One of the oldest Russian-language magazines in Armenia – \u201cLiterary Armenia\u201d \u2013 is in a very poor condition today. The magazine which used to have 10,000 copies a month, is now published quarterly in 500 copies.<\/p>\n
The \u201cLiterary Armenia\u201d was founded in 1958 and it is published till now. Editors-in-chief in different times were poet and playwright Gurgen Boryan, the author of the two-volume edition \u201cThe Silver Age\u201d about Kilikia history Michael Shatiryan, Gevork Emin and others. Since 1973, in the head of the magazine stands poet and translator Albert Nalbandyan (the deputy editor is Sergey Muradyan \u2013 actually this is the whole editorial staff of the magazine: there\u2019s no resources for additional staff).<\/p>\n
Not the most important literary magazine of the USSR managed to publish such works for publishing of which one could appear in jail. The magazine was almost the first in the Union to publish Yuriy Karabchievskiy; the issue with poems and essays of Mandelstam was secretly exported to other republics; later \u2013 Marina Tsvetaeva, Andrey Beliy, Vassiliy Grossman \u2013 which were powder kegs for publishers. Anyhow, the \u201cLA\u201d not only survived but became a landmark event among Armenian issues.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
One of the oldest Russian-language magazines in Armenia – \u201cLiterary Armenia\u201d \u2013 is in a very poor condition today. The magazine which used to have 10,000 copies a month, is now published quarterly in 500 copies.<\/p>\n
The \u201cLiterary Armenia\u201d was founded in 1958 and it is published till now. Editors-in-chief in different times were poet and playwright Gurgen Boryan, the author of the two-volume edition \u201cThe Silver Age\u201d about Kilikia history Michael Shatiryan, Gevork Emin and others. Since 1973, in the head of the magazine stands poet and translator Albert Nalbandyan (the deputy editor is Sergey Muradyan \u2013 actually this is the whole editorial staff of the magazine: there\u2019s no resources for additional staff).<\/p>\n
Not the most important literary magazine of the USSR managed to publish such works for publishing of which one could appear in jail. The magazine was almost the first in the Union to publish Yuriy Karabchievskiy; the issue with poems and essays of Mandelstam was secretly exported to other republics; later \u2013 Marina Tsvetaeva, Andrey Beliy, Vassiliy Grossman \u2013 which were powder kegs for publishers. Anyhow, the \u201cLA\u201d not only survived but became a landmark event among Armenian issues.<\/p>\n
Today too, the \u201cLA\u201d is a lifebuoy for the Armenian modern literature which has very limited opportunities to promote itself. For Russian-language writers this is the only periodical. New stories, new poems and new translations which is not less important. For instance, Saroyan translations. Only four volumes of William Saroyan\u2019s huge heritage are translated into Armenian. A lot more is translated in Russian: every year the \u201cLA\u201d publishes Natalia Gonchar\u2019s translations as a gift to the great writer: Saroyan himself asked Gonchar to present him a new translation on every August 31 which is his birthday.<\/p>\n
[[wysiwyg_imageupload:89:]]\u201cMy poems were first published in the \u201cLA\u201d when I was 8,\u201d says poet and translator Anahit Tadevosyan, \u201cand I became a member of translators\u2019 community thanks to the \u201cLA\u201d: Albert Nalbandyan somehow felt I can become a translator. Me and the magazine are now inseparable: it is the only specialized issue in Armenia that publishes works of Russian-language poets and writers.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 2008, the Union of Armenians in Russia which financed the \u201cLA\u201d for 5 years cut the funding of the magazine.<\/p>\n
The government support of 3,5 million AMD is not sufficient even for printing needs. \u201cA rare literary magazine can fully maintain itself,\u201d says Albert Nalbandyan, \u201cBut we cannot even dream about it: only 10-15 % of circulation is profitable. It is very risky to depend on a person or an organization that is why we are planning to create a Board of Trustees.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Board of Trustees would be consisted of 7-10 members which would give the \u201cLA\u201d around $2.000 a year. According to Nalbandyan, the magazine needs 7,5 million AMD a year ($20,000) to \u201csurvive\u201d, in that case it can be published quarterly and not in debt. Needless to say how small are the claims and how high the fidelity of the \u201cLA\u201d workers is.<\/p>\n
The \u201cLA\u201d can be found on any stand, one year subscription costs 800 AMD, 500 AMD for students, and a separate issue is 300 AMD. This cost seems pure symbolic. It\u2019s just the magazine doesn\u2019t want to lose a half-century history.<\/p>\n