Haytoug Talks

Part 1 of our second series on Artsakh features Gev Iskajyan, ANCA's National Grassroots Director and former Director of ANC Artsakh. Gev, who lived through the blockade and the ethnic cleansing of Artsakh’s Armenian population, shares his firsthand experiences of these tragic events. In this episode, we explore the resilience of the Armenian people, the challenges they’ve faced, and the ongoing struggle for justice.

How many diasporans have repatriated to Artsakh since the war in 2020? The answer is not many, but we intend to share with you the stories of some of the few that have.

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Shant Charshafjian moved with his family to Martuni, Artsakh, building community and working on various development projects; Blue Kalamian documented the aftermath of the war in 2020 in a film called “Dust Never Settled”, prompting his repatriation to the homeland; Hagop Ipdjian help found Artsakh Support Body, and now lives in Stepanakert, Artsakh working for the State Minister Artak Beglaryan as his Humanitarian Aid Advisor; Gev Iskajyan lives in Stepanakert, Artsakh representing the Armenian National Committee of Artsakh office. To check out their work follow the link here: https://HaytougTalks.contactin.bio. If you are interested in connecting with any of them personally, feel free to reach out to Haytoug Talks on social media.

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Music: Legend of the Mountains by Armen Yenovk Ghazarian

Armenian wine played a foundational role in the history of wine. Since ancient days Armenia has been famous for its wine-making traditions which are still kept in practice to this day. The fertile valleys of the Armenian Highlands are believed by many archaeologists to be the source of the world's first cultivated grapevines and neolithic wine production. Greg Nemet, an Armenian-American winemaker at Kareen Wine shares with us the story of Armenia’s winemaking origins, and its journey to the modern age. We discuss the blossoming Armenian wine industry in the Republic of Armenia, and the potential it holds to rival the iconic wines of the world. 

If you speak Western Armenian, you most likely speak the standardized Western Armenian language. This was not the case for the majority of Western Armenian history, as the process for creating a universally spoken and written Western Armenian for all Armenians in the Ottoman Empire only began to develop between the 18-19th centuries. In the final part of our Western Armenia series, we discuss with Jennifer Manoukian, a doctoral student in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures at UCLA; who, why, and how Standard Western Armenian was made.

Hampig Sassounian was one of those who participated in a movement of targeted violence towards the Turkish state in the 70s & 80s; whose actions in Los Angeles made his name widely known in our community, and the greater diaspora. Resulting in him facing nearly a 40 year sentence in a California state prison. We wanted to get to know Hampig and to learn about his story and his plans moving forward, who after prison has now moved to Armenia, to start his life anew in the homeland.

We ask 5 Los Angeles based Armenian-American artists what their favorite Armenian song is.

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Tro Krikorian

Lara Sarkissian

Darone Sassounian

Krista Marina

Raffi Semerdjian

While traveling through Anatolia, a travel blogger who goes by Avara, stumbles upon the surviving legacy of the Armenian civilization. His curiosity quickly became fascination, as it led him to return and explore the ruins of Western Armenia a number of times since. Over the past few years, he has been documenting and sharing with the world through social media the remnants of our physical heritage, and the people he met along the way. In Part 3 of our Western Armenia Series, we interview Avara, to learn about his experience, and to hear about our lost homeland through the lens of an “Odar” (Non-Armenian).

One of the first things one will notice when visiting the Republic of Armenia, are the abundant amount of stray dogs. For Armenian-Americans, who come from a society where pets are basically worshiped, it is odd to experience a cultural attitude towards dogs that does not obsess over “man’s best friend”. Taking care of the stray dog population has been a challenge for a developing country like Armenia. Having an overwhelming stray population is not just an issue for the dogs themselves however, but is also a public health issue. Nairi Krafian, a specialist in animal science and biopsychology, founded an organization called Oknooshoon in 2017, which is the first initiative in the country to introduce therapy dogs to the Republic. The goal of which is to help shape a new understanding of what dogs have to offer the people, by training stray dogs for Canine Assisted Intervention (CAI) to assist vulnerable populations. Listen to our latest episode, where we discuss with Nairi all about the dogs of Armenia, and Oknooshoon’s challenges and hopes in redefining the perception and value of dogs in Armenian culture and society.

Science was supposed to be Armenia’s strength, its competitive advantage; a reputation that was inherited from its days in the Soviet Union. Today, we often hear Armenia regarded as the “Silicon Valley of the Caucasus”, as IT begins to develop rapidly in this small post-soviet state. However, while discussing with Tigran Shahverdyan, a scientist who specializes in autonomous systems, space exploration and robotics, about the current state of science and tech and all its dimensions, we gain a much needed perspective and update on the reality of these industries in Armenia. Learn about what Armenians need to do as a country and diaspora in today’s episode in regards to science and technology, and how they can contribute to a successful and sovereign Armenia.

Faith, power, and the relationship between church and identity. In the second part of our Western Armenia Series, we sit down with Daniel Ohanian, PhD candidate at UCLA. We explore the encounters between Western Armenians and Catholicism at the turn of the 18th century, discussing how and why some Armenians became Catholic and the reactions they received for doing so. Along the way, we meet two notable men: Abbot Mkhitar of Sepastia, who had a profound impact on Western Armenian identity up until today, and Avedik Vartabed of Tokat, who spent five years as a prisoner in France.