Rafayel Harutyunyan
Prominent theoretician in the history of Armenian architecture academician Varazdat Harutyunyan is well known for his fertile activity not only in the homeland, but also far away from it: he is also well known to his compatriots, intellectuals of Armenian Diaspora. Even now at his age of 93 he works with the energy of the youth. The fact that is worth mentioning is that every year he presents to the attention of the public 3-4 valuable monograms and guides, works devoted to the leaders of Armenian architecture, as well as leads various scientific and non-governmental organizations.
However, this is not Varazdat Harutyunyan that I would like to write about. Many people write about him, and they always do, and he also appears in Armenian and foreign mass media on various occasions.
The topic of this article is about his son Rafael Harutyunyan, who is as energetic and has a wide spectrum of scientific and technological knowledge.
He was born in a family of architects, where both his father and mother were experts in this field. Nevertheless, Rafael displayed quite opposite interests and drives, and one can say that he created not more, but certainly not less than his father has contributed to his country and his people. Here is the biography:
Rafayel Harutyunyan finished secondary school in 1954, graduated from Yerevan Polytechnic Institute in 1960, Master’s degree was awarded by Prague Polytechnic Institute in 1963, and Candidate of Science thesis was defended in 1970. In 1972-1976 he attended retraining courses at Moscow Higher Technological Institute after Bauman. Rafael Harutyunyan masters Armenian, Russian, English, Check and Slovenian.
Rafayel Harutyunyan worked in Yerevan Polytechnic Institute as scientific collaborator, instructor and senior lecturer. He was teaching machine building, and he made emphasis on the subject of technology of electrical machine building. At the same time he was teaching Basics of Standardization at Yerevan State University, and Technology of Metals at the Academy of Arts and Theater. In 1970-1973 he simultaneously worked as Scientific Editor of “Armenian Industry” magazine. From 1973 till 1983 he was publishing “Science and Technology” popular science magazine. From 1983 until 1986 he was the Head of the largest printing houses of Armenia, the Printing House after Hakob Meghapart.
From 1986 until now Rafayel is the Deputy Director of the Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of Armenia, and Director of the Republican Library. It should be noted that the number of books deposited in the Library (21.5 million books) is the largest in Armenia.
To the scope of Rafayel Haroutyunyan scientific interests belong the problems of accuracy of electric machines, transfer of new technologies from space, rocket and aviation industry into civil industries, basics of coordination of branches of science and scientific and technical information, creation of electronic catalogues, introduction of library automation processes, electronic publishing technology. He is an author of about 400 scientific articles, monograms and patents (see http://www.aniin.am).
Rafayel Haroutyunyan is a Member of Permanent Commission of Section VII of IFLA, a Member of Permanent Commission of ELNIT Union (these two organizations are international structures that work in library science sphere).
In 1993-2001 Rafael Haroutyunyan received 7 international grants; from 1991 till 2001 he participated in 12 international programs and conferences, and from 1977 till 2000 he took part in 15 international exhibitions and showings, where he presented scientific and technological achievements of Armenia.
Rafayel Haroutyunyan has the title of the “Inventor of the USSR”, and all his multiple awards are connected with his activity as engineer and researcher. He was also awarded 1 silver and 2 bronze medals at the Exhibition of Achievements of the USSR.
Finally, in 1983 Rafael, together with the people working in the aviation industry, became prize-winner of the Council of Ministers of the USSR (closed list) for implementing the world’s first conversion of powerful machines that produce strategic missiles.
And he lived the course of his life with modesty, without proclamations, just like his title “under secret list” full of various events, like he was
The economic crisis that broke out after Armenia became independent was very painful for the son of descendants of Van and Vaspourakan. Throughout that time he was in the midst of development hypotheses that could be applied while overcoming that crisis. Here is what Rafayel Haroutyunyan tells about his scientific quest, the findings of which were taken as a base for changing the economic course of the country:
NORA MELIKYAN
THE SUM OF INTERMEDIARY RESULTS
By Rafayel Haroutyunyan
Background
I cannot explain why but the more years are added to the wheel of my life, the deeper I am convinced that the Lord created and formed Armenian nation solely with the purpose of implementation important missions. I clearly remember the day when my colleagues from Lithuania visited Yerevan to understand the phenomenon of making it possible to publish “Ejmiatsin” magazine of the Holy See of Ejmiatsin, when publishing a magazine of the same kind was prohibited for the rest of Soviet Republics. The Lithuanians were even prohibited to even think about creating any periodicals of Catholic Church.
