Yazidis in Armenia
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 35,272 (2011, census) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Armavir, Aragatsotn, Ararat, Kotayk provinces and Yerevan | |
| Languages | |
| Northern Kurdish (Kurmanci), Armenian, Russian | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| distinct ethno-religious group |
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| Province (marz) | Yazidis | % of Yazidis in Armenia | |||||
| Armavir | 17,665 |
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| Aragatsotn | 6,405 |
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| Ararat | 5,940 |
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| Yerevan | 4,733 |
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| Kotayk | 4,097 |
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| Shirak | 974 |
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| Lori | 793 |
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| Gegharkunik | 8 | ||||||
| Syunik | 4 | ||||||
| Tavush | 1 | ||||||
| Vayots Dzor | 0 | ||||||
| Total | 40,620 | 100% | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Yazidis in Armenia (Armenian: Եզդիներ Yezdiner, Ezdiki: Êzidî Yezidi, Russian: Езиды Ezidi) are the largest ethnic and religious minority in Armenia. They are well integrated into the Armenian society. They have freedom of religion and non-interference in their cultural traditions.
Many Yazidis came to Russian Empire (now territory Armenia and Georgia) during the 19th and early 20th centuries to escape religious persecution, as they were oppressed by the Ottoman Turks and the Sunni Kurds who tried to convert them to Islam. The Yazidis were massacred alongside the Armenians during the Armenian Genocide, causing many to flee to Russian held parts of Armenia. The first ever Yazidi school was opened in Armenia in 1920.
The Yezidi movement erupting in Armenia in 1988 appealed to the 3rd All-Armenian Yezidi Assembly convened on 30 September 1989 (the two previous Assemblies occurred at the dawn of the Armenian Soviet Republic’s history, in 1921 and 1923) to challenge the Government for the official recognition of their identity. As a result, the Yezidis were presented as a separate minority in the USSR population census of 1989. According to this very census, the total count of Yezidis in Armenia was 52,700. Thus, of ca. 60,000 persons formerly classified among the Kurds of Armenia, 88% identified themselves as Yezidi.
Many Yezidis volunteered during the Karabakh conflict to fight on the Armenian side.
According to the 2011 census, there are 35,272 Yazidis in Armenia. Ten years earlier, in the 2001 census, 40,620 Yazidis were registered in Armenia. Media have estimated the number of Yazidis in Armenia as between 30,000 and 50,000. Most of them are descendants of refugees to Armenia following the persecution during Ottoman rule, including during the Armenian Genocide, when many Armenians found refuge in Yazidi villages.
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Wikipedia