Yerevan Is Full of Russians; What Are the Pros & Cons?

Image caption: As of Sunday Night, the Upcoming Week of Available booking.com Rentals Were 97% Booked. Screenshot Taken From Booking.com.

“Cascade is full of Russians,” Emma Sarkisyan, a Russian-Armenian repat who moved to Yerevan this past summer, tells me. “I decided to have dinner at a restaurant on Cascade, and I definitely was the only Armenian inside,” she adds.

Sarkisyan’s observations are not far from reality.

As of last Friday, more than a dozen Russian companies have relocated their businesses to Armenia, according to the Ministry of Economy.

Repat/expat Armenian Facebook groups I’m personally in are full of Russians looking for apartments.

Up to 30 flights a day from different parts of Russia to Armenia every day throughout the past week, vis-a-vis three to five flights a day before the war.

If you were to check Booking.com, you’ll find 90%+ of the available listings to be booked. Someone on Twitter tweeted saying an Airbnb apartment he stayed in through the high season of June 2021 was now listed at 10-15 extra Euros a night.

This has been documented in articles everywhere, from one in The Guardian, to the New Republic’s The Soapbox.

What are some of the pros of the Russians in Armenia? Emma has a few ideas. The first, she says, is the relocation of Russian – and potentially Ukrainian and Belarussian – IT companies to Armenia. “It’s a known fact that their IT specialists are one of the bests in the field. On top of that, those businesses will pay taxes to the Armenian government, which would boost our economy,” says Sarkisyan.

She also thinks non-Armenian Russians would be willing to move to Armenia. “These will be the Russians that are most likely highly educated, successful in their respective fields, and broad-minded. The irony is that Russian-Armenians think that our “երկիրը երկիր չէ", while Russians might actually appreciate what we have,” adds Emma.

Finally, “no doubt that we lack any decent PR,” Sarkisyan tells me. “I feel like this new wave of immigration can help us in that.”

It’s not all rainbows and sunshine, though. Emma, who’s lived in Moscow for the majority of her lifetime, thinks a clash of cultures could create a problem. “Despite the fact that Armenia was a Soviet republic, we still have a mono-ethnic country. We have our own culture, our own pace of life and Russians are very different from us. It could potentially cause a clash of cultures, but hopefully, we’ll dodge that bullet.”

Why Armenia, though? I asked Dr. Karena Avedissian whose research and thesis are focused on social movements in Russia. Here’s what she tells me.

“Any activity critical of the Kremlin has been suppressed in Russia for years, especially since 2012. What’s happening in Russia today, however, is unprecedented.

Georgia and Armenia have become the most desired destinations for Russians escaping political persecution and economic uncertainty, as the two states have relatively open political systems and societies.

Anti-Russian sentiment in Georgia, particularly since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, has likely caused hesitation among some Russians to choose it as a destination, but as options narrow, I think that will matter less.

Central Asia will receive more departing Russians in the coming weeks. Still, Armenia is likely the current top destination.”

Armenia Has A New President – A Dive

Image caption: Vahagn Khatchaturyan Elected As Fifth President of Armenia (Photo by Armineaghayan/Wikimedia Commons)

Earlier last week, Vahagn Khachaturyan was elected as the fifth president of the second Republic of Armenia. Not having secured a supermajority of the first round (as the opposition boycotted the candidate and the elections), Khachaturyan was elected with simply majority, 71 votes, on the second round.

Khachaturyan has served as the former Mayor of Yerevan from 1992 till 1996. He’s also been an MP in the Armenian National Assembly from 1995 to 1999, and was a senior adviser to Levon Ter-Petrosyan. He was also a member of Ter-Petrosyan’s party, the Armenian National Congress.

Although not being a member of the Civil Contract party, he was appointed to be the Minister of High-Tech of Armenia in August of 2021 by said party, and later was their candidate for the role of the Republic’s presidency.

He’s served as a board member on the board of Armeconom Bank. He’s co-founded political initiative Aylentrank and also co-founded the ARMAT Center for Democracy and Civil Society Development.

Soccer Superstar Henrikh Mkhitaryan Leaves the Armenian National Team

Image caption: Mkhitaryan Decides to Leave the Armenian National Soccer Team (Photo by Станислав Ведмидь/Wikimedia Commons)

“It was an honor to play for my nation for the past 15 years and even more so of an honor to captain it for the last 6 years,” wrote Mkhitaryan in an online press release announcing his departure from Armenia’s National Soccer team.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan, referred to as Heno or Micki by fans, has wrapped up his career playing for the Armenian National Team. By signing up for Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund for €27.5 million, he became the most expensive Armenian soccer player of all time. He broke his own record by signing up for Manchester United for €34.3 million in 2014. He then transfered to Arsenal before settling permanently at Roma.

Heno’s been named Armenian Footballer of the Year 10 times.

I asked Tcharentz Bochoghlian, co-host of Football Kentron, the only English language podcast dedicated to Armenian football, what he thinks is next. “[Mkhitaryan] is one of the greatest Armenian players of all time. He has played a huge role over the years, which will not be easy to fill quickly.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan's retirement has paved way for the upcoming generation to step up for our National Team and there is a lot to come,” Bochoghlian told me. You can follow their work and commentary here.

“I remember when I first put on my National Team jersey, this was in a friendly against Panama, and my first goal for my nation, in a World Cup qualifier against Estonia. I wanted to win every step of my career, no matter how difficult that would be,” said Mkhitaryan in his farewell statement.

“After 95 international caps, hard work, passion and unprecedented ups and downs along the journey representing my country on the field, I have taken the decision to retire from my international career with the Armenian National Team.

“I came to this decision after my last game against Germany in November. I think it is the right time. I’ve given everything I can possibly give to my National Team,” explained Mkhitaryan.

The statement says he will focus on his clubs career for the foreseeable future. We wish him the best of luck.

Notable News:

Image caption: The Armenian Embassy in Ukraine Moves Out of Kyiv (Photo from Armenpress)

• Armenia celebrates 30 years of diplomatic relations with the Syrian Arab Republic. Read the statement here.

• Azerbaijani forces open intensive fire in the direction of Artsakh’s Khramort. Read more here.

• Two Armenian POWs are now jailed in Azerbaijan after circus trial rounds. Here are all the details.

• The European Parliament’s agenda this week includes the discussion on cultural destruction in Artsakh. Read about it here.

• “Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Jackie Speier (D-CA) and Vice-Chair Adam Schiff (D-CA), called for $50,000,000 to be “made available for assistance in Nagorno-Karabakh,” says the ANCA. Read the full report here.

• Armenia moves its Embassy out of Kyiv. Read the details here.

• Armenia currently fascilitating Ukrainian-Armenians’ move to Armenia from Poland via the Embassy in Warsaw, Poland. You can find details here.

• Gyumri and the Shirak Province at large experience an expanding paragliding industry, catering to the increased winter tourists’ demands. Read about it here.

Multimedia Corner

Image caption: The Armenian Cemetary in Surat, India, where Armenians once thrived. (Photo by YashIsIn/Wikimedia Commons)

Read: Read Peter Balakian’s latest in the Washington Post here, published on the occasion of the recent Russia-Ukraine war.

Listen: One of my all-time favorite songs must be Autumn/Ashun by Armenia-local band Lav Eli. It’s a feel-good, cozy song. You can listen to it on YouTube here, Spotify here, and Apple Music here. Enjoy!