Yerevan Reporter

The South Caucasus Railway Company (SCR) has launched an investment program for 2023. This year, 2 billion 90 million drams (5.3 million USD) will be spent on the programs of development and maintenance of infrastructure and rolling stock. According to SCR, 290 million drams will be spent on rolling stock and 1.8 billion drams on infrastructure. 1.7 billion rubles will be invested in track equipment, 30 million rubles in electrification and power supply, 10 million rubles in automation, telemechanics and communication equipment. In 2023 it is planned to completely renovate 14 km of tracks by various types of capital repairs. It is planned to replace 15.6 thousand concrete and 4 thousand wooden sleepers along the entire length of the track. "This year the main volume of investment funds will be used for maintenance and development of the infrastructure, which directly affects the safety and smooth operation of the railway. 2023 will be a year of hard work for our company. Targeted ...

  The Armenian Apostolic Church commemorates today the Holy Priests Voskian, the first martyrs and hermits of the Armenian Church. According to popular tradition, the Voskians were five envoys of the Roman Emperor to King Sanatruk. Arriving in Armenia in the middle of the 1st century, they met the Apostle Thaddeus and, under the influence of his sermons, were baptized and converted to Christianity. The eldest among them was Khrusi (Voski), which in Armenian means "gold" (hence the origin of the "Voskian"). He was also ordained a bishop. After the death of Thaddeus the Voskians secluded themselves in the mountains of Tsakhkavet (Tsakhkotn province) and lived a life of asceticism for almost forty years. Guided by the commandments of God, they came to the palace to preach Christianity to the Armenian King Artashes and Queen Satenik. In the palace their sermons were followed only by the relatives of Queen Satenik. The 18 courtiers, who arrived in Armenia together with t...

  138 years ago, on February 9, 1885 (new style), in the family of a village priest in the village of Gandza near Akhalkalaki was born an outstanding Armenian poet Vahan Teryan. In 1899 Vahan entered Lazarev Institute of Oriental Languages in Moscow. Together with his friends Teryan publishes at the institute a handwritten newspaper "Nadezhda", where he not only writes editorials and editorials, but also heads the poetry department, where he publishes his poems under the pseudonyms of Shvin, Volo and others. In August 1906 Teryan enters Moscow University, the Department of Russian Language and Literature of the Faculty of History and Philology. Under the direct influence of the 1905-1907 revolution, he wrote the cycle of poems "Crown of Thorns", in which he glorifies the revolutionary fighters. On the night of December 3, 1906 Teryan's apartment was searched, he and a friend were arrested, but on December 13 he was released from custody. During this period Terja...

 The Armenian opera singer (tenor), director, People's Artist of Armenia and Honored Artist of  Lithuania Gegham Grigoryan was born on January 29, 1951 in Yerevan. Maestro Gegham Grigoryan has created his own values in the art of opera and for almost half a century he has been presenting the best role songs and delicate performances to the world. He has worked with all the giants of classical music who have shaped the history of classical performance in the 20th and 21st centuries: Giaurov, Mirella Freni, Leontine Price, Grace Bumbry, Gena Dimitrova, Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Leo Nucci, Gergiev, Zubin Meta, Levis, Levine, Bartoletti, Svetlanov, Richter. Directors: Graeme Wick, Kanchalowski, Dzefirelli, Giancarlo Del Monaco, Hugo de Anna and many others. As a representative of the Armenian performing arts, Grigoryan reached unprecedented professional heights on famous opera stages of the world. Maestro died on May 16, 2016.

Today is the 84th birthday of Tigran Mansuryan, a world-famous Armenian composer, national artist and honored artist of Armenia. Tigran Mansuryan was born in Beirut on January 27, 1939. The Mansuryan family moved to Armenia in 1947 and settled in Yerevan in 1956. The future composer graduated from the Music College under Romanos Melikyan, then studied at the Yerevan Conservatory, taught there in 1967-1986, and was its rector in 1992-1995. At present he concentrates fully on composing. He is one of the most performed composers of modern Armenia. In his creative work he combines modern writing techniques with the support of national musical traditions, especially the traditions of Komitas. Tigran Mansuryan is known for his symphonic works as well as for his film music.

  Armenian composer and pianist, People's Artist of the Soviet Union and Armenia Arno Babajanyan was born on January 22, 1921. He gained great popularity as a songwriter, successfully collaborated with poet Robert Rozhdestvensky and singer Muslim Magomaev ("Королева красоты", "Голубая тайга", "Улибнись", "Будь со мной", "В нежданный час", "Встреча", "Воспоминание", "Позови меня", "Загадай дечено", "Благодарю тебя", "Свадьба"). Yevheni Yevtushenko's ("Не спеши", "Чёртово колесо", "Твои следы"), Andrey Voznesensky ("Год любви", "Москва-река", "Верни мне музыку"), Leonid Derbenyov ("Лучший") were also very successful. город земли"), the songs written in co-authorship with "First love song" and "Yerevan" are perceived as the anthem of the hometown. "Nocturne" is widely k...

