“The Russification of Armenia has gained so much momentum that it is hard to predict where it will take us,” writes “Haykakan Zhamanak.” The paper points to government plans to hand over Yerevan’s Erebuni airport to the Russian military base in Armenia. “The airport is already being used by the Russian Air Force,” it says. “But with this decision it will become the property of the base. This is obviously our government’s present to [Russian] Vladimir Putin in connection with his December 2 visit to Armenia. There are still two weeks left before December 2 and it is not known how many more square meters will be transferred to Russia.”
“Those who are against Armenia’s entry into the [Russian-led] Customs Union and Armenia’s neo-Sovietization are noting with alarm recent contacts between Armenia and Russia,” writes “Hraparak.” “Hardly a day goes by without news of an official [Armenian] delegation leaving for Russia or a government official holding meetings with Russian government circles. Only two months have passed since September 3 (the day when President Serzh Sarkisian announced his decision to join the customs union), but there is so much activity that one might think the union has already taken shape and a brisk trade is underway in the post-Soviet space or there is a real threat of global war and we need to take active defensive measures. This flurry will be capped by the Russian tsar’s landmark visit to Armenia.”
“The current authorities are continuing to hide the existing poverty indicators,” claims “Zhoghovurd.” The paper says that a report on food security in Armenia released by the National Statistical Service (NSS) says nothing about the poverty rate. “This is hardly accidental,” it says. “Even according to official statistics, the poverty rate in Armenia is not decreasing and continues to stand at around 35 percent.”
(Hovannes Movsisian)
“Those who are against Armenia’s entry into the [Russian-led] Customs Union and Armenia’s neo-Sovietization are noting with alarm recent contacts between Armenia and Russia,” writes “Hraparak.” “Hardly a day goes by without news of an official [Armenian] delegation leaving for Russia or a government official holding meetings with Russian government circles. Only two months have passed since September 3 (the day when President Serzh Sarkisian announced his decision to join the customs union), but there is so much activity that one might think the union has already taken shape and a brisk trade is underway in the post-Soviet space or there is a real threat of global war and we need to take active defensive measures. This flurry will be capped by the Russian tsar’s landmark visit to Armenia.”
“The current authorities are continuing to hide the existing poverty indicators,” claims “Zhoghovurd.” The paper says that a report on food security in Armenia released by the National Statistical Service (NSS) says nothing about the poverty rate. “This is hardly accidental,” it says. “Even according to official statistics, the poverty rate in Armenia is not decreasing and continues to stand at around 35 percent.”
(Hovannes Movsisian)