Conceiving homogenous state-space for the nation: the nationalist discourse on autochthony and the politics of place-naming in Armenia

ABSTRACT

This paper discusses the place-renaming policies in the recent two decades in Armenia. By elaborating on the legal and administrative framework for place-renaming in the country and through the analysis of more than 27,000 geographical names and their renaming practices, the paper focuses on the politics of space/place in Armenia in the context of a nation-state-building. By considering discourses, actors and institutions involved in place-renaming, the paper puts its results into the wider context of nationalism and nation-state-building. With a focus on the notion of raison d'état as a practice of governmentality, the abstract space of the nation-state conceived by experts and nationalist discourse on autochthony, the paper elaborates on the production of nation-state-space in Armenia. The contradictory aspects of place-renaming policies and the relations of exclusion and domination (re)produced in the process of conceiving of the nation-state-space in this country are discussed as well.

KEYWORDS:

• nationalism
• autochthony
• nation-state-building
• toponyms
• politics of space
• Armenia

Acknowledgement

The author thanks the editorial office of Central Asian Survey for its time and work. Two anonymous reviewers are thanked for their constructive criticism and very valuable suggestions. Any errors of fact or judgement remain the author’s alone.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 The Selim mountain pass connects the Gegharkunik and Vayots Dzor regions of Armenia and is frequently mentioned in winter because the weather conditions frequently block it and make it dangerous for transportation and travel.

2 In connection with nationalism in the Soviet Union, nationalism was considered an enemy by Bolsheviks. However, they were compelled to formulate a new nationalities policy due to their direct confrontation with the problem of nationalism. Their response to the rising tide of nationalism was the systematic promotion of ‘the national consciousness of its ethnic minorities and establishing for them many of the characteristic institutional forms of the nation-state’ (Martin 2001, 1). As Rogers Brubaker notes, ‘no other state has gone so far in sponsoring, codifying, institutionalizing, even (in some cases) inventing nationhood and nationality on the sub-state level’ and establishing nationhood and nationality as fundamental social categories (Brubaker 1996, 23, 29).

3 The Law on Geographical Names, HHPT1999.12.27/31(97), 23 December 1999, https://www.arlis.am/DocumentView.aspx?DocID=75461.

4 The Law on the Amendments and Changes in the Law on Geographical Names, HHPT 2008.05.14/28(618) Hod.450, 8 April 2008, https://www.arlis.am/DocumentView.aspx?docid=43724.

5 The Law on the Amendments and Changes in the Law on Geographical Names, HHPT 2012.04.25/21(895) Hod.464, 21 March 2012, https://www.arlis.am/DocumentView.aspx?docid=75340.

6 The centre is a non-profit state entity subordinate to the SCREC.

7 For the types of physical–geographical objects appearing in government decisions and that were selected for analysis, see Table A2 in the Appendix.

8 For example, among the registered and approved geographical objects, there are more than 1000 points of the geodetic control network for measuring and surveying, but those points are not geographical objects per se. There are more than 1000 monuments dedicated, for example, to the victims of the Armenian Genocide or the Second World War.

9 The sum of the Armenian, Turkic, Russian and Kurdish names surpasses the total number of analysed objects because in many cases, names appeared to consist of a mix of either Armenian, Turkic and/or Russian elements. A dozen cases were detected where the names were of Georgian, Greek, Persian or Arabic origin, association and signification.

10 The author’s observations in Armenia indeed show that in most of regions, people frequently used Turkic versions of various place names, including settlements, rather than their new names.

11 For example, Armenian names with references to Turkic people, including Turkants tegh, Turkin diq, Turki sar and Turki hand, have been replaced, respectively, by Hayatap, Haykadiq, Haykasar and Haykadasht.

12 For example, names containing words such as Machid (mosque), Molla (mullah), Myurud (murid), Alapkyar (Allahu Ekber) and others have been partly or fully replaced.

13 For example, names such as Aslan, Aleksan, Alibek and others were left intact, but when those names appeared together with other non-Armenian words reflecting plurality, locality, direction or landscape features, the geographical names have been substituted with Armenian names.

14 As noted above, nearly all references to Islam were also replaced with completely different Armenian names or names mirroring their Christian version. This aspect is also of importance to consider in the context of nationalism. The Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC) historically has been, and still is, the important dimension of Armenian identity. In Armenia, many Armenians identify their ethnicity by their religious affiliation, religious identity is completely merged with national identity and there are extremely close relationships and overlaps between the AAC, the Armenian nation and Armenian ethnic identity (Matsuzato and Danielyan 2013, 29; Kharatyan 2010, 79; Panossian 2002; Sarkissian 2008). Due to these close links and overlaps, in Armenia, one can speak not only of ethnic nationalism but also of ethno-religious nationalism, which was fostered during the Soviet period through the nationalization of religion and confessionalization of the Soviet Republics (Burchardt and Hovhannisyan 2016, 7) and which intensified in modern-day Armenia. There are many directions and dimensions of unfolding ethno-religious nationalism in modern Armenia. One of those directions, for example, is the reclaiming of secular space through church construction or other practices (Burchardt and Hovhannisyan 2016; Panossian 2002). Thus, the change of toponyms that contained a reference to Islam with different Armenian names or names mirroring their Christian version could be considered as one of those spatial manifestations of ethno-religions nationalism.

15 On the pre-history and formation of the Armenian people, see Russel (1997) and Diakonoff (1984); on the politics of Armenian ethnogenesis and identity building, see Panossian (2002, 2006) and Astourian (1994).

16 In this regard, such a representation of Armenians resonates with Suny’s point about Soviet Armenia and the story of the republic that was told as a story of ethnic Armenians with the Azerbaijanis and Kurds largely left out (Suny 2001, 887).

17 The publication of the National Atlas of Armenia (2008) was a major event in the cartographic production and history of cartography in modern Armenia after the publication of the Atlas of the Armenian SSR (1961), and in many respects the former appears to be an update of the latter.

18 Importantly, the law on the geographical names discussed above only allows an object to be renamed to eliminate ‘foreign, inharmonious and repetitive names’ and also ‘to restore its historical name’, and the restoration of the historical name requirement may also be considered in the context of autochthony claims.

19 As an example, Kurmanji Kurdish names such as Dle shme, Kanya Khundar, Kanya Ishane, Barozh, Merge ose and Rast have been replaced, respectively, with Armenian names such as Srtashemq, Arnot, Avanakats, Areguni and Hovsepi marg.

20 As an example, Russian names such as Armyanski Klyuch, Gniloy Klyuch, Zarechka, Melnitsa and Bolshoy lug have been replaced, respectively, with Armenian names such as Hayakn, Hotats Jur, Andrget, Jraghatsi and Mets marg.

21 For example, in 1831, only 15.3% of Armenians living in the territory of the newly formed Armenian Province of the Russian Empire were indigenous (Saparov 2003, 182).

22 For example, Turkic and Russian names, such as Ardagh, Mediyal and Krestovaya, have been replaced by Arsar, Mijnasar and Khachi tap.