 The Armenian composer, conductor and teacher Makar Yekmalyan was born on January 21, 1856. During his short life of 49 years, the famous composer-songwriter through his creative work and educational activities contributed to the formation of the National Music School, developed the polyphonic principles of Armenian monody (singing in unison), founded the genres of oratorio-cantata and romance. As a student, Yekmalyan created choral arrangements of folk and spiritual melodies. Among his works, the extensive lyrical "Liturgy", written for unaccompanied choir, stands out. In 1895, through the mediation of Archbishop Gevorg Surenyants (1911-1930, Catholicos of All Armenians Gevorg V Surenyants), Catholicos of All Armenians Mkrtich I Vanetsi (Khrimyan Hayrik) and the Patriarchal Kondak, M. Yekmalyan's "Liturgy" was officially accepted by the Armenian Church and multi-choir performances began. Komitas, Armenak Shahmuradian, Shara Talyan, Armen Tigranian and others st...

Last fall, Kaspersky Lab experts discovered new BlueNoroff traps for startup employees - 70 fake domains mimicking well-known venture capital funds and banks, mostly Japanese, but also American, Vietnamese and UAE ones. In addition, attackers are now experimenting with new file types to continue embedding malware into target systems. According to the attackers' scheme, the malware is contained in a .doc file, supposedly a contract from a client. If you open this file, the device is immediately infected with malware and attackers can track all daily transactions and plan to steal. The moment an employee of an infected company tries to transfer a large amount of cryptocurrency, the attackers interfere with the transaction process, change the recipient's address and raise the transfer limit, instantly draining the account. Members of the BlueNoroff cyber group are actively experimenting and testing new methods of malware delivery using previously unused file types. These include V...

  At the session of the executive committee of the Armenian Football Federation (FFA) held on January 14, it was decided to appoint the head coach of the Armenian national team. Armenian Football Federation (FFA) decided to appoint a new head coach for the Armenian national team. According to the FFA, former head coach of the Ukrainian national team Alexander Petrakov was chosen out of the candidates that were offered to the committee after an hour and a half-long discussion. During his coaching career Petrakov, who will turn 66 in 2023, coached the national teams of Ukraine in different age categories. The Ukrainian national team (under 19) under Petrakov's guidance reached the semifinals of the European Championship in 2018, and in 2019 the Ukrainian national team (under 20), led by Petrakov, became the world champion (under 20).

 Every time the Armenian Apostolic Church solemnly celebrates the Nativity of John the Baptist, who announced the coming of Jesus Christ. John the Baptist was the son of the priest Zacharias and Elizabeth. He was related to Jesus on his mother's side and had been born six months before Jesus. As the evangelist Luke relates, the archangel Gabriel came to his father, Zacharias, in the temple and proclaimed the birth of a son, but Zacharias did not believe, for which he was punished with mute and remained dumb until the godly couple finally had a son, whom they asked for through their prayers. John the Baptist, who was to baptize the Savior of all mankind, recognized and rejoiced at Christ's coming to the world before he was born. The Gospel testifies that when Our Lady Mary visited Elizabeth, the Baptist's mother, she was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed: "And whence it is to me that the Mother of my Lord has come to me. For when the voice of your greeting reach...

 December 30 is the commemoration day of Lusine Zakaryan (1937-1992), an outstanding singer of Armenia. Her unique voice was so charming that one of her teachers, the head of the choir of Etchmiadzin Church, invited him to sing in that choir. Lusine Zakaryan studied spiritual songs for two months. When she sang for the first time in the church, Catholicos of All Armenians Vazgen I was very impressed by her voice. "When Lusine sings the Holy of Holies, all the angels descend from heaven to the Mother Throne and praise God for her unique voice and rare grace". Soon she becomes the soloist of the choir. In Etchmiatsin, Lusine met Khoren Palyan, a young seminarian, who later became her husband. She continued to sing in Etchmiadzin Cathedral and performed in all regions of the country, but always dreamed of a bigger stage where her voice would sound best. Such an opportunity was created when Lusine was invited to perform at the Great Concert Hall of the Philharmonic at the evening...

  "An actor from start to finish. We, our colleagues, stood backstage, watching and waiting to see what new things he would do in the role today. We knew he had to improvise, and it was a brilliant improvisation. It was amazing how inventive he was. He could make the audience laugh. I remember performances with his participation began in the hall with Homeric laughter, and it continued throughout. In general, Frunzik was an amazing person: he began the day with a song and rejoiced. On the other hand, there was always something tragic in him. the feeling..." Khoren Abrahamyan about Mher Mkrtchyan December 29 is the commemoration day of Mher Mkrtchyan (1930-1993), a prominent Armenian film and theater actor, People's Artist of the USSR.

