Garagishlag is a village in the Iravan uezd of the former Iravan governorate, later in the former Zangibasar (Masis) district, and currently in the Ararat province. The provincial centre lies 24 km to the northwest of the town of Gamarli, on the right bank of the Zangi River, at a height of 835 m above sea level. It was marked in “The Iravan Province Comprehensive Data Book” compiled in 1590 and on the five-verst map of the Caucasus.

The village was inhabited by 151 Azerbaijanis in 1831, 735 in 1873, 1,007 in 1897, 832 in 1904, 1,123 in 1914 and 1,052 Azerbaijanis in 1916. In 1918 the Azerbaijanis were attacked by Armenian armed forces, massacred and deported. Only following the establishment of Soviet power in the territory of present-day Armenia, some of the villagers managed to return to their lands. The village was inhabited by 514 Azerbaijanis in 1922, 753 in 1926, 850 in 1931, 1,179 in 1959, 1,843 in 1970 and 1,896 Azerbaijanis in 1979. In October-November 1988 the Azerbaijanis were deported from their historical and ethnic lands by the Armenian government. Currently, the village is inhabited by Armenians only.

The toponym was coined by combining the word “gara”, which implies “big, large” in Old Turkic, and the word “gishlag”, which implies “a place where animals live in winter”.

By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Armenian SSR dated 25 January 1978, the village was renamed to “Dostlug”, and by decision dated 3 April 1991, it was renamed “Hayanist”. According to the law “On the administrative-territorial division of the Republic of Armenia” dated 7 November 1995, it was integrated into the administrative area of the Ararat province.

Geographical coordinates: latitude: 40°07’ N., longitude: 44°22’