Kim Kardashian is one of the most famous people in the world: all of her steps and especially her photos are consumed by any and all media formats — from posts on social media to fashion magazines to TV shows. 

Her every move is a presentation, an advertisement of herself — sustenance to not reduce the interest toward her (actions, thoughts, attire, products).

She is a phenomenon because she is simultaneously nothing and everything: a little bit TV star, a little bit model, a little bit entrepreneur. She is first and foremost a media personality and in accordance with the rules of mass media, that which involves her is disseminated and advertised through online lateral connections. 

If her path is crossed with another path, then the other person benefits. And so, from April 8–13, it was Armenia that benefitted. And it really did benefit, since notions that should’ve long ago been displaced shifted. 

The Kardashian West family visit changed much in Armenia. I’m not just talking about the unprecedented interest in and PR for Armenia and all things Armenian in international news outlets and social media, but about the transformations taking place in Armenia.

The world wrote about Armenia because Kim Kardashian was in Armenia, but Armenia too began to feel (perhaps also position) itself differently because Kim Kardashian, who has notions about public relations different from ours, had come.

We’ve grown accustomed to the fact that everything in Armenia happens from the top-down: they dictate from above; those below understand what is said and send it further down, while those further below them carry out the order. 

Such a hierarchical model was successful in the Soviet bureaucratic system and within the criminal world. And the same continues in the public life of independent Armenia.

But Kim Kardashian is a different figure, disseminated horizontally (not hierarchically).

With at first glance brave and improvisational (but upon second glance, very calculated) moves and public strolls, she proposed to local Armenians to be a little bit different. Not residents of a police state. And many people liked that. 

For example, without shutting down the streets, dismissing journalists, and being hysterical while walking in the city; being photographed while carrying her daughter; waving; hugging unhygienic elderly women while smiling; and taking selfies with local Armenians.  

A public figure displayed public behavior, and that behavior stemmed from the public’s perceptions. Kim Kardashian appeared in Yerevan without very revealing clothing and without a very lavish entourage; in some cases, unassuming and modest; in other cases, jovial and sociable. In short, as was right. 

When initially, some locals were condescending and sarcastic when speaking about her visit (who is she, anyway?), especially in the context of the centenary of the Armenian Genocide, after a few of her public walks, the number of Kim Kardashian fans increased significantly. 

Many, believing the world to be imperfect and rotten (well, it’s the lawless like Kim who possess everything), tried to justify her visit by adopting a position that regardless of everything, her visit should be used for the purpose of informing the world about the Armenian Genocide. 

But it turned out that the best “user” was Kim Kardashian herself. She and her husband, rapper Kanye West, used us, returning to public life the forgotten feeling of  joy, ease, and protection. 

This absolutely apolitical family for a few days at least dismantled the prevailing Soviet hierarchical thinking. First, it proved that thousands of people can assemble in the center of Yerevan in just half an hour. And needed for that are just one or two posts on social media and to hell with traditional media and traditional propaganda.

And then, to organize a spontaneous live concert in Swan Lake and grant unspeakable joy to those gathered. To invigorate slumbering public life, by jumping in the lake and walking in the water.

Very often the best political re-interpretations begin not from politicians’ empty speeches, but from happy and liberal sparks that appear in public life and spread to social media with a boomerang effect.

In any case, Kardashian and West really worked in Armenia and did everything possible in the media and public life to make us feel the pleasure of de-Sovietization. 

Nune Hakhverdyan

The views expressed in the column are those of the author's and do not necessarily reflect the views of Media.am.