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President of the Republic of Artsakh Araik Harutyunyan addressed to the recent statements of Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan about the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict and the concerns about them, especially among the Armenians of Artsakh. Full recognition of the right of Armenians of Artsakh to self-determination is not subject to any reservations or concessions, and the Armenians of Artsakh are the exclusive master of the issue, Harutyunyan stressed, noting thus, only the authorities of the Republic of Artsakh have the right to speak on behalf of the people of Artsakh. "The goal of international recognition of the independence of the Republic of Artsakh is our main guideline and no government can afford to deviate from it. Therefore, the people and authorities of Artsakh will never and in no way accept any status within Azerbaijan until our goal is achieved," Harutyunyan said. According to the president, not only in terms of status, but also in terms ...

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan issued a clarification on his December 24 online briefing on Facebook, confessing that he was puzzled by some of the comments. According to Pashinyan, when answering questions, he spoke in particular about the content of negotiations formed before he became prime minister in 2018, so he could not have had any influence in shaping them. The prime minister refuted Serzh Sargsyan's statement at the RPA convention that the content of the negotiations they left behind guaranteed that Nagorno-Karabakh was Armenian. "I denied this because the right of Azerbaijanis living in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic to participate in the decision on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh as residents of Nagorno-Karabakh was registered with this content of the negotiations. Consequently, if they are residents of Nagorno-Karabakh according to the content of the negotiations, they should have been residents of Nagorno-Karabakh, and before the 2018 revolution, the Arme...

Armenian President Armen Sarkisian sent a congratulatory message to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the occasion of his birthday, the press service of the Armenian head of state reported. "Armenia attaches great importance to its partnership with Canada, which has always been marked by mutual trust and a sincere desire to deepen it. I recall with warmth our substantial discussion at the 26th UN summit (COP 26) which provided an opportunity to exchange views on the prospects of expanding and strengthening bilateral cooperation, as well as regional and international issues. I hope that our meeting in Glasgow will give a new impetus to the relations between the two countries, and that through our joint efforts we will contribute to the expansion of the current agenda between Armenia and Canada and the implementation of promising initiatives," reads the message of the Armenian President.

  Today, the new mayor of the Armenian capital, Hrachya Sargsyan, was sworn in at a solemn session of Yerevan's Council of Elders. Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, Chairman of the National Assembly Alain Simonyan, members of the government, other officials and cultural figures attended the inauguration ceremony. The 56th mayor of Yerevan swore to uphold the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, the decisions of the City Council, to honestly and conscientiously execute the duties of the mayor, to contribute to the welfare of Yerevan, to serve for the interests of the citizens. Afterwards the regalia of the Mayor of Yerevan were handed to the newly elected mayor Hrachya Sargsyan. In his speech the mayor of Yerevan noted that he has assumed great responsibility becoming the mayor of Yerevan, a city which is over 2800 years old. "We are facing many problems that require effective and fundamental solutions, on which the sustainable development of the ca...

  On this day, December 25, 1977, the great movie actor, composer and director Charlie Chaplin passed away. He was 88 years old. Let's remember his best quotes. "I am what I am: a unique individual with my own history of hereditary impulses, personal aspirations, cherished desires and special experiences - the sum of which I am." "The secret is to believe in yourself. Even when I was living in a shelter and prancing the streets to get food, I always thought I was the greatest actor in the world." "I had no idea what my character was supposed to be. But as soon as I changed into his costume and applied makeup, I began to understand him, and by the time I was on stage, he had come into my own." "Comedy is a serious subject, though it cannot be taken seriously. It sounds like a paradox, but it is not. Understanding your characters, getting ready to shoot, is serious, hard work. But for a comedy to really succeed, every actor needs ease, spontaneity. ...

  The "Three Tenors" Grand Gala Concert held on December 24 at Aram Khachaturian Concert Hall shocked the Yerevan audience, and the excitement and pride of the audience was boundless. The internationally renowned Armenian opera singers Liparit Avetisyan, Arsen Soghomonyan and young tenor Tigran Hakobyan performed popular opera arias, songs and opera overtures. The concert was accompanied by the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Armenia under the baton of Maestro Edward Topchyan. The musicians say they appreciate every opportunity to perform before their own audiences in the homeland and are happy that this concert was able to inspire and unite their compatriots both spiritually and emotionally. They are convinced that high quality art has tremendous power in it. Liparit Avetisyan and Arsen Soghomonyan are some of the most popular and leading artists of their generation on the international opera scene. They have performed on such prestigious stages as the Royal Opera House C...

The press service of the State Revenue Committee of the Republic of Armenia reported about the prevention of drug smuggling on a particularly large scale. A citizen of the Federative Republic of Brazil arrived in Yerevan on the São Paulo-Dubai-Yerevan flight with a drug shipment. During the customs inspection of his luggage, two packages of white powders of cocaine type were found. They were hidden in pre-prepared caches inside the luggage. The total weight of drugs found during customs inspection was 1721 grams. The market value of the consignment exceeds $600,000. The Brazilian citizen was detained. A criminal case was initiated.