The dark years: Armenia in the early 90s

In the history of Armenia was a different era, but one of them stands out. Despite the short historical duration of 3-4 years, she left such a profound mark that the lives of several generations of Armenians have been divided into "before" and "after". The years from 1992 to 1995 called "the hunger", "cold", "bad". But the most common and comprehensive name — "dark"...

Say in the presence of any resident of Yerevan this phrase — "dark years" and you will see how it will disappear for a moment, the smile and the face will run a dark shadow. And there is why. In these few years — from 1992 to 1995, Armenia has experienced unseen Apocalypse within a given small country, the agony in which he broke with his previous life. But then it seemed life in General...

Electricity

Domestic appliances suddenly lost all meaning and became furniture. A product of the strategic importance of steel paraffin candles and kerosene lamps, but the latter had somewhere else to purchase (after all, the end of the XX century in the yard!), and get a liter of kerosene or diesel fuel was business is not easy and not cheap. One of the inventions of the year — "kerosene torch" — a tiny (50 ml) flask from under baby food, in which was poured a bit of diesel through the hole in the lid shoved a tiny wick. The protruding end of the wick was covered with a piece of glass tube with a length of 5-6 cm were used for this burned-out fluorescent lighting.

Light from a "torch" was less than from the match, but it burned long and allowed to at least move around the apartment without the risk of tripping and falling. Armenia 1990s, fell into paganism, and worshiped the light. Still remember in the moment of switching on electricity the whole neighborhood resounded with joyful children's cries: "Hurrah! Light gave!!!"... And an hour again in total darkness for another 23 hours. The only exception is on New year's — two days in the houses burned bulbs, worked as televisions and heaters. Another exception is when people died. On this day, this building is not turned off the light. Yerevan anecdote 1993: "We need the light of tomorrow, can we borrow your dead for the day?"

Lesson in an unheated school

Car owners have found their solution to the "dark problem" — moved to flat batteries and cars, to join them for thin wires, hung a tiny 12-volt bulbs at strategic points of the apartment — bathroom, toilet, living room. And during the holidays on "dead" the chandelier hung a whole garland of light bulbs. Electronics of Armenia in primitive conditions collected numerous modifications of the chargers for the hour when there is electricity, a car battery had time to charge at home.

Timid attempts of men to see anything else strongly suppressed women, of which screens were the overwhelming majority: "the Battery will soon be discharged, it is necessary to know the continuation!" Those who were lucky enough to watch the next series, retold it to friends, deprived of this opportunity. American authors of the series, without realizing it, has created for the dark and Armenia some temporary axis in the "dark years" in this prolonged "Groundhog day" running time felt only because of the primitive intrigue between the characters of the TV series. But the batteries, "left light", and especially the engines on gasoline was available only to a few. Most of the population of Armenia lived for those endless 3 years in darkness.

Due to the lack of electricity and gas came to the fore and another problem is the cooking. What to cook? The people rushed to get the wood stove and kerosene stove (small camping device that runs on kerosene or diesel fuel).

Cold

In ice cold homes began to die lonely old men... the Cold has become a real threat to human life, and deal with it in such conditions could only fire. How to make fire in the usual Yerevan apartment?

As humanitarian aid particularly needy segments of the population have sometimes been a bit of kerosene, but it was enough only for refilling the kerosene stove, which is not particularly warm. The other two had only one choice — a wood-burning stove. Get in a modern city such a stove was not easy, and to ensure its fuel is almost impossible, because the wood for half million cities no one has stocked. And the stove began to burn Yerevan...

But even the mass destruction of books and trees are not able to provide continuous fire stoves. Have you tried to sleep at home when the air temperature is 0 degrees? To go to bed, I had to... dress warmly. Three layers of clothing, hat, a few pairs of socks, plenty of blankets — so was going to sleep in Yerevan. Not sometimes, not occasionally, but daily, for 3-4 months of the year. Warm evening, the water was poured into bottles, which as of the heating pads were laid over in bed. In the morning the same water washed water "photodiary" the temperature was nicer than ice-cold from the tap. The word "swim" was to belong to a rare solemn rites, which prepared long and calculating.

Bread

Ration cards and the number to the bread lines

Another "lifeline" were relatives living in Russia and neighboring countries, by hook or by crook ferrying your loved ones money and a small (due to problems with flights) food parcels.

Communication

Rare the buses were hung with bunches of passengers and resembled a sinking ship. Some trolleybuses have made timid attempts to leave on a route, but inevitably would stand for hours during blackouts. But in Yerevan with its big elevation changes and from these frozen ghosts of civilization have been good — if you push the trolley to the nearest descent, you can, jumping into it, at idle to drive as much as 3-4 stops. Of course, without stopping. Then — again on foot. And walked 10-15 kilometers.

The typical picture of the time — a long line of people wandering along the desert highway. I walked to work, to visit (of course!). The car for a while again became a luxury. And in the evening hours for pedestrians attacked by a huge pack of stray dogs — the famine brought them. Rightful owners in the city of steel rats multiplied in large numbers. Now, years later, it is difficult to understand — what do they eat?

But even in such terrible conditions was clearly shown a strong Armenian national traits — the desire to communicate, sense of humor, and mutual support. In the icy dark apartments neighbors gathered together to pass long evenings of endless parties in backgammon and retelling the latest news. Had lunch, read, went to war, raised children, joked, sang songs and even danced...

People can endure a lot. And the Armenians survived. However, not all. Since 1992, a mass Exodus from the country — people left anywhere, anywhere in the world, just to survive, but would not freeze, only children and old people were in humane conditions. And to blame them in this difficult... Aircraft, air travellers departing from Yerevan, resembled a crowded trolley — flew standing up. The cost of one-bedroom apartments in the center of Yerevan was then not more than a couple of thousand dollars, many still remember the announcement on the Windows and balconies of the buildings: "I have an apartment in the ticket". For the "dark years" three million in Armenia, according to various estimates, has left more than a million people. Yerevan literally empty.

Looking at today's Yerevan, on the townspeople, it's hard to believe that many of them have been together all of this — cold, hunger and darkness. The nightmare was in the past, which today no one likes to remember. But hundreds of thousands of felled trees resemble hundreds of thousands of emigrants. They went together — the trees and the people. Not know. And roots. So — life goes on.

Text: Eduard Annan / Photo: Photolure