Tweet
`If it goes like this, Gyumri will definitely become Putinograd.'
Vahan Tumasyan
September 28 2013
It has been a few days since the inhabitants of Russian dwelling place
Petushok, Gyumri, or the same as the 8th district (Gyumri people call
it Vosmoy garadok) receive a note from the Russian 102nd military base
responsible persons saying to immediately leave their apartments
within 10 days. Yesterday, over the Gala TV, utterly surprised
inhabitants were expressing their outrage with regard to this fact,
emphasizing that they did not get their flats from the air, but they
have family members working in the Russia 102nd military base.
According to their information, there are deported to expand the
Russian military base for recruitment of new Russian servicemen. The
matter is about non-privatized apartments, in which the Armenian
families have spent a lot of money; they had applied for privatization
on time but they were rejected. However, the inhabitants facing the
danger of becoming homeless were angry about the fact that the
Russians treat them as they want on the Armenian ground. Aravot.am
asked for the opinion regarding this issue from Vahan Tumasyan,
President of `Shirak Center' NGO, which is engaged in the issues of
Gyumri homeless. `I still told a year ago that so many people will
migrate from Gyumri that just as many people will be left as needed to
serve the Russian military base, making it work,'- reminded Vahan
Tumasyan in the beginning of the conversation. To our observation
whether the Armenians serving for the Russian military base are
actullay moved out of their apartments, the head of the NGO said,- `If
I'm not mistaken, in 1991, when the contract was signed, then several
new contracts were re-signed, the Armenian side should have taken into
account the risks, that some monetary compensation to the border
troops was to be expected, as well as who was going to solve the
issues of housing and domestic with regard to recruitment of Russian
troops, and so on. They must have understood that they would encounter
such challenges, and now the Customs Union and so on ... Of course, it
is sad, that there is a huge army of homeless in Gyumri, and we are
adding the number of homeless families in the city year-after-year,
this definitely will have a grave consequences: it will increase the
migration from the city, will increase the poverty. Of course, the
matter over there is a little different, if I'm not mistaken, this
district was originally built and envisaged for the Russian military
officers, later Armenians were also living there, resale took place.
But, before that, Armenian families who were serving in the Russian
military base, were living there and they all had Russian citizenship.
The sad part is that we refused many to get apartments because they
had Russian citizenship, and the Russian side moves out its citizens
from, naturally, service apartments, if the apartments were
privatized, nothing could have happened. To note that many of those
citizens of Armenia were much more dedicated to Russia than the
original Russians who live in the RF. What can you do, it is their own
property,'- said Vahan Tumasyan. In response to the question whether
it is possible that one day Gyumri will be again renamed to
Alexandrapol due to the fact of increasing the number of Russians and
such mastering pose of the Russians, our interlocutor said, `I want to
approach this issue optimistically, and hope that a normal solution
will be found, but if you jokingly approach to what said, then why we
should call Gyumri with the female name of old tsars, Alexandrapol,
instead of renaming with the name of the modern one, Putinograd. Not
until the knife reaches the bone, we understand that you can not live
with the status of a vassal, if our authorities keep with the
Armenian-Russian relations as such, definitely our city will become
Putinograd, but I am sure that we will not allow it,' said our
interlocutor.
Nune AREVSHATYAN
Read more at: http://en.aravot.am/2013/09/28/161809/
Vahan Tumasyan
September 28 2013
It has been a few days since the inhabitants of Russian dwelling place
Petushok, Gyumri, or the same as the 8th district (Gyumri people call
it Vosmoy garadok) receive a note from the Russian 102nd military base
responsible persons saying to immediately leave their apartments
within 10 days. Yesterday, over the Gala TV, utterly surprised
inhabitants were expressing their outrage with regard to this fact,
emphasizing that they did not get their flats from the air, but they
have family members working in the Russia 102nd military base.
According to their information, there are deported to expand the
Russian military base for recruitment of new Russian servicemen. The
matter is about non-privatized apartments, in which the Armenian
families have spent a lot of money; they had applied for privatization
on time but they were rejected. However, the inhabitants facing the
danger of becoming homeless were angry about the fact that the
Russians treat them as they want on the Armenian ground. Aravot.am
asked for the opinion regarding this issue from Vahan Tumasyan,
President of `Shirak Center' NGO, which is engaged in the issues of
Gyumri homeless. `I still told a year ago that so many people will
migrate from Gyumri that just as many people will be left as needed to
serve the Russian military base, making it work,'- reminded Vahan
Tumasyan in the beginning of the conversation. To our observation
whether the Armenians serving for the Russian military base are
actullay moved out of their apartments, the head of the NGO said,- `If
I'm not mistaken, in 1991, when the contract was signed, then several
new contracts were re-signed, the Armenian side should have taken into
account the risks, that some monetary compensation to the border
troops was to be expected, as well as who was going to solve the
issues of housing and domestic with regard to recruitment of Russian
troops, and so on. They must have understood that they would encounter
such challenges, and now the Customs Union and so on ... Of course, it
is sad, that there is a huge army of homeless in Gyumri, and we are
adding the number of homeless families in the city year-after-year,
this definitely will have a grave consequences: it will increase the
migration from the city, will increase the poverty. Of course, the
matter over there is a little different, if I'm not mistaken, this
district was originally built and envisaged for the Russian military
officers, later Armenians were also living there, resale took place.
But, before that, Armenian families who were serving in the Russian
military base, were living there and they all had Russian citizenship.
The sad part is that we refused many to get apartments because they
had Russian citizenship, and the Russian side moves out its citizens
from, naturally, service apartments, if the apartments were
privatized, nothing could have happened. To note that many of those
citizens of Armenia were much more dedicated to Russia than the
original Russians who live in the RF. What can you do, it is their own
property,'- said Vahan Tumasyan. In response to the question whether
it is possible that one day Gyumri will be again renamed to
Alexandrapol due to the fact of increasing the number of Russians and
such mastering pose of the Russians, our interlocutor said, `I want to
approach this issue optimistically, and hope that a normal solution
will be found, but if you jokingly approach to what said, then why we
should call Gyumri with the female name of old tsars, Alexandrapol,
instead of renaming with the name of the modern one, Putinograd. Not
until the knife reaches the bone, we understand that you can not live
with the status of a vassal, if our authorities keep with the
Armenian-Russian relations as such, definitely our city will become
Putinograd, but I am sure that we will not allow it,' said our
interlocutor.
Nune AREVSHATYAN
Read more at: http://en.aravot.am/2013/09/28/161809/