Bulgaria, Loyal Ally of Armenia, Forms Bilateral Chamber of Commerce Hoping for Peace Dividend

Estimates of the community’s size today vary wildly, though the 2011 census put the number at  6,552. That would make Armenians the nation’s fifth largest minority, after Russians. The chief communities are in Plovdiv (3,140 in 2011), Varna (2,240), Sofia (1,672) and Burgas (904).

Among prominent Bulgarians of Armenian origin was Sofia-born Steven Derounian (R-NY), a lawmaker represented his Long Island district in the House of Representatives for six terms, from 1953 to 1965, and later served as justice of the New York Supreme Court.

Another is Alice Panikian, Miss Universe Canada 2006, who at 1.85 meters is the tallest national beauty pageant titleholder in Canadian history.

Armenia’s new ambassador to Bulgaria, Tsovinar Hambartsumyan, took up her post in Sofia last year after serving as her country’s top envoy to Italy, with concurrent accreditation to San Marino and Malta. Before being posted to Rome, Hambartsumyan — who’s fluent in English, Italian and Russian — studied Oriental languages at Yerevan State University and held various government jobs within the office of the presidency.

On May 22, 2024, her predecessor, then-Ambassador Armen Yedigarian, joined in a ceremony in Varna to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of French-Armenian singer Charles Aznavour.

Hampartzoumian himself is the product of an Armenian father and a Bulgarian mother.

“Being at the crossroads for 2,000 years, Bulgaria has always been at the periphery of something, whether it was the Roman Empire, the Ottoman Empire or the Soviet bloc,” he said. “Now it’s on the periphery of the European Union.”

And with war still raging between Russia and Ukraine, Bulgaria, a NATO member, is now a country on the front lines.

“War next door is never good news. But we can turn lemons into lemonade,” he said. “Ukraine has big Bulgarian communities, so Bulgarians naturally feel an affiliation for Ukrainians. The fact is, for so many years, Russia militarily and economically protected Armenia from its predominantly Muslim neighbors. But in the last war, the Russians simply abandoned them.”

The executive added: “This war with Russia is not going to end soon. But in the meantime, it’s boosting the defense industry as well as trade with Ukraine. Certain infrastructure projects will be developed in coming years, in order to strengthen north-south connections. Whether we’re in the beginning of the next hot or cold war, I don’t know.”