Armenian homelands and homecomings 1945-9 : the repatriation of diaspora Armenians to the Soviet Union

This article, based on research in the Armenian National Archives, focuses upon a neglected aspect of early Cold War history, the repatriation of diasporan Armenians to the Soviet Union (1945-9). I highlight the contested and historically conditioned nature of homelands, examining the multiple ways in which Soviet authorities and diaspora agencies attempted to authenticate Soviet Armenia as a 'homeland'. Armenian constructions of homeland were transformed through the process of homecoming, and I examine attempts to reconcile the realities of life in the Soviet Union with diasporic visions of homeland based on an idealized national past.