Post-soviet modernization of the Republic of Armenia: foundations and consequences

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Republic of Armenia, like all other post-Soviet countries, began to build a democratic state. But the starting conditions for each of these countries differed from the other. The Republic of Armenia suffered from the consequences of the devastating earthquake in Gyumri, the wars with neighboring Azerbaijan, the blockade by Turkey, as well as the food and energy crisis. Based on the method of structural and system analysis, the study reveals the directions of building and developing the state since the moment of independence in 1991. The logic and method of choosing the modernization vectors, the intermediate and final results of this choice are analyzed. The expectations of the Armenian public and state are presented as well. Besides, the formation and transformation of a new, post-soviet elite is shown. The reasons for the low effectiveness of the reforms and the consequences of the failure of the state modernization policy are revealed.