Rethinking postindustrial towns

Karlen Avetisyan, former senior metrologist at “Chapich” factory, says his collection of materials on the history of Armenian radio technologies is for the generations to come. Metrologist Avetisyan proudly points out that the enterprise has produced 78 types of equipment in 28 years of operation; he says he has participated in the documentation of all 78 inventions for the documents would have never been issued without an approval by a metrologist.

Employees at “Chapich” were given apartments, and there were several smoothly operating commute lines for those from Yerevan. “It was an enterprise of an all-union importance. How else would I manage to go to Lvyv or Odessa? The opera theaters in Odessa and Lvyv are the second and third best after La Scala. I was sent to Odessa for a three month course. We have grown owing to the enterprise,” Avetisyan recalls, adding there were some 370 people working at the enterprise. Many of those who used to work there later left country for Russia and the US, he remembers with regret in his voice.

Historian Zhirair Sevoyan has been the person behind the Museum of Science and Technology, which opened in Yerevan in 2008. The exhibits include radio-electronic equipment and scientific devices produced in the Soviet Armenia.

“There are several items from ‘Chapich’ factory, which were intended for stable electricity supply. Those were high precision devices and were very reliable, and are still on high demand. In 1990s, when there were problems of electricity, people would use those devices to generate power. The 12-volt car battery was used to produce 220 volts of reliable electricity,” Sevoyan says.

He says the exhibition represents only the minor part of the industry in Armenia, and that many types of products were intended for military purposes, and, therefore, cannot be exposed to general public. “Believe me Armenia would be among the most advanced countries in terms of technological development if the union didn’t collapse.”

“We used to have equipment with their samples located in the US. We have museum tours for schoolchildren, which is much inspiration for the young people. We hope this will inspire them to develop all that they see here,” the founder of the museum says.

Zepyur Shahumyan, 61, has worked at the enterprise for 18 years. She gets nostalgic recalling her years at the factory. She met her future husband at the factory, too. The enterprise had provided them with apartment, where her family lives today. After the closure of the factory, Zepyur and her husband lost their jobs. Today Zepyur runs a small drugstore next to the building her family lives in, to make the ends meet.

Architect Hayk Zalibekyan, who has repatriated from Moscow, works on the revival of his childhood town. He shows the reconstruction design for Hrazdan’s central park: he says with the new design of the park every resident of the town will find a cozy corner for oneself.

“Hrazdan used to be a lively, big, powerful and interesting town offering everything one might need for a dynamic development. None of those responsible for the town in the last 25-30 years has asked a question about what is the reason Hrazdan is on the map?” asks the architect and shares his vision for the town’s future. Zalibekyan shows the town’s central square revival design including the public spaces.

“Everything is taken into consideration: the environment, the people, living here, the development potential, which are envisioned after the reconstruction. Of course, one can shape a territory following all the rules, but that does not guarantee you success and popularity of a place. This territory’s advantage is that, despite it is deserted and does not look properly, it is still the locals’ favorite place; that’s because they have no other place to go,” he says.

According to the design plan the park will be divided into parts to encompass the interests of people in all age groups. “The park will include skateboarding and figure skating areas to recreation areas for seniors to play backgammon and chess, as well as a stage for organization of concerts. One of the ways to develop any town is to have regular cultural events. There are seven areas, each of which has its own purpose; besides, we plan more green areas and trees,” the young architect shares about the future square. He believes, in case of success, the project will be continuous and will inspire others to come up with similar initiatives.

Samvel Shahgeldyan has had a long life in organizing production; he believes wide-scale production in the country, including Charentsavan, could be restored in case of more flexible tax policies, which would give businesspeople a chance to work freely.

Samvel Shahgeldyan, 67, started as a welder at the truck loader factory in Charentsavan, growing to the director of the enterprise. After the collapse of the Soviet Union he participated in a number of international exhibitions and imported international practices in Armenia; this helped the enterprise to smoothly integrate into new economic situation, and to revive as a machine-building plant.