Many terrible earthquakes took place in the Soviet Union. We can just remember destructive earthquakes of Tashkent and Gazli, and suddenly the Air Defense forces of the country receive an order to allow any kind of flying object that rushes to help Armenia to land in Yerevan airport, and frontier troops were instructed not to create any obstacles. All of this was something never done and never seen, and that was an indicator of formation of new relationships for the ones who lived behind the “iron curtain”.
The entrance of the most powerful political party of Armenian Diaspora into Armenia should also be viewed as the continuation of this policy. This happened on a sunny Monday in February, 1989, when the founder of Armenian Scientific and Technical Laboratory Library Scientific and Research Institute, our beloved Director Leonard Sarukhanyan announced to his Deputy (the author of these lines) that “the Head of the State Planning Department called and ordered to go to hotel “Hrazdan” as soon as possible in order to take an active part in the discussion of economic reforms presented by the delegation of Dashnaktsutyun Party.
Sarukhanyan, on his part, added that I should be present at the discussion at any cost and ordered to record the discussion.
So did I, and until now I keep a small piece of tape with the recording as a precious souvenir.
There was one acting and one retired Lebanese ministers, two noted young businessmen from the US (who were Harvard graduates), and an expert in agriculture from Marseille.
The delegation was led by Karapet Armenyan, who was the Vice President of one of the largest companies, “Westinghouse”, at that time. I am the one who have had many opportunities to hear masterly delivered speeches by our noted men from Diaspora, but I was simply amazed by Armenyan’s beautiful and logical speech. The secret was uncovered at the end of the speech: Armenyan had declared that he took lessons of Armenian and life lessons from his teacher Simon Vratsyan. I beg your pardon if, in the course of time, I mix some details up, but the aim of my writing is an entirely different important fact, but before that I have to note that two persons did not leave the hall even for a minute. One of them was the head of the delegation, and the other one was the author of these lines.
During one week the heads of factories, academicians of the Academy of Sciences and leading specialists, as well as noted scientists from institutions of higher learning came together. Our internal industrial, agricultural, and scientific power was presented. The walls of hotel “Hrazdan” hosted almost manifestation slogans about our Jermuk, our molybdenum, our copper and our tuff.
In fact, 40-50 days after this discussion these topics were sounded at the Liberty square. As a result of discussions that took place at hotel “Hrazdan” (to which the author of these lines was present), and under the pressure of discussions and questions given to the speaker, Karapet Armenyan, the Head of the Dashnaktsutyun party delegation, just had to announce that “Currently as a result of our painstaking work we came to the conclusion that we had to give up the program of Economic Improvement of Republic of Armenia which was brought by us and return with a new program to the motherland needing our help.
A little more than 13 years have passed by, and during Diaspora-Armenia congress on May 27 I meet Karapet Armenyan again, I greeted him and recalled his speech.
To be honest I have to present the reader one more fact. If I am not mistaken, in 1998, when the friend of my son had invited me to lecture on previous and present state of industrial situation of Republic of Armenia in the frames of Armenia Youth Meeting organized by Dashnaktsutyun Party on Lake Sevan. The author of this project was the daughter of Karapet Armenyan.
I had the honor to be invited to the initial meeting of organizers. It was here when those catch-words: “From now on Armenia will neither stay without us, nor we will stay without it” were pronounced, outlining the necessity to make them the preface of Diaspora-Armenia relationship. These are wise and simple words sounding from the heart from each Armenian.
Collective Intellect
If I share my thought with my dear reader and say that the game of adults will save the country, I might not be considered a mature person. Though the reality is different, and it is worth to let our youth know about the past.
