Since 2018, Armenia has undergone a significant political and societal transformation. Yet amid these changes, one powerful voice seems to have gone silent — the voice of the Armenian intelligentsia. Where are the writers, educators, scientists, filmmakers, and philosophers who once served as the conscience of our nation? Why are they silent when Armenia faces an identity crisis, educational collapse, and moral erosion?
Historically, the Armenian intelligentsia played a vital role in shaping the national spirit — from liberation movements to the birth of independence in the 1990s. But today, it has all but disappeared. Many have emigrated. Others have chosen the comfort of silence or fear losing favor with those in power.
The educational system is deteriorating. Universities are losing prestige, research institutions are hollowed out, and schools are burdened with ineffective reforms. The Ministry of Education acts more like a partisan bureaucratic machine than a visionary institution. The silence of the intelligentsia is not neutral — it is complicit.
Where are the artists who once inspired generations when our cultural foundations are being eroded? Where are the educators when critical thinking is being stifled in classrooms? Where are the philosophers when public discourse has devolved into populism and slander?
Perhaps being an intellectual is not about titles and accolades but the courage to speak the truth. Today, Armenia needs not silent professors, but voices that challenge the decay. We must remember: the intelligentsia is the moral backbone of a nation. And when the backbone breaks — we are no longer a society, but a crowd.
By Lida Nalbandyan, Founder and CEO of Octopus Media Group