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Armenia: Countries
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Armenia is a primarily Oriental Orthodox country. Armenia is considered the first nation to adopt Christianity, tracing its church's roots back to the 3rd and 4th centuries. The country formally adopted the Christian faith in 301 A.D. Over 90% of Armenians belong to the Armenian Apostolic Church, a form of Oriental (Non-Chalcedonian) Orthodoxy, which is a very ritualistic, conservative church, roughly comparable to the Coptic and Syrian churches. Armenia ... has a population of evangelical Protestants and Catholics. The Yazidi Kurds, who live in the western part of the country, practice Zoroastrianism or Shamanism. Ethnic Azeris who lived in the country before the conflict practiced Islam, but most fled to Azerbaijan in 1988-1991 in the beginning of the Karabakh conflict.
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Armenia is the only landlocked country in Transcaucasia. The republic contains many mountain lakes, the largest of which is Lake Sevan, located in the northeast. Lake Sevan is the largest lake in Transcaucasia and one of the largest high-elevation lakes in the world. It is ... a popular resort area. In the early 1990s the lake’s wildlife habitat was threatened, as large amounts of water were being taken from Lake Sevan to supply hydroelectric plants. A tunnel was constructed to bring water from the Arpa River into the lake in order to maintain a constant water level.
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As it enters the twenty-first century, Armenia faces many hardships. Still, despite high unemployment, it has managed to make some economic improvements. It has made a full switch to a market economy and as of 2007, remains the 32nd most economically free nation in the world. Its relations with Europe, the Middle East, and the Commonwealth of Independent States have allowed Armenia to increase trade. Gas, oil, and other supplies come through two vital routes: Iran and Georgia. Armenia maintains cordial relations with both countries.
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The original inhabitants of Armenia are unknown, but, about the middle of the 9th century B.C., the mass of the people belonged to that great family of tribes which seems to have been Eth nology. spread over western Asia and to have had a common non-Aryan language. Mixed with these proto-Armenians, there was an important Semitic element of Assyrian and Hebrew origin. In the 7th century B.C., between 640 and 600, the country was conquered by an Aryan people, who imposed their language, and possibly their name, upon the vanquished, and formed a military aristocracy that was constantly recruited from Persia and Parthia. Politically the two races soon amalgamated, but, except in the towns, there was apparently little intermarriage, for the peasants in certain districts closely resemble the protoArmenians, as depicted on their monuments. After the Arab and Seljuk invasions, there was a large emigration of Aryan and Semitic Armenians to Constantinople and Cilicia; and all that remained of the aristocracy was swept away by the Mongols and Tatars.
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The Republic of Armenia, covering an area of 30 000 square kilometres (11,600 sq. mi), is located in the north-east of the Armenian Highland (covering 400 000 km² or 154,000 sq. mi), otherwise known as historical Armenia and considered as the original homeland of Armenians. The terrain is mostly mountainous, with fast flowing rivers and few forests. The climate is highland continental, which means that the country is subjected to hot summers and cold winters. The land rises to 4095 metres (13,435 ft) above sea-level at Mount Aragats, and no point is below 400 metres (1,312 ft) above sea level.
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The Government of Armenia's stated aim is to build a Western-style parliamentary democracy as the basis of its form of government. However, international observers have questioned the inherent fairness of parliamentary and presidential elections during each of the previous nationwide elections (1995, 1999, and 2003) as well as during the 2005 constitutional referendum, citing polling deficiencies, lack of cooperation by the electoral commission, poor maintenance of electoral lists, and access to polling places. The 2007 parliamentary elections... demonstrated an improvement over previous elections. The new constitution in 2005 increased the power of the legislative branch and allows for more independence of the judiciary; the executive branch nevertheless retains more power than most European countries.
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