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POLITICAL TRADITION: ARMENIAN COMMUNITY IN RUSSIA SAYS WILL VOTE FOR PRO-GOVERNMENT CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT
By Naira Hayrumyan
ArmeniaNow
29.02.12 | 14:33
The Union of Armenians of Russia (UAR) has stated its support for
Russia's powerful Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who is currently a
candidate in the March 4 presidential election.
The statement was delivered during a February 26 event held at one of
Moscow's largest concert halls. The UAR-organized event was attended
by invited guests from the Armenian Diaspora, as well as other ethnic
and youth organizations from Moscow and regions of Russia.
UAR Chairman Ara Abrahamyan, who is a Putin proxy in the upcoming
vote, stated that the current prime minister has made an "invaluable
contribution to the development of friendly relations and strategic
partnership between Russia and Armenia."
"It is thanks to Putin that we have a great progress in
Armenian-Russian relations, including in terms of military cooperation,
due to which there is no war in Armenia, and the president of Armenia
visited Russia 17 times," said Abrahamyan.
Another prominent figure among Moscow Armenians, Artur Chilingarov,
said: "Russia can count on the Russian Armenians, who understand that
there must be stability and progress in the country that can only be
ensured by Putin."
"Putin has a very attentive and respectful attitude towards Armenia and
us, the Armenians living and working in this country. I have known the
prime minister personally for 25 years, and during all this time he
has never spoke to me like to a 'person of Caucasian nationality',"
Chilingarov, a prominent polar explorer, Hero of Russia, and member
of the State Duma said in one of his interviews.
(A person of Caucasian nationality is a diminutive collective term
used by many in Russia to refer to the natives of the North and South
Caucasus, which reflects a general anti-Caucasian mood in the country).
Other presidential candidates, such as leader of the Liberal
Democratic Party of Russia Vladimir Zhirinovsky and Communist leader
Gennady Zyuganov also met with representatives of the Armenian
community. Both made statements about a peaceful settlement of the
Karabakh problem. Zhirinovsky even said that if elected he would
recognize Karabakh's unification with Armenia or the independence
of Nagorno-Karabakh.
But Chilingarov says: "We do not even think about voting for another
candidate [other than Putin]."
The Armenian community in Russia, as a rule, votes for the government
candidates. While in the United States or France, where people will
also elect their presidents this year, representatives of the Armenian
community try to figure out who of the candidates can better defend
their interests, there is no such question raised in Russia.
The Armenian communities in the U.S., France and other countries
sometimes feel their choice is not justified or is justified. In some
other countries, for instance, in Iran or Syria, the large Armenian
communities prefer to remain neutral - they do not interfere in
internal political rumblings, realizing that they can become their
victim. In Russia, Armenians understand that even their neutrality
would not be enough for Putin and they need to say out loud that
the influential prime minister and would-be president is the only
guarantor of friendship between Armenians and Russians.
Remarkably, one of the leaders of the radical opposition movement in
Russia is also an ethnic Armenian - ex-chess champion Garry Kasparov.
It is not known whether ethnic Armenians were among those attending
protests in Moscow against election fraud, at least nothing has been
said about it officially.
It is also interesting that in Armenia, representatives of several
political forces, including Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan called
on Russian citizens to vote for Putin on March 4, stating that
"Armenian-Russian strategic cooperation has strengthened in recent
years."
The most remarkable thing, however, is that no one has even bothered
to note that it is Dmitry Medvedev, and not Putin, who has led Russia
as president in recent years.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
By Naira Hayrumyan
ArmeniaNow
29.02.12 | 14:33
The Union of Armenians of Russia (UAR) has stated its support for
Russia's powerful Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who is currently a
candidate in the March 4 presidential election.
The statement was delivered during a February 26 event held at one of
Moscow's largest concert halls. The UAR-organized event was attended
by invited guests from the Armenian Diaspora, as well as other ethnic
and youth organizations from Moscow and regions of Russia.
UAR Chairman Ara Abrahamyan, who is a Putin proxy in the upcoming
vote, stated that the current prime minister has made an "invaluable
contribution to the development of friendly relations and strategic
partnership between Russia and Armenia."
"It is thanks to Putin that we have a great progress in
Armenian-Russian relations, including in terms of military cooperation,
due to which there is no war in Armenia, and the president of Armenia
visited Russia 17 times," said Abrahamyan.
Another prominent figure among Moscow Armenians, Artur Chilingarov,
said: "Russia can count on the Russian Armenians, who understand that
there must be stability and progress in the country that can only be
ensured by Putin."
"Putin has a very attentive and respectful attitude towards Armenia and
us, the Armenians living and working in this country. I have known the
prime minister personally for 25 years, and during all this time he
has never spoke to me like to a 'person of Caucasian nationality',"
Chilingarov, a prominent polar explorer, Hero of Russia, and member
of the State Duma said in one of his interviews.
(A person of Caucasian nationality is a diminutive collective term
used by many in Russia to refer to the natives of the North and South
Caucasus, which reflects a general anti-Caucasian mood in the country).
Other presidential candidates, such as leader of the Liberal
Democratic Party of Russia Vladimir Zhirinovsky and Communist leader
Gennady Zyuganov also met with representatives of the Armenian
community. Both made statements about a peaceful settlement of the
Karabakh problem. Zhirinovsky even said that if elected he would
recognize Karabakh's unification with Armenia or the independence
of Nagorno-Karabakh.
But Chilingarov says: "We do not even think about voting for another
candidate [other than Putin]."
The Armenian community in Russia, as a rule, votes for the government
candidates. While in the United States or France, where people will
also elect their presidents this year, representatives of the Armenian
community try to figure out who of the candidates can better defend
their interests, there is no such question raised in Russia.
The Armenian communities in the U.S., France and other countries
sometimes feel their choice is not justified or is justified. In some
other countries, for instance, in Iran or Syria, the large Armenian
communities prefer to remain neutral - they do not interfere in
internal political rumblings, realizing that they can become their
victim. In Russia, Armenians understand that even their neutrality
would not be enough for Putin and they need to say out loud that
the influential prime minister and would-be president is the only
guarantor of friendship between Armenians and Russians.
Remarkably, one of the leaders of the radical opposition movement in
Russia is also an ethnic Armenian - ex-chess champion Garry Kasparov.
It is not known whether ethnic Armenians were among those attending
protests in Moscow against election fraud, at least nothing has been
said about it officially.
It is also interesting that in Armenia, representatives of several
political forces, including Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan called
on Russian citizens to vote for Putin on March 4, stating that
"Armenian-Russian strategic cooperation has strengthened in recent
years."
The most remarkable thing, however, is that no one has even bothered
to note that it is Dmitry Medvedev, and not Putin, who has led Russia
as president in recent years.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress