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Armenian Organization and Ideology Under Ottoman Rule: 1908-1914
by Dikran KaligianThis book provides a comprehensive picture of Armeno-Turkish relations for the brief period of Ottoman Constitutional rule between 1908 and 1914. Kaligian integrates internal documents of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, and existing research on the last years of the empire, as well as the archives of the British, American, and German diplomatic corps. By reducing the overemphasis on central government policies and by describing unofficial contacts, political relations, and provincial administration and conditions, Kaligian provides a unified account of this key period in Ottoman history. Kaligian sets out to resolve many of the conflicting conclusions in the current historiography-including the most central issue, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation relations with the Turkish Committee of Union and Progress. It is impossible to obtain a true picture of Armeno-Turkish relations without an accurate analysis of their two leading parties. This study finds that the ARF was torn between maintaining relations with a CUP that had failed to implement promised reforms and was doing little to prevent increasing attacks on the Armenian population, or break off relations thus ending any realistic chance for the constitutional system to succeed. The party continued to stake its reputation and resources on the success of constitutional government even after the trauma of the 1909 Adana massacres. The decisive issue was the failure of land reform. This book sets the record straight in terms of understanding Armeno-Turkish relations during this short but pivotal period. Kaligian's study, the first of its kind, shows that the party's internal deliberations support the conclusion that it did remain loyal and contradicts the view that the party's only aim was to incite a rebellion against Ottoman rule. The author has done an excellent job of leading the reader through this rich history, using primary source information to bridge the gaps from theory, to analysis, to evidence.
An Armenian Sketchbook
by Vasily GrossmanFew writers had to confront so many of the last century's mass tragedies as Vasily Grossman. He is likely to be remembered, above all, for the terrifying clarity with which he writes about the Shoah, the Battle of Stalingrad and the Terror Famine in the Ukraine. An Armenian Sketchbook, however, shows us a very different Grossman; it is notable for its warmth, its sense of fun and for the benign humility that is always to be found in his writing. After the 'arrest' - as Grossman always put it - of Life and Fate, Grossman took on the task of editing a literal Russian translation of a lengthy Armenian novel. The novel was of little interest to him, but he was glad of an excuse to travel to Armenia. This is his account of the two months he spent there. It is by far the most personal and intimate of Grossman's works, with an air of absolute spontaneity, as though Grossman is simply chatting to the reader about his impressions of Armenia - its mountains, its ancient churches and its people.
The Armenian Social Democrat Hnchakian Party: Politics, Ideology and Transnational History (Armenians in the Modern and Early Modern World)
by Bedross Der MatossianThis book, based on new research, sheds light on the history of the Social Democrat Hnchakian Party, a major Armenian revolutionary party that operated in the Ottoman Empire, Russia, Persia and throughout the global Armenian diaspora. Divided into sections which cover the origins, ideology, and regional history of the SDHP, the book situates the history of the Hnchaks within debates around socialism, populism, and nationalism in the 19th and 20th centuries. The SDHP was not only an Armenian party but had a global Marxist outlook, and scholars in this volume bring to bear expertise in a wide range of histories and languages including Russian, Turkish, Persian and Latin American to trace the emergence and role this influential party played from their split with the Armenian Revolutionary Federation and the events of the Armenian genocide to the formation of the first Armenian Republic and then Soviet Armenia. Putting the Hnchaks in context as one of many nationalist radical groups to emerge in Eurasia in the late 19th century, the book is an important contribution to Armenian historiography as well as that of transnational revolutionary movements in general.
The Armenian Social Democrat Hnchakian Party: Politics, Ideology and Transnational History (Armenians in the Modern and Early Modern World)
This book, based on new research, sheds light on the history of the Social Democrat Hnchakian Party, a major Armenian revolutionary party that operated in the Ottoman Empire, Russia, Persia and throughout the global Armenian diaspora. Divided into sections which cover the origins, ideology, and regional history of the SDHP, the book situates the history of the Hnchaks within debates around socialism, populism, and nationalism in the 19th and 20th centuries. The SDHP was not only an Armenian party but had a global Marxist outlook, and scholars in this volume bring to bear expertise in a wide range of histories and languages including Russian, Turkish, Persian and Latin American to trace the emergence and role this influential party played from their split with the Armenian Revolutionary Federation and the events of the Armenian genocide to the formation of the first Armenian Republic and then Soviet Armenia. Putting the Hnchaks in context as one of many nationalist radical groups to emerge in Eurasia in the late 19th century, the book is an important contribution to Armenian historiography as well as that of transnational revolutionary movements in general.
The Armenian Table Cookbook: 165 treasured recipes that bring together ancient flavors and 21st-century style
by Victoria Jenanyan Wise‘There are some fine recipes here that you’re not likely to find elsewhere... If you’re looking for a new cuisine to explore, this is very satisfying.’ - New York Daily News‘For cooks, it’s Armenian 101 and much more - a great way to learn about the cuisine. Wise has made a concerted effort to make the recipes approachable and easy to execute.’ - Los Angeles Daily NewsA veteran cookbook author returns to her delicious culinary heritage in this savoury and passionate recipe collection.Victoria Jenanyan Wise grew up with the flavours, scents and seasonings of Armenian cooking - a cuisine that combines Mediterranean tastes with Persian, Arabic and Russian accents. In her first Armenian cookbook, Wise presents traditional favourites and inspired contemporary variations.The author takes us on a comprehensive tour of the typical Armenian pantry, with its nuts, seeds, herbs, spices, fragrant extracts and wealth of fresh ingredients. Each chapter begins with advice and commentary on essentials, such as fresh yogurt, starters (maza), breads, salads, pilafs, meatballs and other meat, fish and vegetable dishes as well as sweets. There is also a chapter on the Armenian people and its homeland.Recipes include:- Lavosh, Armenian pizzas, and other savoury breads- Shish kebab, moussaka, and other lamb dishes- Baked and roast chicken prepared with yogurt, dill, turmeric and pomegranate- Grilled mackerel with lemon and dill; red snapper stew with tomato and artichokes- Stuffed vegetables (dolmas) and stuffed vine leaves- Baklava and other fillo-pastry sweets; lemon yogurt cake, yogurt panna cotta with cherry sauce; almond and rice-flour pudding with toasted almond slices.This authentic and warm-hearted cookbook will be met by a ready audience of Armenians, as well as lovers of Greek, Turkish, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisines, and other culinary adventurers.
Armenian Terrorism: The Past, The Present, The Prospects
by Francis P HylandArising seemingly out of nowhere, Armenian terrorist groups in the last two decades have carried out over 200 attacks in some two dozen countries around the world. Although this wave of terror at first appears to have sprung up without warning, a closer look at Armenian history, especially since World War I, shows that it is only the most recent in a series of outbreaks of ethnic violence. In this study, the author examines the social and political background of Armenian terrorism and its similarities to and differences from other terrorist movements, and he carefully dissects the organizational methods of these groups. An important feature of the work is an extensive and detailed chronology of Armenian terrorism from 1915 to the present. Each entry provides essential information concerning the date and time of the attack, location, victims, weapons used, terrorist groups and individual commandos responsible for the attack, and a list of sources for further reference. A resource for specialists studying terrorism and ethnic violence, "Armenian Terrorism" should also be useful to those interested in the tragic and difficult history of Armenia and Turkey.
Armenian Terrorism: The Past, The Present, The Prospects
by Francis P HylandArising seemingly out of nowhere, Armenian terrorist groups in the last two decades have carried out over 200 attacks in some two dozen countries around the world. Although this wave of terror at first appears to have sprung up without warning, a closer look at Armenian history, especially since World War I, shows that it is only the most recent in a series of outbreaks of ethnic violence. In this study, the author examines the social and political background of Armenian terrorism and its similarities to and differences from other terrorist movements, and he carefully dissects the organizational methods of these groups. An important feature of the work is an extensive and detailed chronology of Armenian terrorism from 1915 to the present. Each entry provides essential information concerning the date and time of the attack, location, victims, weapons used, terrorist groups and individual commandos responsible for the attack, and a list of sources for further reference. A resource for specialists studying terrorism and ethnic violence, "Armenian Terrorism" should also be useful to those interested in the tragic and difficult history of Armenia and Turkey.
The Armenians: A People in Exile (David Marshall Lang's Journey from Russia to Armenia via Caucasian Georgia #5)
by David Marshall LangOriginally published in 1981, this book tells the story of the Armenian dispersion and gives a graphic account of the persecution of the Armenians by the Turks from 1895 to 1922 which foreshadowed the Jewish holocaust at the hands of Hitler, who is said to have modelled some of his own ideas on those of the Young Turks. Drawing upon material from little-known sources, this book follows the trail of the Armenians from their native lands around Mount Ararat to such far-flung spots as lhasa, Harbin and Buenos Aires. This lively and readable book is an excellent account of a people who have been partly in exile for some 2,000 years.
