The world of the blatnoy (Russian slang word for “criminal”), the world of profanity and the world of violence are well-studied in Russian culture. In other cultures too, the world of violence has been and is being profoundly explored. Yet, the world of my Yerevan boyhood has been explored neither scientifically, nor artistically. I think that unless it is scrutinized, so-called masculinity will not be understood.