It was the spring of 1991, and, as ordinary Armenian would say, there was nothing in Armenia to be proud of. That time resembled the days of foundation of the State of Israel, when the future citizens of Israel were fighting with guns in their hands for independence from England, and Joseph Stalin was supporting the formation of the State of Israel in various secret ways (by immigration of high-ranked Jewish officers of the Soviet Army to Israel, by secret supply of arms from Czechoslovakia, the famous “Uzi” gun is originally coming form Zbroyovka of Brno).
At that time, namely in spring of 1991, Babken Vardanyan has reappeared in Armenia; he was the one who was suppressed for his nationalistic views, i.e. he was a dissident. The ones who in Soviet times were patient enough to listen to the Voice of America radio through the noise of radio frequency interferences every morning and every night, they were listening to Babken Vardanyan’s inspiring voice. Babken Vardanyan was at the same time the Director of Armenian programs.
It was Babken Vardanyan’s initiative to organize creative games in the second part of May of 1991 in the House of Creative Works of Writers in Tsaghkadzor.
The word “creative” has an English origin, and I would not like to replace it here with an Armenian equivalent, and I would like the ones who support the purity of the language not to neglect this word.
During these games the intellectuals gathered there have spent 4 or 5 unforgettable days, and I think that they should be still under the impression of these days’ events. I would like to remind the reader that the ones who dealt with inventions must remember Altschuler, an inventor from Baku. He is the one who developed a special methodology called “brain storming”. The same was done in Tsaghkadzor in the form of a game. The present were divided into 4 or 5 groups, and each of the groups had its own game technician. I still remember two of the game technicians: David Hovhannisyan and Aharon Adibekyan.
The purpose of the game (according to the task given to the subgroup) was to play a collective game and push forward the ones whose task was more urgent. Let the participants of the game excuse me if my further narration is not fully acceptable for them.
The task of the group I participated in was to clarify the situation in which Armenia will find itself in case Russia remains communist and we build democratic society, and when, in fact, independent Russia would forget about Armenia because of being busy with its problems. By the end of the day I suggested the principle of tandem bicycle to be applied to Armenia. The principle is very simple. Having lost their independence, Armenia and Armenians for the past thousand years had always been the second (rear) bicycler of a tandem bicycle of some powerful state, and they had always had the impression that they can turn the handle bar wherever they want to, when, in reality, they could not turn it. As the rear wheel has a built-in joining chain, it is natural that it does not matter whether the rear bicycler steers the peddles or he does not; the front bicycler has enough power to drive the bicycle at the speed he wants. The time came when independent, but still communist Russia did not want to give Armenia the role of its rear bicycler. Just to remind, it was the time when Armenian planes were not fuelled in Vnukovo airport and in many cases the pilots did not even leave the plane.
During this meeting when tandem idea had been presented, there were many concrete questions, namely the main question was “Whose tandem should Armenia join?” Participants of the meeting began to name many countries giving preference to the countries that had large Armenian Diaspora. When there were no more new suggestions, I announced the country. The country I named was China. Exactly 12 days after this event the delegation of the Government of Armenia headed by the Prime Minister Gagik Haroutyunyan departed to China and came back with a very far-sighted and rather thorough agreement. After these games game technician David Hovhannisyan was invited to take up diplomatic job and for many years he was the head of the Armenian diplomatic mission at Syrian Arab Republic.
The whole world now knows that Armenia was the first among NIS that implemented land privatization. Despite land privatization was implemented using brute and barbarian methods, and villagers immediately appeared in the Middle Ages with the few tractors and combine harvesters they had in their possession. These were the results of prompt actions. Let us just mention that “brilliant” decision of the Armenian Parliament of the first convocation that obliged the farmers to cultivate the same crop for five years. This is another peculiarity of our collective mind, this one carrying negative shading.