The Armenians: A People in Exile (David Marshall Lang's Journey from Russia to Armenia via Caucasian Georgia #5)
by David Marshall LangOriginally published in 1981, this book tells the story of the Armenian dispersion and gives a graphic account of the persecution of the Armenians by the Turks from 1895 to 1922 which foreshadowed the Jewish holocaust at the hands of Hitler, who is said to have modelled some of his own ideas on those of the Young Turks. Drawing upon material from little-known sources, this book follows the trail of the Armenians from their native lands around Mount Ararat to such far-flung spots as lhasa, Harbin and Buenos Aires. This lively and readable book is an excellent account of a people who have been partly in exile for some 2,000 years.
Armenians And The Iranian Constitutional Revolution Of 1905-1911: The Love For Freedom Has No Fatherland
by Houri BerberianDrawing upon original sources, this study provides the most comprehensive treatment to date of the issue of Armenian politicization and participation in the Iranian Constitutional Revolution (1905-1911). Houri Berberian traces the political, economic, and social situation of Armenians in the nineteenth century with a special emphasis on the Armenian provinces of the Ottoman Empire, which became the focus of the Armenian revolutionary movement in the late nineteenth century, and on the Russian-ruled Caucasus, which became the source of the nationalist and socialist revolutionary movement. Discussion of the Iranian Armenian community includes, for the first time, a look into the roles and activism of Iranian Armenian women. Berberian explores the ideological, political, and pragmatic motivations of Armenians, and examines the collaboration of Armenian and Iranian constitutionalists, drawing attention to the ideological and military contributions of Armenians to the revolution as well as to the internal and external conflicts among Armenian activists and between Armenian and Iranian constitutionalist elements. Berberian concludes with a discussion of the causes and consequences of the retreat of Armenians from Iranian politics.
Armenians And The Iranian Constitutional Revolution Of 1905-1911: The Love For Freedom Has No Fatherland
by Houri BerberianDrawing upon original sources, this study provides the most comprehensive treatment to date of the issue of Armenian politicization and participation in the Iranian Constitutional Revolution (1905-1911). Houri Berberian traces the political, economic, and social situation of Armenians in the nineteenth century with a special emphasis on the Armenian provinces of the Ottoman Empire, which became the focus of the Armenian revolutionary movement in the late nineteenth century, and on the Russian-ruled Caucasus, which became the source of the nationalist and socialist revolutionary movement. Discussion of the Iranian Armenian community includes, for the first time, a look into the roles and activism of Iranian Armenian women. Berberian explores the ideological, political, and pragmatic motivations of Armenians, and examines the collaboration of Armenian and Iranian constitutionalists, drawing attention to the ideological and military contributions of Armenians to the revolution as well as to the internal and external conflicts among Armenian activists and between Armenian and Iranian constitutionalist elements. Berberian concludes with a discussion of the causes and consequences of the retreat of Armenians from Iranian politics.
Armenians Beyond Diaspora: Making Lebanon their Own (Alternative Histories)
by Tsolin NalbantianThis book argues that Armenians around the world – in the face of the Genocide, and despite the absence of an independent nation-state after World War I – developed dynamic socio-political, cultural, ideological and ecclesiastical centres. And it focuses on one such centre, Beirut, in the postcolonial 1940s and 1950s. Tsolin Nalbantian explores Armenians’ discursive re-positioning within the newly independent Lebanese nation-state; the political-cultural impact (in Lebanon as well as Syria) of the 1946–8 repatriation initiative to Soviet Armenia; the 1956 Catholicos election; and the 1957 Lebanese elections and 1958 mini-civil war. What emerges is a post-Genocide Armenian history of – principally – power, renewal and presence, rather than one of loss and absence.
The Armenians in Modern Turkey: Post-Genocide Society, Politics and History
by Talin SuciyanAfter the Armenian genocide of 1915, in which over a million Armenians died, thousands of Armenians lived and worked in the Turkish state alongside those who had persecuted their communities. Living in the context of pervasive denial, how did Armenians remaining in Turkey record their own history? Here, Talin Suciyan explores the life experienced by these Armenian communities as Turkey's modernisation project of the twentieth century gathered pace. Suciyan achieves this through analysis of remarkable new primary material: Turkish state archives, minutes of the Armenian National Assembly, a kaleidoscopic series of personal diaries, memoirs and oral histories, various Armenian periodicals such as newspapers, yearbooks and magazines, as well as statutes and laws which led to the continuing persecution of Armenians. The first history of its kind, The Armenians in Modern Turkey is a fresh contribution to the history of modern Turkey and the Armenian experience there.
