Repatriation of Armenians to Soviet Armenia

Between 1921 and 1940 about 100,000 Armenians moved to Soviet Armenia. They were called repatriates, although most of them were Western Armenians who had never lived in Eastern Armenia. In 1946 a large-scale campaign for the “return” of diaspora Armenians began. Behind it lay not only humanitarian aims but also the geopolitical calculations of the USSR: pressure on Turkey and the hope of revising the borders.

Propaganda promised Armenians free medical care, housing and education. On arrival many found a shortage of housing, unemployment and a cold reception, and some were soon declared “unreliable” and exiled to Siberia. In 1949 the programme was stopped. The official reason was a fire on board the ship “Pobeda”, allegedly set by Western agents, but in reality there was simply no more room to house the newcomers.

The photograph shows a large ship at a quay, with a wooden crate being hoisted aboard by a lifting gear. The crates on the quay are marked in Armenian with a name and the word “Yerevan”, as well as with the French abbreviation for the USSR.