Republic of Armenia
is a landlocked country in southern Transcaucasia, between the Black_Sea and the Caspian_Sea, with Turkey to the west and Georgia to the north, and sharing borders with Azerbaijan in the east, and Iran and the Naxcivan exclave of Azerbaijan in the south. {| border=1 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=0 align=right style="margin-left:0.5em;" width="300px" |+Hayastani Hanrapetut'yunՀայաստանի Հանրապետություն |- | style="background:#efefef;" align="center" colspan="2" | {| border="0" cellpadding=2 cellspacing=0 |- | align="center" width="140px" | || align="center" width="140px" | |- .html">In Detail) .html">Full size) |} |- | align="center" colspan=2 style="border-bottom:3px solid gray;" | ''National motto: '' |- | align=center colspan=2 | |- .html">.html">Armenian |- .html">| Yerevan |- .html">| 40° 16' N, 44° 34' E |- | Largest City || Yerevan |- .html">President || Robert_Kocharian |- .html">Prime minister || Andranik_Markaryan |- .html">.html">Ranked 138th 29'800 km2 4.7% |- .html">Density.html">Population density.html">Ranked 128th 3'326'448 112/km2 |- .html">| From Soviet_Union September_23, 1991 |- .html">| Dram (AMD) |- .html">.html">UTC +4 (DST +5) |- .html">National anthem || Mer_Hayrenik (Our Fatherland) |- .html">Internet TLD || .AM |- .html">Calling Code || 374 |}History
''Main article: History_of_Armenia'' Armenia was incorporated into Russian_Empire in 1828 and the USSR in 1920. Armenian leaders remain preoccupied by the long conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, a primarily Armenian-populated exclave, assigned to Soviet Azerbaijan in the 1920s by Moscow. Armenia and Azerbaijan began fighting over the exclave in 1988; the struggle escalated after both countries attained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. By May 1994, when a cease-fire took hold, Armenian forces held not only Nagorno-Karabakh but also a significant portion of Azerbaijan proper. The economies of both sides have been hurt by their inability to make substantial progress toward a peaceful resolution, and the Turkish economic blockade of Armenia. Also of note is the Armenian_Genocide, an event that killed 1.5 million Armenians living within present day Turkish borders beginning April 24, 1915.Politics
''Main article: Politics_of_Armenia'' 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 inherent fairness of 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. The unicameral parliament (also called the National Assembly) is dominated by a coalition, called "Unity" (Miasnutyun). A new party, the Republic Party, is headed by ex-Prime Minister Aram_Sargsian and has become the primary voice of the opposition. Armenians voted overwhelmingly for independence in a September 1991 referendum. Levin_Ter-Petrosian was president until January 1998, when public demonstrations against his policies on Nagorno-Karabakh forced his resignation. In 1999, the assassination of Prime Minister Vazgen_Sargsian, parliament Speaker Karen_Demirchian and six other officials led to a period of political instability, however President Robert_Kocharian was successful in riding out the unrest.Provinces
''Main article: Provinces_of_Armenia'' Armenia is divided into 11 provinces (''marzer'', singular - ''marz''): #Aragatsotn #Ararat #Armavir #Geghark'unik' #Kotayk' #Lorri #Shirak #Syunik' #Tavush #Vayots'_Dzor #YerevanGeography
''Main article: Geography_of_Armenia'' Armenia is a landlocked country located in south-west , and no point is below 400m above sea-level. Pollution from toxic chemicals such as DDT is not helping the already poor soil quality in many parts of the county. An energy blockade, the result of the conflict with Azerbaijan, has led to deforestation.Economy
''Main article: Economy_of_Armenia''Demographics
''Main article: Demographics_of_Armenia'' Armenia is a primarily Oriental Orthodox country. Armenia is considered the first nation to adopt Christianity, tracing its church's roots back to the 3rd and 4th centuries.Culture
''Main article: Culture_of_Armenia''Miscellaneous topics
External links and references
Original, History and Authors:
en-wikipedia-org/wiki/Armenia | History and Authors | Edit Content
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