The Armenians in Modern Turkey: Post-Genocide Society, Politics and History (Library of Ottoman Studies)
by Talin SuciyanAfter the Armenian genocide of 1915, in which over a million Armenians died, thousands of Armenian-Turks lived and worked in the Turkish state alongside those who had persecuted their communities. Living under heavy censorship, and in an atmosphere of official denial that the deaths were a genocide, how did Turkish Armenians record their own history? Here, Talin Suciyan explores the life experienced by Turkey's Armenian communities as Turkey's great modernisation project of the 20th century gathered pace.Suciyan achieves this through analysis of remarkable new primarymaterial: Turkish state archives, minutes of the Armenian National Assembly, a kaleidoscopic series of personal diaries, memoirs and oral histories, various Armenian periodicals such as newspapers, yearbooks and magazines, as well as statutes and laws which led to the continuing persecution of Armenians. The first history of its kind, The Armenians in Modern Turkey is a fresh contribution to the history of modern Turkey and the Armenian experience there
Armenians in the Byzantine Empire: Identity, Assimilation and Alienation from 867 to 1098
by Toby BromigeArmenians in the Byzantine Empire is a new study exploring the relationship between the Armenians and Byzantines from the ninth through eleventh centuries. Utilising primary sources from multiple traditions, the evidence is clear that until the eleventh century Armenian migrants were able to fully assimilate into the Empire, in time recognized fully as Romaioi (Byzantine Romans). From the turn of the eleventh century however, migrating groups of Armenians seem to have resisted the previously successful process of assimilation, holding onto their ancestral and religious identity, and viewing the Byzantines with suspicion. This stagnation and ultimate failure to assimilate Armenian migrants into Byzantium has never been thoroughly investigated, despite its dire consequences in the late eleventh century when the Empire faced its most severe crisis since the rise of Islam, the arrival and settlement of the Turkic peoples in Anatolia.
Armenians in the Byzantine Empire: Identity, Assimilation and Alienation from 867 to 1098
by Toby BromigeArmenians in the Byzantine Empire is a new study exploring the relationship between the Armenians and Byzantines from the ninth through eleventh centuries. Utilising primary sources from multiple traditions, the evidence is clear that until the eleventh century Armenian migrants were able to fully assimilate into the Empire, in time recognized fully as Romaioi (Byzantine Romans). From the turn of the eleventh century however, migrating groups of Armenians seem to have resisted the previously successful process of assimilation, holding onto their ancestral and religious identity, and viewing the Byzantines with suspicion. This stagnation and ultimate failure to assimilate Armenian migrants into Byzantium has never been thoroughly investigated, despite its dire consequences in the late eleventh century when the Empire faced its most severe crisis since the rise of Islam, the arrival and settlement of the Turkic peoples in Anatolia.
The Armenians in the Medieval Islamic World: Medieval Cosmopolitanism and Images of Islamthirteenth to Fourteenth Centuries (Armenian Studies)
by Seta B. DadoyanIn the third volume of the trilogy, Seta B. Dadoyan focuses on social and cultural aspects, rather than the core political focus exhibited in her first two volumes. Her objective is to suggest political readings of these themes and related texts by revealing hitherto unstudied and novel interactions in the cities of Asia Minor during the Mongol Period.Dadoyan focuses on the Armenian condition and role in the medieval Islamic world. She argues that if the entire region was the habitat of most of the Armenians, their history too is part of these locations and peoples. Dadoyan draws the outlines of a new philosophy of Armenian history based on hitherto obscured patterns of interaction.The first three chapters of this volume are dedicated to the images of Prophet Muhammad in Armenian literature. Dadoyan shows that direct interactions and borrowings happened regularly from Islamic sciences, reform projects, poetry, and arts. Dadoyan argues that the cosmopolitan urban environments were radically different from rural areas and close interactions took different and unexpected patterns. In the last part of the volume, she presents the first and only polemical-apologetic Armenian texts addressed to Islam at the end of the fourteenth century. This book is essential for all historians and Middle East scholars and is the latest volume in Transaction's Armenian Studies series.
