Researching Armenia

It occured to me that I have never sat down and read anything on Armenia that does not have anything to do with the Genocide. I spent about half an hour today trying to get an idea of what type of information is out there. Let me tell you, there is a lot more than I expected. I even found a website that linked all Armenia related forums on one page (Click Here).

Here is a recap of the information I picked up today in my search:

Armenia is a member of the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Commonwealth of Independent States, NATO's Partnership for Peace, the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, the International Monetary Fund, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the World Trade Organization.

Approximately 70 U.S.-owned firms currently do business in Armenia, including such multinationals as Procter and Gamble, M and M-Mars, Xerox, Dell, Microsoft, and IBM. Recent major U.S. investment projects include the Hotel Armenia; the Hotel Ani Plaza; Tufenkian Holdings (carpet and furnishing production, hotels, and construction); several subsidiaries of U.S.-based information technology firms, including Viasphere Technopark, an IT incubator; a Greek-owned Coca-Cola bottling plant; petroleum exploration by the American-Armenian Exploration Company; jewelry and textile production facilities; a large perlite mining and processing plant; and Jermuk Mother Plant, which produces one of the more popular brands of mineral water in Armenia. -I wonder if when I call Microsoft tech support, I'll be able to talk to an Armenian and find out that he is some distant relative. Hmmm...

Armenia first emerged into history around 800 BC as part of the Kingdom of Urartu or Van, which flourished in the Caucasus and eastern Asia Minor until 600 BC. After the destruction of the Seleucid Empire, the first Armenian state was founded in 190 BC. At its zenith, from 95 to 65 BC, Armenia extended its rule over the entire Caucasus and the area that is now eastern Turkey, Syria, and Lebanon. For a time, Armenia was the strongest state in the Roman East. It became part of the Roman Empire in 64 BC and adopted a Western political, philosophical, and religious orientation. - Wow, go ancestors!

Armenia is trying to address its environmental problems. It has established a Ministry of Nature Protection and has introduced a pollution fee system by which taxes are levied on air and water emissions and solid waste disposal, with the resulting revenues 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 has committed to decommissioning the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant as soon as alternate energy sources can be identified.- Armenia is trying to go green!