Samuel Karapetyan, the oft-outspoken president of the Research on Armenian Architecture NGO, has lambasted Armenians for being out of synch with the natural world of the Armenian Highlands.

In a YouTube video, Karapetyan argues that Armenians are as much to blame for the losses sustained from natural disasters, notably earthquakes that plague our region.

“The Armenian Highlands have one problem, earthquakes, as the resultant losses we have suffered as a result are just as much our doing. Nature periodically conducts inspections in various guises. If one lives correctly, respecting the laws of water and land, you continue to live. If not, you are buried in the cemetery.”

He then cites the example of the 1988 Spitak earthquake and the huge losses suffered by Armenia due to shoddy construction practices, especially during the tenure of Karen Demirchyan. (First Secretary of the Communist Party of Armenia, 1974-1988)

“All the pre-Soviet buildings, including the Stalinist and Khrushchev type edifices, had cracks after the earthquake, but they also saved lives. Not one building constructed during the rule of Demirchyan remains erect.”

The   specialist of Armenian historical architecture goes on to say that the 2011 earthquake that hit Van, just as powerful as the Spitak one, only claimed the lives of 100 people.

“It’s simply a shame that the Kurds respect the laws of our homeland better than we do. You won’t see a house over four stories in Van,” says Karapetyan.

In his video, Karapetyan also proposes that the Gyumri Brotherly Cemetery be renamed the Karen Demirchyan Cemetery.

“That’s his legacy. Those buildings that sent thousands of Armenians to their graves were built under his tenure.”