The Armenians in the Medieval Islamic World: Medieval Cosmopolitanism and Images of Islamthirteenth to Fourteenth Centuries
by Seta B. DadoyanIn the third volume of the trilogy, Seta B. Dadoyan focuses on social and cultural aspects, rather than the core political focus exhibited in her first two volumes. Her objective is to suggest political readings of these themes and related texts by revealing hitherto unstudied and novel interactions in the cities of Asia Minor during the Mongol Period.Dadoyan focuses on the Armenian condition and role in the medieval Islamic world. She argues that if the entire region was the habitat of most of the Armenians, their history too is part of these locations and peoples. Dadoyan draws the outlines of a new philosophy of Armenian history based on hitherto obscured patterns of interaction.The first three chapters of this volume are dedicated to the images of Prophet Muhammad in Armenian literature. Dadoyan shows that direct interactions and borrowings happened regularly from Islamic sciences, reform projects, poetry, and arts. Dadoyan argues that the cosmopolitan urban environments were radically different from rural areas and close interactions took different and unexpected patterns. In the last part of the volume, she presents the first and only polemical-apologetic Armenian texts addressed to Islam at the end of the fourteenth century. This book is essential for all historians and Middle East scholars and is the latest volume in Transaction's Armenian Studies series.
The Armenians in the Medieval Islamic World: The Arab Period in Armnyahseventh to Eleventh Centuries
by Seta B. DadoyanIn this first of a massive three-volume work, Seta B. Dadoyan studies the Armenian experience in the medieval Islamic world and takes the reader through hitherto undiscovered paradigmatic cases of interaction with other populations in the region. Being an Armenian, Dadoyan argues, means having an ethnic ancestry laden with narratives drawn from the vast historic Armenian habitat. Contradictory trends went into the making of Armenian history, yet most narratives fail to reflect this rich texture. Linking Armenian-Islamic history is one way of dealing with the problem. Dadoyan's concern is also to outline revolutionary elements in the making of Armenian ideologies and politics. This extensive work captures the multidimensional nature of the Armenian experience in the medieval Islamic world. The author holds that every piece of literature, including historical writing, is an artifact. It is a composition of many elements arranged in certain forms: order, sequence, proportion, detail, intensity, etc. The author has composed and arranged the larger subjects and their sub-themes in such a way as to create an open, dynamic continuity to Armenian history that is intellectually intriguing, aesthetically appealing, and close to lived experiences.
The Armenians in the Medieval Islamic World: Armenian Realpolitik in the Islamic World and Diverging Paradigmscase of Cilicia Eleventh to Fourteenth Centuries
by Seta B. DadoyanIn the second of a three-volume work, Seta B. Dadoyan explores the Armenian condition from the 970s to the end of the fourteenth century. This period marked the gradual loss of semi-autonomy on the traditional mainland and the rise of Armenian power of diverging patterns in southeastern Asia Minor, north Syria, Cilicia, and Egypt. Dadoyan's premise is that if Armenians and Armenia have always been located in the Middle East and the Islamic world, then their history is also a natural part of that region and its peoples. She observes that the Armenian experience has been too complicated to be defined by simplistic constructs centered on the idea of a heroic, yet victimized nation. She notes that a certain politics of historical writing, supported by a culture of authority, has focused sharply on episodes and, in particular, on the genocide. For her sources, Dadoyan has used all available and relevant (primary and secondary) Armenian sources, as well as primary Arab texts and sources. This book will stimulate re-evaluation of the period, and re-conceptualizing Armenian and Middle Eastern histories.
The Armenians in the Medieval Islamic World: Armenian Realpolitik in the Islamic World and Diverging Paradigmscase of Cilicia Eleventh to Fourteenth Centuries
by Seta B. DadoyanIn the second of a three-volume work, Seta B. Dadoyan explores the Armenian condition from the 970s to the end of the fourteenth century. This period marked the gradual loss of semi-autonomy on the traditional mainland and the rise of Armenian power of diverging patterns in southeastern Asia Minor, north Syria, Cilicia, and Egypt. Dadoyan's premise is that if Armenians and Armenia have always been located in the Middle East and the Islamic world, then their history is also a natural part of that region and its peoples. She observes that the Armenian experience has been too complicated to be defined by simplistic constructs centered on the idea of a heroic, yet victimized nation. She notes that a certain politics of historical writing, supported by a culture of authority, has focused sharply on episodes and, in particular, on the genocide. For her sources, Dadoyan has used all available and relevant (primary and secondary) Armenian sources, as well as primary Arab texts and sources. This book will stimulate re-evaluation of the period, and re-conceptualizing Armenian and Middle Eastern histories.