Let’s get back to our creative games in Tsaghkadzor. Armenia was going through dangerous times; the whole nation was expecting kamikazes to do their duty. Some of the participants of the game thought that there should be some kind of Noah for the whole nation that would collect the chosen representatives of the Armenian nation and take them to a far away country (e.g. Argentina), like Noubar pasha, who created Ayntchar, was for Mousa-ler (Mount of Moses) survivals. It was not mentioned during the game, but the historical fact is that Garegin Nzhdeh saved Armenian intellectuals from the judges of the victorious Eleventh Soviet Army by taking them to Persia. Some of them later returned to Armenia, and some of them disseminated throughout the world.
In fact, the game was giving birth to this opinion, and it would probably become winning if I did not ask to speak out, and I said what I was going to say directly, without keeping the rules of the game:
- Please tell me who kept the treasures of Matenadaran for us, those manuscripts that are the treasure pearls of our nation?
Most of the present asked in fear:
- Wasn’t that clergy?
One of them even said:
Clergymen?
My answer was that in case we save them we will also save our spiritual leaders; the ones that should be saved are villagers.
The reasoning was that every clergyman creating his manuscripts in his cell in the monastery had to get at least a piece of bread, a drink of milk and an egg from a simple villager: Let us save our peasants.
The brilliant implementation of that idea was made possible due to our statesmen who ruled the country at that time. Even now this slogan is up-to-date and real. Remember that peasants are the basis for strong state and are among main factors of saving the nation. The lost industrial capacity is possible to reconstruct over the time, ruined cities will be built up. In case peasants are gone no guest workers would be able to replace them.
This action together with numerous help to the country from abroad was able to save Armenia from hunger.
After land privatization the houses and warehouses of our villagers were full with the products of uneven distribution and, at times, of unveiled robbery. However, everything has its end, and these stocks were spent in the course of a year or two. Currently a villager’s family should put heroic effort to support its living, and the surviving ones are the ones that adopt our traditional lifestyle of a villager. It is worth saying «thank you» to American government agencies that were and are implementing the projects on creation and proliferation of Armenian agribusiness, due to which the cells of small and medium business are created in the regions of our country. EU has already joined this work. I was very delighted to find out that they gave a high appraisal for the potential of our agricultural science, and do their best to support our Agricultural Academy and its library. It is practically impossible to give a detailed description of this issue in one article.
Armenian Business
In June or July of the same 1991, the founder of “Ikar” cooperative Chilingaryan also decided to sponsor creative games that should take in the same place: the House of Creative Works of Writers in Tsaghkadzor. The sponsor asked the participants to answer basically one question: What is the image of Armenian business, and what an Armenian businessman is expected to do at this decisive moment?
I can assure you that I have never heard such a great amount of lectures on ethic that had a form of a game. The overwhelming opinion was that an Armenian businessman has to give one third of his profit to the Church and for charity on his own free will, and third should go to his family, and the rest should be re-invested into the business.
The ones who suggested that scheme said that Armenian businessmen (mostly merchants) who worked in Turkey acted just like that.
At that time the participants of the game were aware of multiple facts when Armenian businessmen from all parts of the world were collecting funds to support their motherland, first in 1988, and then to cover multimillion needs of Artsakh struggle for survival.
If we try to follow these trends in the process of national priorities identification, we will be disoriented at once. This time again, an image that was suggested at the very end of the game has changed the conclusion at once. A picture of a balloon was suggested:
The gas within the cover of the balloon is the assets of the private company, its financial and human resources. The ropes that attach the basket to the gas-containing cover are the position and the opportunities the company has within the state and the society, and the basket represents the goals for achieving profit. Please pay attention to the flying object: it is a balloon, and not a dirigible, so it has no engine and cannot rule its course, so it fully depends on the will of the fortune and winds, i.e. the blow of the wind determines the direction of the balloon. If the business finds out that the highest profit can be gained by selling Snickers in a specified region, it imports Snickers by plane, and in case cigarettes become more profitable, business will not care if half of the nation gets lung cancer and dies. They will just write that smoking is dangerous for health, and will import cigarettes by “Ruslan” plane, as it has the highest capacity and can carry 110 tons of goods.
