text: But for others, to laud and encourage the creeping influence of Western culture, governments, and NGOs in Armenia was nothing short of offensive. This view, in my experience, correlated with a greater suspicion of the diaspora’s Westernized influence, and a more socially traditionalist lens on Armenian identity.
  “Armenia predates the concept of Europe by centuries,” said Armen Kaprelian, a local friend and researcher in Armenia’s Ministry of Economy. “The identities of many European nations were assembled centuries after Armenians had already developed a cohesive language and culture. Our roots are decidedly distinct from Europe—especially Western Europe. We’re more similar to Persians and Assyrians. On the far end, we’re perhaps even more similar to Slavs, Jews, and Kurds.” I asked Armen about the Soviet legacy in Armenia, especially in light of its relationship with Russia and the Eurasian Economic Union. “Most of the notable Armenian intellectuals of the modern era got their education under the USSR. The Armenian SSR was a training ground for many of the top Soviet mathematicians, physicists, engineers, and so on. Some of that generation still runs our universities today, and our best thinkers are products of the Soviet heritage.” I noted that, like Russia, it seemed like many of those people left after 1991. “Unfortunately, after the collapse of the USSR, Armenia experienced a period of brain-drain,” he concurred. “A lot of people fled to Russia or elsewhere. Nowadays, Armenia still has its strongest academic ties to Russia. European and U.S. institutions have started making inroads, but only recently.”
  In practice, though, it’s the hard realities of geopolitics and institutional strength which will determine Armenia’s alignment. Corruption, which characterized the old regime, is often seen as synonymous with influence from Moscow. It may not be realistic for Armenia to cozy up to the West, but pro-European voices can point to the dangers of state stagnation as a worse alternative.