The Armenians in the Medieval Islamic World: The Arab Period in Armnyahseventh to Eleventh Centuries (Armenian Studies)
by Seta B. DadoyanIn this first of a massive three-volume work, Seta B. Dadoyan studies the Armenian experience in the medieval Islamic world and takes the reader through hitherto undiscovered paradigmatic cases of interaction with other populations in the region. Being an Armenian, Dadoyan argues, means having an ethnic ancestry laden with narratives drawn from the vast historic Armenian habitat. Contradictory trends went into the making of Armenian history, yet most narratives fail to reflect this rich texture. Linking Armenian-Islamic history is one way of dealing with the problem. Dadoyan's concern is also to outline revolutionary elements in the making of Armenian ideologies and politics. This extensive work captures the multidimensional nature of the Armenian experience in the medieval Islamic world. The author holds that every piece of literature, including historical writing, is an artifact. It is a composition of many elements arranged in certain forms: order, sequence, proportion, detail, intensity, etc. The author has composed and arranged the larger subjects and their sub-themes in such a way as to create an open, dynamic continuity to Armenian history that is intellectually intriguing, aesthetically appealing, and close to lived experiences.
The Armenians of Aintab: The Economics of Genocide in an Ottoman Province
by Ümit KurtA Turk’s discovery that Armenians once thrived in his hometown leads to a groundbreaking investigation into the local dynamics of genocide. Ümit Kurt, born and raised in Gaziantep, Turkey, was astonished to learn that his hometown once had a large and active Armenian community. The Armenian presence in Aintab, the city’s name during the Ottoman period, had not only been destroyed—it had been replaced. To every appearance, Gaziantep was a typical Turkish city. Kurt digs into the details of the Armenian dispossession that produced the homogeneously Turkish city in which he grew up. In particular, he examines the population that gained from ethnic cleansing. Records of land confiscation and population transfer demonstrate just how much new wealth became available when the prosperous Armenians—who were active in manufacturing, agricultural production, and trade—were ejected. Although the official rationale for the removal of the Armenians was that the group posed a threat of rebellion, Kurt shows that the prospect of material gain was a key motivator of support for the Armenian genocide among the local Muslim gentry and the Turkish public. Those who benefited most—provincial elites, wealthy landowners, state officials, and merchants who accumulated Armenian capital—in turn financed the nationalist movement that brought the modern Turkish republic into being. The economic elite of Aintab was thus reconstituted along both ethnic and political lines. The Armenians of Aintab draws on primary sources from Armenian, Ottoman, Turkish, British, and French archives, as well as memoirs, personal papers, oral accounts, and newly discovered property-liquidation records. Together they provide an invaluable account of genocide at ground level.
Armenia's Future, Relations with Turkey, and the Karabagh Conflict
by Levon Ter-PetrossianThis project addresses recurring questions about Armenian-Turkish relations, the legacy of the Armenian genocide of 1915, and relations between the Armenian diaspora and the Republic of Armenia. Additionally, it discusses the ongoing conflict with Azerbaijan, and the Armenian government’s handling of the commemoration of the one-hundredth anniversary of the Armenian genocide.
Armenia’s Velvet Revolution: Authoritarian Decline and Civil Resistance in a Multipolar World
by Laurence Broers and Anna OhanyanIn April 2018, Armenia experienced a remarkable popular uprising leading to the resignation of Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan and his replacement by protest leader Nikol Pashinyan. Evoking Czechoslovakia's similarly peaceful overthrow of communism 30 years previously, the uprising came to be known as Armenia's 'Velvet Revolution': a broad-based movement calling for clean government, democracy and economic reform. This volume examines how a popular protest movement, showcasing civil disobedience as a mass strategy for the first time in the post-Soviet space, overcame these unpromising circumstances. Situating the events in Armenia in their national, regional and global contexts, different contributions evaluate the causes driving Armenia's unexpected democratic turn, the reasons for regime vulnerability and the factors mediating a non-violent outcome. Drawing on comparative perspectives with democratic transitions across the world, this book will be essential reading for those interested in the regime dynamics, social movements and contested politics of contemporary Eurasia, as well as policy-makers and practitioners in the fields of democracy assistance and human rights in an increasingly multipolar world.