The same story is for vodka. Mounts are drawn beneath the balloon. In case the balloon flies over the lowlands of the European part of Russia, it just has to go as high as 700 meters above the sea level, and will cover the air trip without even hitting Zhigulev Mounts. In order to fly with no problems in Armenia, one has to go as high as 4550 meters. Mounts represent tax regulation.
I compared the mounts of Russia and Armenia on purpose, as almost the same proportion exists between the tax regulations of two countries. In this case we should not be surprised when our businessmen move their business out of Armenia. We can just mention the clan nature of Armenian business. This topic cannot become the subject of this narration.
Coming back to the creative games of Tsaghkadzor I should mention that in two months after closing it Mr. Chilingaryan, a rather successful businessman gathered all his belongings and went to Turkmenistan. Unfortunately there was no chance to further track his fate.
Adherents of Armenian Capitalism Construction
On June 6, 1991, the former State Planning Agency was reorganized into the Ministry of Economy with Hrant Bagratyan appointed as Minister. Our Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of Armenia was given to Ashot Safaryan and was now under the Directorate of Science jurisdiction where a wonderful person worked (currently this person is a prominent professor of Mathematics in one of the best universities of Spain, and at the same time this person is the Doctor of Science of the USSR). Instead of our former Director, who died unexpectedly, current Director Marat Edliyan was appointed. He called and said that the late Mihran Gevorgyan organized discussion of the program of social and economic development of Armenia. The Director of our Institute had also been invited, and he wanted that I participate too. I made a short pause and said that I do not specialize in Economics. My boss mentioned, too, that in current conditions it is hard to mention any discussion to be lead properly in conditions when the leaders have no leadership experience and it’s difficult to say in what field of science the Ministry’s “experts” specialize. When we got to the building of the Ministry and took our seats in the conference hall, Bagratyan opened the meeting and presented the agenda. The speaker, Mihran Gevorgyan, was the one who was appointed to the position of Director in Soviet times, right after Moushegh Adonts. He opened the meeting and, without mentioning anything from the topic of the meeting, he considered it important to tell Bagratyan that together with experts in Economics that are present in the hall, Edilyan’s Deputy, who is not and Economist, also takes part in the meeting. My first reaction was to stand up and leave, but Edilyan caught my hand, and Bagratyan announced that this does not create any obstacles for the discussion.
On the 5th or 6th minute of program presentation I realized that our respected colleague worked on the plan for development of Armenia until 2001 that was being developed in the former Institute of Economy of the State Planning Agency. The political system has changed, but leadership of the State Planning Committee remained the same, and our respected economists decided not to waste what they had created before, and made up their mind to present it. Our respected Minister was well aware of it, as he presented his doctoral thesis at the Institute of Economy of the National Academy of Sciences. At that time there was some competition between the two institutes.
The people present in the hall were actively discussing separate parts of the program. An especially hot discussion evolved around the problem of energy sector development. At that time the press was disseminating propaganda that increasing the capacity of the energy sector was an unnecessary waste of resources, but experts in demographics pointed out that there is an expectation for an increase in energy demand connected to sharp increase in life standards for the past ten years. About 2 hours were spent in such discussions, and when there was no one else to speak out or ask questions I dared to let me make my speech. Bagratyan said that I could speak and asked me to introduce myself. After having introduced myself I announced in a news broadcast voice:
- What development are you talking about? We will be facing a deep economic crisis.
Here Gevorgyan couldn’t help saying:
- Didn’t I tell you that Harutyunyan is not an economist?
Bagratyan asked me rather firmly:
- Could you please present your opinion in details?
- My deep conviction is that we will be facing a deep crisis that will continue up until the end of 1995, which will be followed by a period of stability the duration of which will depend on the activity of the Government and it will continue until 2002 or 2004, and, in its turn, it will be followed by the integration into the world economy.
In the evening of June 12, 1991, the Minster of Economy Mr. Hrant Bagratyan appeared in the evening news and announced exactly what I said to the whole country and to the world. I can say that Armenia is the only one of the former Soviet republics that made such a realistic announcement.
Do you remember the placards posted on the walls of production facilities in Soviet times, the ones with the slogans of that time:
- The present generation will live at Communism,
- Achievements of the socialist society,
- Life standards of developed socialist society.
