Armenian nationalism
Armenian nationalism in the modern period has its roots in the romantic nationalism of Mikayel Chamchian (1738–1823) and generally defined as the creation of a free, independent and united Armenia formulated as the Armenian Cause (Armenian: Հայ Դատ, [hɑj dɑt] or Hye Dat). Armenian national awakening developed in the 1880s in the context of the general rise of nationalism under the Ottoman Empire. The Russian Armenia followed with significant causes. The Armenian Apostolic Church has been a great defender of Armenian nationalism, with leaders like Khrimian Hayrik who devoted his life to the peasantry. The establishment of modern Armenia (1991) and Armenian social fabric becoming more complex gradually decrease the political influence of Hye Dat and shifted towards a modern Armenian nationalism modeled as a liberal nationalism.
Modern times and anti-Turkism[edit]
A Historic Armenia was advocated by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation during Soviet times, which would incorporate Nakhchivan in Azerbaijan, and Eastern Turkey (western parts of Armenian Highland). According to Suny, Armenian nationalism in the 20th century emphasized the "ancient origin of the Armenians", and consequently embraced the Armenian hypothesis of Indo-European origins forwarded by Soviet scholars in the 1980s.[8][9][10] During Soviet times, Armenian nationalism within Soviet Armenia was distinguished from other nationalisms of peoples absorbed into the Soviet Union, such as Georgian, Ukrainian or Estonian, in that it did not direct itself against the dominant Russians, but continued to focus on the traditional enemy, the Turks, and was consequently subtly encouraged by the communist government. For example, Saparov points out that anti-Turkism was the major direction and driving force for Armenian nationalism in Soviet Armenia.[11] According to Ghulyan, anti-Turkism, together with the idea of the ancient origins (autochthony) of the Armenians, continued to remain as an important direction of Armenian nationalism and its various reflections in modern day Armenia.[10]
Armenian nationalism has notably been opposed to Turkish nationalism. According to Brannen, to the Armenian diasporic communities in the United States and Canada, historical memory of the Armenian genocide carried out by Ottoman Turks in April 1915 had become a focus around which formation of Armenian identity takes place.[12] Armenian diasporic nationalism has a strong nostalgic component for a lost time and place, most prominently symbolized by Mount Ararat which, although visible from Yerevan, lies within Turkish territory.[13]