Today a Russian journalist visited the “168 Hours” editorial office. Correspondent of “Novaya Gazeta” newspaper of Rostov city of Russia, Anna Lebedeva has been in Armenia for about a week now and she is going to leave for Tbilisi soon.
Anna Lebedeva has already visited Stepanakert, Akhalkalak and Baku within the framework of her official visit to our region. The purpose of her visit is to see the situation in the Caucasus countries and then write about the economical and social situation in these countries by comparing with each other. “I can say that people in Russia have forgotten about the Caucasus. This is one side of the problem. The strangest thing is the fact that the citizens of Caucasus don’t know anything about themselves. I have been traveling in these countries for two weeks now and telling people what is happening in other countries”, told Anna Lebedeva during her conversation with us.
According to her, she noticed that Akhalkalak has the worst social status. She says that people in Yerevan live better compared to those in Tbilisi, but the situation in Baku is better than in Yerevan. “I was walking on the streets of Yerevan and decided to enter a house and find out how people lived there. This family had a serious problem with living conditions: some people were going to destruct their home, but the sum to be reimbursed was too small. The strangest thing is that we have the same problem too”, said the journalist from Rostov.
Anna Lebedeva was also interested in how well-known journalists and representatives of the intelligentsia leave Armenia. On the basis of the information she gave us we may assume that the prices for goods are almost the same in Rostov and Armenia. “The situation in Tbilisi was very bad. As soon as I approached someone to ask where the nearest underground station was, they started telling me about their problems”, said Anna Lebedeva.
During the two weeks period of her visit Lebedeva managed to organize two interviews with high ranked Armenian officials, one of which is Serj Sargsyan. Arthur Baghdasaryan refused to give an oral interview but said that he would answer her questions later in a written form.
“The fact that Armenian, Georgian and Azeri citizens don’t know Russian is not strange to me. Why should these independent states learn this language, which is foreign for them?” said Lebedeva.
Generally, she said that she had expected this before her visit to the region. When speaking about the old and new Yerevan, Tbilisi and Baku, Anna Lebedeva said that the only thing that has changed is the new buildings, which make the city look more modern, “Yerevan looks like little Beirut to me, but these constructions and new buildings are changing my imaginations about Yerevan”.