Now imagine that on the walls of a Coca-Cola factory there is a placard posted that says, “Long live the leaders of capitalist society building!”
We were ashamed to announce that we were building capitalist society in Armenia. If our friend Samuelson’s economy textbook wasn’t mentioned in the school textbooks, you wouldn’t be able to find even the traces of capitalism there.
This reminds me of our behavior of the 70-s, the shame to do any practical thing in terms of delivering sexual education to senior classes at the secondary schools.
We built up capitalist society without educating and informing large masses of the society, without explaining the opportunities that capitalism brings to various age groups. I can draw another parallel. We were very proud when we found out that we are going to join the European Union, although 98% of the population of Armenia does not know what it means. Recently, when I went for a business trip to Poland, I had to stay on business in Moscow for a couple of days, and I was surprised at the programs of just created Euro news 24-hour channel. This is the way in which educational work should be organized, and this work is being done by financial support of the European Union.
In our society the orientation and search for the national prerogatives in mass media is done in a very peculiar way. After closing A+ TV station this vacuum is filled by Russian channel called “Culture”. If we used this method without being afraid of appearing illiterate in the minds of the readers, I think that before creating Armenian Euro news the people should watch Russian Euro news to increase their awareness.
Let us now turn to Armenia-Diaspora meeting, its program and results.
I have sent my bewilderment with Vardan Oskanyan’s efforts by e-mail immediately to him. I mentioned that after a thousand year of non-existence Armenian diplomatic service has been restored. This is one of our biggest achievements for the past several years.
To my deepest belief the main topics for discussion at this kind of gatherings should be national culture, Armenian Science, history of Armenia, Armenian lexicology, educational system that supports the development of Armenian language, and protection of historical monuments.
Now let me talk about Armenian entrepreneurship and investments.
We have discussed Armenian entrepreneurship above, now we just have to clarify what can be expected in terms of investment.
Two years ago in Russia a brilliant book called “Why Russia is not America” was published. This book proves that in the current world order and globalization the main role for production center of the world is give to South-Eastern Asia, as it is possible to get the highest profit at minimum capital investments.
For the past 10 years investments into Russia made around 7-8 billion US dollars, at the same time around 80 bullion dollars were moved out from the country. At the same time around 39 billion dollars were invested into Vietnam Socialist Republic, a country that would not be the subject of special sympathies for American investors. In the same Vietnam one barrel of oil extracted from the sea-shelf costs less than $3, and in Tumen the cost of extracting one barrel of oil would exceed $14.
If we produce any industrial goods here in Armenia, they should be competitive and made for export.
After having realized that it is just necessary to confess that investment policy really had success stories.
However, how is it possible to explain the phenomenon when, on one hand, the volume of investments into the country increases, and there are still long lines at the doors and windows of the consulates of developed countries?
Even in case some economist referred to this question, he certainly would have not found any answers. One obvious thing is that increase in the volumes of investments does not depend on the increase of the number of jobs.
For example, let us review the Coca-Cola Company. As currently all companies are closed, I will be guided by assumptions, but basing on assumptions will not hurt the central idea. Suppose the number of production employees, distributors and administrative staff is about 70.
If there was such a powerful production facility in Soviet times, there would be around 350-400 employees, i.e. about 5-5.5 times more.
Now let us convince our newly made capitalist to hire 350-400 employees and start the operation of the same company. According to the uncompromising law of capitalism the cost of his production will drastically increase, the products will not be competitive, the company will lose ability to make profit, and one bright day it will simply go bankrupt.
This production facility will be bought by some other person, who will redesign technological capacity, and will produce the same quantity and quality products using just 50 employees. He will employ just 50 first of all to cover his capital expenses, pay off the debts, and enter the field of stable market relations.
Having realized this simple truth, I would like to ask the reader the following question:
- Is investment a nation-wide business?
Let the experts in business (and their hands are not tied), meet two times a year instead of meeting once in 2 years, Let them discuss their issues. But I am deeply convinced that they’d better pay national debt. Let them earn super-profits outside of the country, but build a school, a kindergarten, or support a library in Armenia on these super-profits.
