statue of Lenin gives us strength, it is witness to our faith and progress,” said 41-year-old Arthur Pilosian.

Around this source of strength the villagers organise all the important village events. They celebrate the birthday of the great leader, the day he died, the anniversary of the October Revolution, and the socialist holidays of May 1 and November 7.

Under the proud, unwavering gaze of Lenin, children are pronounced pioneers and are anointed members of the local Komsomol organisation.

On these occasions, the 50 red cravats which Azat keeps carefully in his house are not enough to go round.

“They often make fun of us in the press, saying we are ‘tying the dregs of communism around our children’s necks’,” he said. “No, we are tying cravats around their necks to keep their souls clean.”

Albert Mirzoyan, 14, unlike his contemporaries in other regions of the country, is quite clear about who Lenin was. He reels off details of all the communist holidays, which are celebrated with great fanfare.

“Do you know how much we look forward to May Day?” he says excitedly. “It’s our favourite day. We go to Yerevan and go on parades.”

But 15-year-old Armen Barseghian, who proudly shows off his red cravat, says he likes the red flags and balloons most of all; the fact that the whole village, both old and young, takes part in the procession; and the way everyone shouts, “May Day!”

Lyuda Harutiunian, 38, lives in the neighbouring village of Voskehat. She says that in Lernamerdz it feels as if they are still living through an era when everyone lived well, like they used to.

”Celebrations in this village take me back to my school days, when we marched in red ties,” she said.

“The people of this village are very friendly and I think that this is the result of the idea of solidarity which is part of communism,” said the headmaster of Lernadzor school, Zaven Grigorian, who lives in the neighbouring village of Aghavnatun.

Until recently pupils in Lernamerdz’s village school graduated wearing their red cravats.

However, the village people say that after an “order from above”, and the arrival of a new headmaster, pupils no longer had to wear them, since they were not “part of the progamme”. But neither the end of the cravats, nor attempts to “outlaw” learning poetry about Lenin and socialism, broke the spirit of the villagers, according to the new headmaster, Zaven Grigorian.

“Everyone thinks the same way, and, most importantly, everyone is united,” he said. “And this is passed on to the children. I think you can achieve a lot through unity.”

The villagers of Lernamerdz agree with this point of view. They say their faith in the future and the fair ideals of communism help them to overcome the social hardships which every household has experienced since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

But life has been no easier here than in other villages in Armenia, especially since village land has been privatised.

Lernamerdz is famous not only for its newfound commitment to communism, but also for its high quality tarragon, which allowed them to survive in hard times.

The villagers say that in the Nineties from April to winter, tarragon from Lernamerdz was delivered directly to Tbilisi, providing the villagers with a decent and stable income. Nowadays, middlemen get the lion’s share, buying the tarragon at very low prices in large quantities and then selling it on for several times the amount.

“People say there was no freedom in communist times,” complained one Lernamerdz resident. “But now people are tied to their homes even more than during communist times.”

One villager proudly said that Lernamerdz is the only village in Armenia where socialism still survives and the villagers have remained true to the ideas of their ancestors. And he believes its time is coming again.

“It was possible to destroy a strong state which had existed for 70 years, so why can’t you destroy a government built on the sands left over from that state?” he said. “I think communism will win in the end.”

Marianna Grigorian and Gayane Mkrtchian are reporters for Armenia Now in Yerevan