The census is an important source of accurate information about the population of a state. The first All-Union census in the USSR was held in 1926. This census differed from both previous and subsequent censuses in the principles used to determine the national composition of the population guided solely by the principle of self-determination. As a result, 191 nationalities were registered throughout the USSR. However, difficulties have also arisen in registering some ethnic groups.

KeywordsAll-Union census main nationalities determination of ethnic identity the Persians the Karapapakhs the Turks the Azerbaijani Central Statistical Office Agbaba Zangezur.

The perception and interpretation of the First Republic of Armenia in the publicistic writings of Vahan Tekeyan (1878–1945), an outstanding Western Armenian and later Diaspora writer, publicist, socio-political figure, and a prominent representative of the Armenian liberal-democratic political movement, are examined in the context of the Armenian Question, the restoration of national statehood, and subsequently the loss of sovereignty.

KeywordsVahan Tekeyan publicistic writings the First Republic of Armenia Armenian Question Diaspora national identity Western Armenia

At the turn of the fourth and fifth centuries, confronted with emerging threats, Armenian political thought formed a nationwide agenda for preserving the national statehood and spiritual authority recognizing the complete and final spread of Christianity and its transformation into the faith and core of Armenian identity as the means of solving this agenda. Historians of the fifth century portray the spread of Christianity in Armenia as a deeply disconsolate situation, explaining it by the lack of the Armenian translation of the Bible. In reality, there were far more serious obstacles that historians do not mention.

KeywordsAgathangelos “History of Armenia” political agenda religious situation national identity military estate ecclesiastical authority Bible translation.

The renaming of oikonyms in the toponymic system of Artsakh is a multilayered process shaped by the interaction of historical, linguistic, cultural, and political factors. The renaming causes changes to the semantic content of an oikonym, the perception of its historical biography, and its symbolic value in public consciousness. The renaming is grounded on administrative-territorial restructuring, socio-economic relations and the ideological changes that reflect them, linguistic contacts, as well as requirements of written documentation and cartographic representation. In different historical periods, translation, phonetic transformation, calquing, reinterpretation, transliteration, literary normalization and standardization have served as mechanisms of oikonymic changes.

KeywordsArtsakh place name oikonym renaming toponymic system historical memory administrative-territorial restructuring socio-economic relations language standardization identity cartography