– As of today, how many Armenians live in Russia?
– Nearly two and a half million, of which 20% are straight from Armenia; the rest were either born in Russia, or have moved here from Abkhazia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan. There are many Armenians from Javakhk and more than 300,000 refugees.
- What about Moscow?
– Based on my statistics, as well as the embassy’s, there are approximately 350,000 Armenians living in Moscow alone.
– Mr. Ambassador, as you know, Armenia now allows dual citizenship. How will the legal issues be solved regarding this because, after all, this is possible?
– That’s a very important issue. This concerns Armenians everywhere and it is complicated due to the fact that, for example in Russia, there are fewer Armenians than the Diaspora. Diplomats must find ways to solve this issue, after which a dual contract will be signed. This is not that hard because Russian legislation doesn’t have a ban on dual citizenship.
– How many of our compatriots have dual citizenship?
– 20% of Russian Armenians are Armenians born in Armenia and 70% of them have two passports. That’s a fact.
– Which army do the young men with two passports have to serve in?
– We have a problem solving the army issue. All male citizens of Armenia are obligated to serve in the Armed Forces of Armenia. Armenians usually move to Russia due to family matters; there are others, though, who move here in order to escape from the army. This past year, we were able to send many young men to Armenia to serve in the army and then come back to Russia. People are starting to realize that they can’t spend their whole lives running away from the law and have to serve sooner or later. Many have finally gotten the picture and it’s our job to help them out. We meet with the citizens, give explanations, and tell them that even if they are persecuted, they will not be blamed for anything if they go to Armenia. After hearing this, they feel safe to go serve in the Armenian army. They are satisfied. I would also like to mention the fact that Russia has many good students studying at the universities, including students from the Moscow International Affairs Institute, the institute named after Patris Lumumba, but they must serve in the army. The embassy is currently negotiating with Armenia to allow giving those young men a temporary status because they really are the future of Armenia.
– How would you describe the Armenian community of Russia?
– Russian Armenians have just recently started using the word Diaspora because before we were simply citizens of the same country. It has already been 15 years that we are a community and we are just starting to work with new mentalities. Armenians finally realize that in order to keep the national and cultural values alive, each Armenian parent must send his or her child to Armenian school so that he doesn’t forget his native language, connects with the Armenian culture and Armenia. In all parts of the world, where there are Armenians, there are always some rich people that finance the construction of Armenian churches and Sunday schools, parents invite Armenian teachers to teach their children Armenian. This is how the community forms. Not all communities have leaders, but I can surely say that 70-80% of the communities are formed. During the past couple of years, we have had contact with many people, we keep in touch and meet once a year. There are some regions where Armenians are extremely active, for example, Armenians from Permi, Rostov and Samara. One of the embassy’s greatest achievements is Russia’s Armenian Union. This union has managed to establish branches all over the world, the staff works with the Armenians from different regions. The Armenians in Moscow help us a lot too. We solve many issues with the help of those unions.
– There are many rich Armenians in Russia. How do they feel here? Do they have any contact with Armenia?
– One of the reasons why they are so successful is due to the ongoing ties between Russia and Armenia in different fields, including security. But no matter what, they are guests here. The embassy actually managed to make the rich show some interest towards Armenia. In any case, any Armenian who actually does something here, has the capital, already has his business branch in Armenia. Someone builds stores; the other builds residential buildings, while someone else has a hotel or small factories. They say that they prefer having small businesses, but rest assured that they have at least one branch in Armenia. We all know that no businessman invests a huge amount of money out of nowhere. He has to have at least a little income. They are in the market and are currently making more investments. In addition to that, they also work with their Russian colleagues.
– What problems do Armenians have in Russia?
– They mainly have problems with documentation. Currently, tens of thousands of Armenians live and work in Russia with old, Soviet passports. For the time being, that is just a piece of paper and there is no law on that neither in Russia nor Armenia. They are mainly the people in the regions. Those people don’t leave the regions; they work there, their children go to school there, nobody asks them for a passport. In other words, they don’t need it. We simply inform them via the press, the consul or the communities that if they wish to travel to another country, as soon as they set foot out of Russia, they will be considered as foreigners and will be deported from the country. There is one other problem. According to the new law, the price for changing a passport ranges from 100-200 dollars and all children must have a passport. Many can’t afford to buy a passport. The embassy tries to lend a helping hand to families with many children and pensioners, but that doesn’t solve the problem. Another thing is that Russia is a large country and it costs a lot, for example, to get to Moscow from Yakutia or Vladivostok. We can’t really solve all the problems with the consuls. After all, the embassy only has two consuls-one in Rostov and the other in St. Petersburg. Besides that, many citizens have passports with expired dates. Those passports are considered invalid and people will not be able to go anywhere with them. Our consul will soon visit different regions of Russia and clear things up. Now it is foreseen to go to Yekaterinburg, then Orenburg, etc. We have already informed some citizens to appeal to the consul or the community leaders regarding such issues.
– How do Russians treat Armenians?
– Russians treat Armenians fairly. It’s not worth talking about which Armenian did what. Those kinds of things happen everywhere; this concerns Russia as a whole. Overall, Russians are nice to Armenians. After all, Armenia and Russia are allies, and so are the people. I am proud to say that the embassy does everything it can to keep Armenia’s reputation high.
– Although Armenia is considered to be Russia’s strategic ally, however in contrast to, let’s say, Ukrainian citizens, Armenian citizens without registration are only permitted to stay in Russia for three days. Isn’t the embassy doing anything about this?
– Of course, we feel really bad about that. We are doing everything we can. The embassy talked about that with Grizlov and Mironov last year. That is a legal issue and it is in the process. I even brought up an example for the Russian side: let’s say you come to Russia on a Friday night and have to leave on Monday. What if the registration lines are too long and you don’t make it in time to register? Will you be considered an outlaw? That’s not the way it should be.
– How will Russia benefit from the Year of Armenia in Russia?
– Armenians tend to think that other people know us well enough and that each Russian must know about Armenia. But it’s not like that. We have to always work towards showing our culture. We Armenians have many things to be proud of. The events dedicated to the Year of Armenia in Russia will give Russians a chance to communicate. It will also give a chance for Russian businessmen, economists, political figures, professors and artists to establish firmer ties, make new investments and that is when Armenia will start to develop. I think that this year will be beneficial for both countries. We will be able to lend a helping hand to the Armenian society, as well as the young people so that they can go to other countries and present their culture to different ethnic groups. Let them feel what it’s like to be Armenian. They will never know what they are capable of doing unless they get out of Yerevan for a while. Some concerts will not go so well, fine, the other will be better, let them criticize; that’s a good thing because there will be different opinions. This is how a country develops.
– Which artist’s performance did president Putin like the most during the opening ceremony?
– He really enjoyed the performance by the “Artsakh” dance ensemble and Barsegh Tumanyan’s performance. After Barsegh Tumanyan’s song, the president said: ‘I had never heard such an amazing voice’. He also enjoyed listening to the duduk played by Jivan Gasparyan. But of course, Putin has known him for a long time already.