Later, though, the plant was shut down, after privatization. Samvel Shahgeldyan heads the “Murtch” CJSC today; the enterprise produces window frames and doors by European standards.

The renowned break-dancer of Charentsavan dreams of turning the town into a regional cultural center by developing various styles of break dance in his native town.

Arsen Hovhannisyan believes Charentsavan has the potential to become a cultural hub. Arsen was the first and probably the only person in Charentsavan who started break-dancing in 2006.

“I would spend as much time break-dancing as I could and would use every possible space to rehearse, be that home or elsewhere. I remember to have danced at home with a plastered leg. Our generation has mostly been educated by videos, we didn’t have teachers. There were no video courses, which would teach how to learn dancing without traumas; Internet had limited options to offer in those days, and we could download just a couple of videos spending nights at Internet clubs,” Arsen Hovhannisyan recalls.

It took some time for the locals to accept and to love this dance style. Arsen’s friends were gradually getting interested in break dance, too. After demobilizing from the army, Arsen opened the first dance studio in Charentsavan. This helped develop hip hop and break dance in this town.

“I had graduated from the polytechnic, but I knew I could earn my living doing what I do best. And then there were young people interested in this style,” recalls Arsen.

Arsen says break dance is part of street culture and has been life changer for so many people. “People used to organize break dance battles in Bronx, New York. This helped them in life. They would sing, dance without causing harm to each other,” says the dancer. The break dance classes help young men in Charentsavan have a good pastime and stay away from streets.

Edvard Grigoryan, who has been working at the Metsamor nuclear plant for 51 years, has moved from Armavir some 44 years ago, when the residential housing was only being constructed.

“When we moved some 4 or 5 buildings were ready, but the rest were still under construction with the groundworks in process. The wind would raise dust from the construction sites. It was terrible; Russians used to call it ‘Armenian rain’,” Edvard recalls. He also remembers the first years at the plant.

Edvard believes people could do more in Metsamor, like developing technologies and manufacturing artificial marble.

“It is quite affordable and we have plenty of supplies of the material; there are natural resources, too, like stone dust, which is not used in any way. And most importantly, we should always keep in mind the need to use natural materials not to harm the environment,” says Grigoryan.

The metals unearthed during the excavations in the territory of the museum located only few kilometers from Metsamor indicated that copper and tin metal have historically been processed in this region, which means the locale has been a center of mining as early as in the ancient times.

“People here have been engaged in transit commerce, too; this is proved by the numbers of shells discovered in royal mausoleums, and dwellings; the shells originate from the Mediterranean and Persian Gulf basins, which means they have reached the Armenian Highlands and Ararat Valley with the help of traders,” says Artavadz Zakyan.

The museum reserve is currently working on a tour package, which specialists hope, will boost tourist inflows here and will help develop communities, including Metsamor.

“We currently work on a package, which will include Taronik community (in Armavir), as well as adjacent territories, which will help develop those communities to a degree,” says Zakyan.

Independent research organization for urban environment “Urbanlab” tries to popularize the town through “Revisiting Metsamor” program. The project has engaged arts specialists, who have studied Metsamor in terms of its Soviet modernistic environment, as well as the history of the nuclear power plant with a focus on the post-Soviet situation with the urban environment, environmental issues, in view of the concerns and challenges related to the town.
Armine Shabazyan, the coordinator of the program, underlines the vague perspectives of the town. “The nuclear plant may be shut down in 10 years, and it is unclear what will be with the town.”

Armine shares the results of the research. The study shows most of the population in the town is in this way or another engaged in the nuclear plant and most of them are men. If the power plant is closed, these people will most likely remain jobless deprived of any perspectives.

Creating an alternative by keeping and restoring the architectural features of the town making it more attractive for both visitors and locals is the next objective of the program. Development of tourism is expected to create additional sources of income.