Tag Archives: Armenia

Russian court to try soldier for Armenian murders

>>Murders have strained Armenia-Russia relations>>

JAN. 20 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — A Russian soldier who allegedly killed a family of seven near his base in Armenia will be tried in a Russian military court and not by an Armenian civil court, media reported.

On Jan. 19, a week after six members of the same family died, a six-month-old baby died of wounds sustained in the same attack. No motive has been put forward for the murders.

The news that Valery Permyakov, the soldier who reportedly shot dead the family and then went on the run, will be tried in a Russian military court rather than an Armenian civil court will enflame tension further.

On Jan. 15, three days after the murders, several thousand people demonstrated in Yerevan and Gyumri, where Russia keeps a large military base, calling for the soldier to be handed over to Armenian police.

Reports from the demonstration at Gyumri said that 12 people were injured in fighting with riot police.

Relations between Russia and Armenia are generally cordial — Armenia has joined the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union and also looks to the Kremlin to both support its economy and also to keep the military balance in the region — but the murders and the economic slowdown have strained ties.

For Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan, the murders and the public discontent they have fermented, represent a problem. He needs to ensure that relations with Russia remain good but that the protesters also feel like they are being listened to.
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 215, published on Jan. 21 2015)

Attackers beat civil activist in Armenia

JAN. 18 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Masked attackers beat a high-profile civil rights activist Vilen Gabrielian in Yerevan with wooden clubs, media reported. Mr Gabrielian was hospitalised after the attack with head injuries. One of his colleagues said that the attack was linked to his work The authorities have not confirmed this.
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 215, published on Jan. 21 2015)

Armenian economy to stagnate

JAN. 15 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — The inter-government European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said the fall in the Russian rouble and a general economic downturn will knock Armenia’s economy into a recession this year. Armenia’s economy is particularly tied into Russia’s fortunes.
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 215, published on Jan. 21 2015)

Russian soldier murders Armenian family

>>Murders trigger anger at Russian base>>

JAN. 13 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — A Russian soldier serving at Russia’s vast military base at Gyumri in Armenia murdered six members of a family and went on the run before being captured, media reported.

The killings have raised tension around the base with dozens of demonstrators reportedly calling for an apology from the base commander.

Gyumri is one of Russia’s largest overseas bases with about 3,000 soldiers stationed there. Armenia’s government views it as an important counterbalance to increasing Azerbaijani military dominance in the region.

Russian officials said that the soldier, named as Private Valery Permyakov, had been captured trying to cross into Turkey a few hours after the murders. No reason for the murders has been given.

According to officials, Permyakov shot dead six members of a local family. The only survivor was a six-month-old boy who was stabbed.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 214, published on Jan. 14 2015)

Armenia, Azerbaijan armies clash around N-K

JAN. 12 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Armenia accused Azerbaijan of killing two of its soldiers along the border to the dispute region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Separatists backed by Armenia control Nagorno-Karabakh but peace, or a relative peace, is only held by a 1994 UN-brokered ceasefire. There are weekly shootings along the border.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 214, published on Jan. 14 2015)

Kim Kardashian to visit Armenia

JAN. 13 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Armenia is bracing itself for a major celebrity visit when Kim Kardashian, a Los Angeles-based reality TV star, and her sisters travel to Yerevan later this year. US media announced that the sisters were planning a visit to their ancestral homeland.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 214, published on Jan. 14 2015)

Mrs Clooney to represent Armenia

JAN. 12 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — The new Mrs Clooney, wife of Hollywood superstar George, is adding a dash of glamour to a case going through the European Court of Human Rights involving Armenia. Amal Clooney has agreed to represent Armenia as it challenges an appeal against a Turkish politician who denied an alleged genocide against Armenia in 1915.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 214, published on Jan. 14 2015

Azerbaijan bans UK tour company

JAN. 12 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijan’s ministry of culture has said it may ban British tour operator Regent Holidays after the company started advertising trips to Nagorno-Karabakh via Armenia. Azerbaijan and Armenia are still officially at war over Nagorno-Karabakh.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 214, published on Jan. 14 2015)

Armenia increases interest rates

>>Russian rate rise triggers Armenian reaction>>

DEC. 23 2014, (The Conway Bulletin) — Armenia’s Central Bank raised its key interest rate to 8.5% from 6.75%, a move widely interpreted as an attempt to keep up with its Russian counterpart.

Inflation in Armenia is creeping up, mainly because of anticipated price pressure triggered by joining the
Kremlin-led Eurasian Economic Union which ties the Armenian economy even more closely into the Russian economy.

In November Armenia’s annualised inflation was 2.6% up from 2.2% in October and economists have said that this trend is likely to accelerate.

But the Russian Central Bank’s defence of its rouble currency is also giving its allies a headache.

In mid-December to stop a run on the rouble, the Russian Central Bank raised interest rates overnight to 17% from 10.5%. This has forced its closest allies to follow.

Armenia is in a tight spot.

It is so reliant on Russia that it has become a virtual satellite state, and more so after it signed a deal to enter the Eurasian Economic Union.

Adapting to the Kremlin’s Eurasian Economic Union and the impact of this political-economic move will dominate Armenia in 2015.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 213, published on Jan. 7 2015)

Armenia joins the Eurasian Economic Union

JAN. 1 2015, (The Conway Bulletin) — After a year long build up, Armenia joined the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union (EaEU). The EaEU also includes Kazakhstan and Belarus. Kyrgyzstan will join in May. Critics of the project have said that it is a Kremlin power grab.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 213, published on Jan. 7 2015)