Emigration from Soviet Armenia (1950s–1991)

During the last decades, the repatriation of the Soviet period has regularly been in the center of attention of researchers. Among the reasons for this, besides the existing interest in the phenomenon itself, there is also the desire to make the state more ready for the organization of repatriation nowadays. If valuable historical and ethnological studies were published both in Armenia and abroad regarding the repatriation of the Soviet period (especially the post-war period), then the emigration that began in the 1950s there are no scientific studies about. Many people may generally think that the phenomenon of emigration is typical only of the independence period, but tens of thousands of Armenians (mainly repatriates) emigrated from Soviet Armenia itself. This topic is of interest from the point of view of studying the history of both Soviet Armenia and the Armenian diaspora. This program will comprehensively study the emigration from Soviet Armenia (1950s-1991), its causes, dimensions, consequences in the homeland, but especially in the new communities. Special emphasis will be put to the presentation of the discourse and different positions in the Armenian reality regarding emigration and considering the group of emigrants in the context of identity transformation issues.