Yerevan

Capital city, economic, and cultural centre of the independent Republic of Armenia, situated in the southern Caucasus 25 km/16 mi north of the Turkish border; population (1996) 1,200,000. Yerevan stands on the Razdan River, and is a major industrial city, manufacturing machine tools, agricultural equipment, chemicals, bricks, bicycles, and wine. Other industries include the production of aluminium, plastics, and textiles, fruit canning, and distilling.

Yerevan is one of the world's most ancient cities; it was first recorded in the 7th century, and was alternately Turkish and Persian from the 15th century until ceded to Russia in 1828. The city was devastated by an earthquake in 1988.

The city was the scene of mounting inter-ethnic violence and Armenian nationalist demonstrations during the late 1980s and early 1990s onwards. These were undertaken to secure a separate Armenian state (gained in 1991), and were fanned by a dispute with neighbouring Azerbaijan over the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Much of the electricity to power Yerevan's industry comes from a series of hydroelectric schemes along the Razdan. Armenia currently receives natural gas from Turkmenistan; the pipeline is cut off periodically, but efforts are being made to ensure a constant flow of gas via Georgia. The city is home to a university, founded in 1921, and the Armenian Academy of Sciences.