Light in the Windovy

Russia has been trying to lure the 800,000 Armenians living abroad to settle in Soviet Armenia. Some 60,000 heeded the call last year. Russian recruiting agents in the Middle East promise returning Armenians big loans (up to 30,000 rubles), a house and a job. By year's end, Russia expects that more than 100,000 Armenians will have emigrated.

Last week 1,700 were on their way from Egypt, aboard the Russian ship Pobeda (Victory). Most of them carried the picture of Mother Araxi, without which few fervent Armenians like to undertake journeys.*

Armenians have found it easier to get into Russia than to get out. The Turks (who love neither Armenians nor Russians) claim that the few who have escaped have brought a unanimous story of broken Russian promises. They found no houses when they arrived, and snow came early last fall before any could be completed. They lived in the open or in tents. Extra clothing and other possessions were seized by the Russian police.

One immigrant had arranged a code with his friends before returning to the promised land. "I will send a picture," he told them. "If I am well off, I will be standing. If things are going badly with me, I will be sitting down." The first snapshot to arrive showed the sender lying flat on the ground.

*Chromographs of "Mair Araxi" (Mother Araxi, named after the Arax River, which cuts across the historic kingdom of Armenia) began appearing after the first major Turkish massacres in 1894. The picture shows a woman (usually weeping) seated atop classic ruins named after Armenia's lost provinces. The broken crown at her feet symbolizes the shattered kingdom. In the background rises Mount Ararat, where Noah's Ark came to rest.

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