It’s no secret that I tend towards quantitative over qualitative observations on this blog. Still, I think qualitative or anecdotal information is useful. It is especially useful when we consider phenomena which are hard to measure. Qualitative impressions — such as how different people answer when I bring up a topic or the atmosphere of a new place — are often the inspiration for more careful analysis.
This past month I traveled to Armenia and Georgia. What amazed me about these two countries is how little they had in common despite their superficial similarities. Located in the mountainous Caucasus region, the two countries share a land border and have small populations (Armenia: 2.9 million, Georgia: 3.7 million). They also have ancient cultures. The earliest archeological evidence for wine (over 8000 years old) exists in Georgia. Like Georgian culture, Armenian culture evolved over thousands of years. According to legend, Hayk the Great founded the first Armenian kingdom in 2100 BC.
Their written languages are also ancient. Each writing systems has been in use for over 15 centuries. To the untrained eye, the Armenian and Georgian alphabets are similar enough to think they were created by the same person. Armenians consider Mesrop Mashtots—an Armenian linguist—the inventor of their alphabet. Some Armenians, with varying degrees of sincerity, claim that Mashtots also created the Georgian alphabet. Georgians dispute this and expert linguists also dispute the claim that there was a single creator of the Armenian alphabet.
The Georgian and Armenian Alphabets 
The spoken languages are nothing alike. Armenian is unique in that it occupies its own branch of Indo-European languages. However, Georgian is also rare in that it occupies its own language family—the Kartvelian family. Armenians are quick to poke fun at Georgians in saying that an Armenian created their alphabet and language. Interestingly, in both Armenia and Georgia I heard people tease those in the other country. I asked my Armenian friends about this and sure enough they admitted that there is a bit of a rivalry between Armenians and Georgians, but that it is in no way hostile.
Through antiquity and the Middle Ages there was significant cultural exchange between the two peoples. However, recent history pushed the countries in different directions. Each country had different experiences under Soviet rule. In Armenia, it was the Soviets who decided that Yerevan was going to be the metropolitan center of the country. Yerevan was one of the first Soviet cities for which the Soviet government developed a comprehensive construction plan.
The Soviets developed housing and transportation networks and incorporated traditional Armenian motifs with modern urban planning to develop the city. The plan in 1924 was to develop Yerevan to support 150K people. In 1926 about 60K lived in the city. By the time Soviet communism collapsed in Eastern Europe in 1989, Yerevan had over 1M people. Today the Soviet influence is palpable everywhere in the capital, but because the city planners allowed room for traditional design elements the Soviet influence is not as oppressive as it is in other cities.
Yerevan’s Main Square in 1916 
While many Armenians struggled against Russification and the imposition of Soviet rule, the Soviet period was for most Armenians a prosperous time. Many Armenians family were devastated by the Armenian genocide that began in 1915 and appreciated the relative stability the Soviets provided. City-dwelling Armenians reaped the benefits of Yerevan’s development into a contemporary industrial city. The city quickly grew into a new scientific and educational center in the Soviet bloc.
It seems this satisfaction carriers over into the new era of Armenian independence. In conversations with Armenians there is a conspicuous lack of hostility towards Russians that exists in other former Soviet countries. While Armenians value their independence, it appears many also valued the paternalism of the Soviets and their legacy as it pertains to industrial development. They seem less likely to look at their history under Soviet rule with disdain.
Yerevan’s Main Square Today 
In contrast, Georgians are far more anti-Russian. This too is a legacy of Soviet rule. Unlike Yerevan, Tbilisi was an established city with a sizable population and some developed infrastructure before the Russians and later the Soviets arrived. In fact, walking in Tbilisi’s old town today, the ornateness of the buildings and European architectural motifs might trick someone into thinking they were in Vienna. There were 112K people living in Tbilisi in 1926.
Liberty Square Tbilisi 
Georgians met the imposition of Soviet power with an armed struggle in 1921. In 1924 there was an insurrection that threatened the new Soviet government. After independence in 1991, Georgia was embroiled in territorial disputes with the breakaway regions Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Russia supported these new states and Russian military presence in these territories along Georgia’s northern border creates tension to this day.
In part because of its tense relationship with Russia, Georgians are also more explicitly pro-European than Armenians. EU flags are ubiquitous in Tbilisi. The Georgians I met are quick to say that they consider themselves European as well as Georgian. This matches survey responses across Georgia, wherein Georgians overwhelming support EU ascension and consider Russia to be their biggest threat to sovereignty.
Protests in Georgia Last Month 
Armenians on the other hand give more varied answers when asked about their identity. Most of the Armenians I talked to consider themselves Armenian only and do not think that Armenians share another identity. A few Armenians I conversed with said their culture is sandwiched somewhere between Middle Eastern and European, but that ultimately Armenians are distinct.
In many ways the politics of each nation follow these lines of thinking. Georgian politicians are outspoken in terms of their pro-Western outlook and many are outspoken critics of Russian interference in internal affairs. Clashes in Tbilisi over Russian meddling in Georgian politics just last month turned violent. In Armenia, politicians are more likely to follow a trajectory that is neither pro-Western or pro-Russian. Even their most recent revolution, the Velvet Revolution, was peaceful and involved only Armenian political actors.
A final difference between these nations is their infrastructure development. While both Yerevan and Tbilisi have metro systems, it is much easier to travel around Tbilisi. The city has many bus lines and taxis that travel established routes. Tbilisi is also much more friendly to Western tourists. English instructions and directions are everywhere and people in urban areas are likely to know English. Traveling outside Tbilisi, the highway systems are modern and well-maintained.
In Yerevan, the language most commonly used for communication with foreigners is Russian, which is fitting given that the majority of tourists I ran into came from Russia or other former Soviet republics. Taxis are the most common form of transportation. Service can be sporadic, however, and hailing a taxi can be troublesome. Travel outside the capital is also difficult. It is impractical to travel by oneself outside the city, so one must travel by taxi or with a guide service. The roads are hard to navigate even for veteran drivers and the highway system is not as modern as those found in Georgia.
Though Armenia and Georgia are similar geographically and the people share similar historical experiences, the trajectory of each modern state is unique. Each country has a rich, ancient culture of which as an outsider I can only understand the surface. Both countries are underrated tourist destinations, and I hope to one day return and see how attitudes towards these same topics change over the years.