Hi there, reader jan. Last week’s been full of news, surprises, ups, and downs for the Armenian nation. Read along to find out what you may have missed from last week, and some more.

Diplomatic Rifts Between Armenia & Belarus

Image caption: Pashinyan and Lukashenko in Astana, 2018 (Asbarez)

Last Monday, the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko made a shocking comment during a televised interview with a Russian news outlet.

“Armenia has nowhere to go. Do you think anyone needs them? They have already seen that. Nikol Pashinyan has seen that.” Lukashenko also added that Armenia has no other choice but to join a Russian-led union state eventually.

The MFA was quick to respond and fire back at this comment. The first statement came mere hours after the televised interview. Arm MFA spokesperson Vahan Hunanyan said, “We believe that the Belarusian president’s peculiar geopolitical analyses aim to first and foremost serve his domestic political agenda and have nothing to do with Armenia and its foreign policy.”

Armenia Alliance lawmaker Artur Khatchatryan blamed the current ruling administration over the “unacceptable” remarks.

Armenians Go Big At the Oscars

Image caption: Armenians Make It Big At the 94th Academy Awards (Photo: BDS2006/Wikimedia Commons)

Many firsts at the Academy Award nominations for the 2022 Oscars for Armenians in the film industry. Nominations range from VFX, food stylists, costume designers, coordinators, artists, propmakers, distributors, managers, musicians, and so many more. Armenians, once again, did not fall short of talent.

In total, more than 65 Armenians, individually or as a part of their team, have been nominated for different Academy Awards, according to this list made by the Armenian Film Society.

The most notable, according to the AFS, are two Armenians’ nominations. One is Tanya Seghatchian, the first Armenian woman in the history of the Oscars to be nominated for the top Academy Award, the Best Picture Award, for producing The Power of The Dog. Chances for the movie to receive the award are very high.

Second, Narbeh Mirzakhanian helped distribute four different movies that are all nominated for different awards. The movies are House of Gucci, Licorice Pizza, No Time to Die, and Cyrano.

Check the very long and impressive list of Armenians at the Oscars here.

Investigating the 2020 War through National Assembly’s Ad Hoc Committee - What is it?

Image caption: Armenian National Assembly Plans to Investigate 2020 War Through Ad Hoc Committee (Photo: Marcin Konsek/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 4.0)

A few days ago, the National Assembly of Armenia formed an ad hoc committee that will be investigating the military actions of Armenia throughout the 2020 war, reads a Parliamentary statement.

NA Standing Committee on Defense and Security head Antranig Kocharyan stated that Pashinyan will also be required to testify, something confirmed to happen a few days later. The idea was proposed by Civil Contract last July.

Opposition parties Armenia Alliance and I Have Honour have boycotted the committee.

Find here the list of MPs to be a part of the committee.

Notable News:

Image caption: Armenia and Georgia beef over cheesy issues (Photo: Chaojoker/Wikimedia Commons)

• Martakert of Artsakh gets its own TUMO Box! Read more about it here.

• The Economist Intelligence Unit ranks Armenia 89th on their Democracy Index 2021, calling it a “hybrid regime,” and comparing it to the likes of Georgia, Ukraine, and Bosnia & Herzegovina. All Central Asian states, as well as Belarus, Russia, and Azerbaijan were ranked as “authoritarian regimes.” Armenia had been ranked 89th in 2020 as well. You can download their full report here.

• The Armenian tourism sector has started its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, with a stable increase in tourist visits in 2021 compared to 2020 numbers. Russians constituted the biggest number of visitors at a staggering 350,000+. I better see you – yes you, dear reader – in Armenia very, very soon. Read the full report here.

• Karmir Shuka and Taghavard were targeted on the very early morning of February 11. Read the full report here, hoping it’ll be the last one you read about.

• Sisterhood has been initiated between the state of California and the province of Syunik. What does that mean? Find out right here.

• International recognition of the Armenian genocide still on MFA agenda, according to Mirzoyan. Read more here.

• The Armenian National Security Service (NSS) neutralizes a web of 19 convicted spies. More info here.

• An earthquake close to the Armenian-Georgian border rocked the Shirak province and vibrated most of Yerevan. It could be the madzun feud between two countries. What?! Find out here.

Multimedia Corner

Image caption: Photo from Aras Publications / Wikimedia Commons

Who is Maryam Shahinyan? Why do we jump over bonfires in February? What can we learn about our ancient manuscripts! Follow below for some super cool multimedia content, picked fresh from the internet garden, for you.

Read: Diarnentarach/Trndez was one of my favorite “Armenian” holidays as a kid. Which daredevil of a child didn’t like jumping over a bonfire? I sure did. Learn 9 things you probably didn’t know about the tradition right here.

Listen: Have you heard alt-folk music in Hamshen Armenian? Now you can, thanks to Hamshen-a-hye band Vova. Hear their song Sirun Aghchig here.

Watch: A conversation between Hyperallergic editor-in-chief Hrag Vartanian and UC Davis History professor Heghnar Zeitlian Watenpaugh, to be live-streamed this upcoming Wednesday. Register to attend it live here. The event is organized by the UCLA Promise Armenian Institute, and is titled “Survivor Object: The Modern Life of a Medieval Manuscript, from Genocide to Justice.”