?he tough critique addressed to the Prime Minister Margaryan by the parliament member Ashot Manucharyan is still well remembered:
-You were supposed to devise a program to support the economy in the conditions of blockade, but you didn't do succeed.
In fact this was a highly disputed issue. In the atmosphere of uncertainty almost every Armenian was thinking about that, I was also thinking it over. With every plane coming in Armenia people were hoping that the plane brought some drugs and food. This situation was not new to Armenia: for centuries Armenians lived in conditions of blockade in Sassoon, Mush, Kars and over regions without access to sea and other transport routes. The Armenian population maintained its existence due to natural resources, which enabled them to pay for clothes, tools and luxury goods that were delivered by trade caravans.
So there is no need to get depressed, the golden key should be found which will open the door for the nation's survival.
An interesting extract from an analytic review attracted my attention. It turned out that during Soviet times almost 25% of the republic's GDP was provided by 15000 employees. To maintain their work 4 consists were employed to supply necessary resources, tools and equipment; to deliver the final produce almost 20-25 «KamAz» trucks were used.
Let's list these industries that comprise the backbone sectors of the economy:
1. Processing of natural diamonds.
2. Artificial Diamond synthesis
3. Production of instruments from natural and artificial diamonds.
4. Synthesis of technical stones.
5. Final processing of natural/artificial and precious/semi-precious stones.
6. Equipment production from technical stones.
7. Processing of technical stones for jewelry production.
Here is the picture of the backbone sectors of the economy.
This thesis was published twice: once by the “Hayk” enterprise in the framework of the program N 7 and during the session organized by Grant Bagratyan in the fall of 1991. This fact was filed in the briefs of both sessions.
The next counsel was held in the cabinet of Minister Grant Bagratyan. The issue to be discussed was one of the loans to be extended to Armenia. The best economists were present at the meeting, I was also invited. The discussion was hot. Suddenly rang one of the phones. Bagratyan took the phone and with grim face addressed to the people present in the room:
-They informed me that the reserves of the fuel oil at the Yerevan electric station are sufficient for only 48 hours. Could you give me some advice?
The tense silence came. For the gathered people the switch from discussion about the ways of loan usage to the news about the looming catastrophe was so unexpected, that they couldn't utter a word.
Bagratyan answered to the people from ArmEnergo that it was impossible to make a fast decision and he would call back in some minutes.
This is how the energy crisis started. Some grim minutes of silence passed and Bagratyan appealed to the present people:
-We should decide what to do. Suggestions, please.
Silence. When it was clear that no one has any suggestions I proposed to cut off general consumers from electricity and supply instead hospitals and bakeries, until we import the fuel oil. This way of electricity allocation was subsequently called the supply of electricity to vital units.
Our suffered people and economy of the republic entered a stage that was called subsequently «fan disconnections of electricity». At that time my wife was working at the jewelry plant. One day she came from the work and told me that the Europeans didn't understand anything about the Armenian economy. New equipment with complex software operating system was bought for the jewelry plant, the installation procedures were in process. The plant workers somehow communicated with the Swiss expert. That man complained about his hotel accommodations there the electricity wasn't constant and, overall, the living conditions were not normal. The poor man couldn’t understand that in Armenia the constant electricity was available only for the most vital enterprises and for some people who could unlawfully get connected to these enterprises. This man had lived in Yerevan for two weeks and left for his homeland without any understanding of the situation in which Armenia lived at that time.
Our young and inexperienced governmental officials were in hot disputes, determining the enterprises to which the priority of supplying electricity should be given. During one of the discusions in the cabinet of Ashot Safaryan,Deputy Minister of the Industry, I suggested to supply electricity to the backbone sectors of the ecomony.
Unfortunately many mistakes have been commited. In that very winter the «Almast» factory didn't get any energy and all the oil for transformers had been stolen from the factory.
One year passed. When I was in the Ministry of Industry I met some people and some of them asked me:
- You consider yourself as an outstanding theoretician and create problems for us.Come and estimate yourself how to allocate scarce electricity.This is the department that is engaged in this problem.
