ՀԱՅԱՍՏԱՆԻ ԱՌԱՋԻՆ ՀԱՆՐԱՊԵՏՈՒԹՅԱՆ ՍՈՑԻԱԼ-ՏՆՏԵՍԱԿԱՆ ԴՐՈՒԹՅՈՒՆԸ 1918–1920 ԹՎԱԿԱՆՆԵՐԻՆ (ԸՍՏ ՀՊԹ-Ի ՆՅՈՒԹԵՐԻ) / SOCIO-ECONOMIC SITUATION IN ARMENIA IN 1918 – 1920 (ACCORDING TO MATERIALS OF THE HISTORY MUSEUM OF ARMENIA)

Abstract

The First Republic of Armenia was born in difficult socio-economic conditions. However, in a short time, some sectors of the economy recovered and gained new development. The Turkish campaign of 1920 dealt a new blow to economics. The materials stored in the HMA – archives, manuscripts, records, photographs, memories of people spread in a new light on the development of some branches of economics of this period. By studying these materials, in particular the testimonies of Ado, an economist, statistician and witness of this time, we can have a complete picture of some branches of agriculture – the production of cotton, tobacco, beekeeping, sericulture, etc. It contains interesting material about cooperatives as a new industry in Armenia, where the activities of the existing network are presented. We also consider as an important material the notes of the first Prime Minister of Armenia Hovhannes Kajaznuni in his notebook, the study of which is a new page and contains valuable information on how it was possible on that period to compare the need for grain crops and the available opportunities in a country that was just reviving. The history of the Alexandropol Mechanical Plant, which was donated to the museum by one of its founders, Rafael Yekimyan, is interesting and inquisitive. We hope that our study will fill the gap and help discuss some sectors of the economy in a broader spectrum.