Yerkrapah

Yerkrapah Volunteer Union (Armenian: «Երկրապահ» կամավորական միություն, ԵԿՄ «Yerkrapah» kamavorakan miut'yun, YeKM) or Yerkrapah Union of Veterans, meaning Defenders of the Land, is a non-governmental group that consisted of 6,000 Nagorno-Karabakh War veterans, formed by Vazgen Sargsyan.[3] The Yerkrapah is a large and influential veteran group.[4] The Yerkrapah Union was actively involved in the Nagorno-Karabakh War although after the death of Sargsyan, Yerkrapah began to decline in support in politics.[5] Yerkrapah had incorporated between 5,000 and 30,000 veterans.[2] According to Thomas de Waal, after 1994 "the veterans' group Yerkrapah became the most powerful organization in the country."[6]

Yerkrapah
ActiveJuly 1993[1]—present
Country Armenia
RoleParamilitary
Size5,000-30,000[2]
Motto(s)Defenders of the Land
EngagementsNagorno-Karabakh War
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Vazgen Sargsyan

Yerkrapah Day

Yerkrapah Day (Armenian: Երկրապահի օր) is a professional holiday for all members of Yerkrapah[7], celebrated annually in Armenia on 8 May.[8] The official status of Yerkrapah Day holiday was conceived after the entry of a law which President Robert Kocharyan signed on 6 January 2001 and which the Parliament of Armenia approved on 24 July that year.[9] It is associated with Shushi Liberation Day.[10] Yerkrapah Day is not a non-working day if, depending on the year, it does not fall on a weekend.

gollark: Utilitarian-ly speaking, most people would prefer not to die and/or this reduces total and average happiness. Rights-based ethical systems would say that you do not have a right to kill people.
gollark: And some technological things have an outsized impact compared to other things.
gollark: As far as I know the vast majority of CO2 output is due to technology indirectly used by people and not in fact respiration.
gollark: Have you considered that some things produce small amounts of CO2/energy use compared to other things?
gollark: Nukes are outdated. Orbital laser strikes are where it's at.

See also

References
  1. "Համառոտ բնութագիր (Brief description)" (in Armenian). Official site of Union of Yerkrapah Volunteers. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
  2. Levitsky, Steven. Competitive Authoritarianism: Hybrid Regimes After the Cold War. p. 209.
  3. P. Croissant, Michael. The Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict: causes and implications. p. 123.
  4. "Armenian War Veterans Divided Over 2008 Election". Armtown. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  5. Lowell, Barrington (2006). After Independence: Making and Protecting the Nation in Postcolonial & Postcommunist States. University of Michigan Press. p. 241.
  6. De Waal, Thomas. Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan Through Peace and War. p. 244.
  7. Новости — Армения
  8. "В Армении отмечают день «Еркрапа»" (in Russian). Regnum. 8 May 2006. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  9. Legislation: National Assemly of RA
  10. День Еркрапа в Армении — 8 мая. История и особенности праздника в проекте Календарь Праздников 2010

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