At first I was surprised to find out that their salaries were 3 times higher than mine. With a smile I agreed to do their job but only if each one of them paid me salary equal to the one I received at that time.
Psychological parachute
Never in my life have I seen so many depressed and hopeless people as I saw in the winters of 1991/92 and 1992/93. Some people were in deep depression, in daytime they were waiting with fear for the dark evening; there were even people that faced the hardships with humor. One of them was Marat Tshughuryan, chief editor of «Science and technology» journal: he used to tell that he had found a way of making soup with the help of only three candles. I remembered my childhood during the wartime when we, the children, without understanding anything were attentively listening to the news about military activities in fronts. Our parents didn't ever think about the quantity of wagons or food that was coming to the railway station. They knew for sure they could go to a shop and get what they needed by the coupon.
This was similar to what we faced in 91/92 and 92/93. In Yerevan, with its one million populations, people watched TV news about blown up gas pipe-line in Marneuli and guessed how many days it would take to repair the pipe-lines.
It was at this time when I devised a program called « psychological parachute» which would alleviate the difficulties faced by people at that time. According to the program each family which didn't have an opportunity to benefit from the land privatization, was to be given 30 liters of kerosene per month, one small kerosene stove to prepare food and one big heater.
I was able to support my family at that time; additionally, asked my relative that lived in America to send us 3 warm sleeping bags. Here is the picture of the «psychological parachute»
Psychological parachute for an urban family.
In January 23, 1992, the pipe line that supplied gas to Armenia was blown up. Late in the night Babken Vardanian called me from Washington and said:
- Dear Rafik, the situation in Armenia is catastrophic. I am calling to all active members of «Hayk» enterprise and ask each one of them to prepare two proposals. In two days I will call back again. Please, prepare your suggestions.
As I had already devised the program the time was very appropriate for me to respond.
When Babken Vardanian called me in two days I presented my proposals.
- 1.)Every family living in urban areas should be supplied with 30-40 liters of kerosene and one Fujika kerosene stove.2.) It would be good if Armenia joins NATO.
To the joy of Armenian population, the bitterly needed aid soon came from the United States; it was kerosene and Kerosene stoves. Unfortunately, our governmental officials distributed 6000 kerosene stoves out of total 10000 to the families living in the country regions, instead of distributing to the families living in cities. I repeat once more that people in the countryside were in much better conditions than whose living in cities.
During the first shipment the US government supplied about 40000 tons of kerosene.
During my lifetime this was the second time when I felt the «warmth» of charity of the far “uncle Sam”. The first time was in 1942-45, when we received the “Roosevelt egg powder”, ?ir-tight meat, whose taste resembles the one of today's Armenian manufacturers, and milk with splendid taste.
Information technologies.
To tell the truth, in this field I don't consider myself an expert, though today I earn my living by working in the sphere of information technologies. The success of IT in Armenia has three reasons, though at first this might seem strange:
1.) The severe blockade by neighboring Azerbaijan compelled Armenia to engage in IT sector.
2.) The timely monopoly granted to Armentel Telecommunications Company.
3.) The heavy tax burden and the favorable conditions for businesses owned by governmental officials.
Many successful companies in the world made fortune in the sphere of information technologies.
It is worth to be noted that in Israel 36 billion dollars of yearly income is generated in the IT sector; in Russia- 33 billion dollars; in India –over 420 billion.
Currently there are more than 100 IT companies, which further strengthen business ties with their US and South Korean counterparts.
Armenian IT companies are specialized mainly in processing of topographic micro chips and related products. The establishment of Yerevan technopark is a bright example of success in this field; currently there are plans to establish a similar technopartk in the city of Gyumri.
Today the Armenian youth have an opportunity to earn a steady income of about 400-800 dollars per month working in IT companies.There are even programmers that are ready to forgo 4000-6000 US dollars income they could earn in US for the sake of coming to Armenia because most of the income they earn in US is spent on different bills. I would be glad to add IT sector as the 8th part to my theory of backbone economy.
