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Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
April 25 2014
Property and views of new Armenian Prime Minister
25 April 2014 - 9:11am
Interview by David Stepanyan, Yerevan. Exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza
The former speaker of the Armenian parliament Ovik Abramyan was
appointed the new Prime Minister of Armenia on April 13th. He has
always been an inside man for the authorities. Traditionally in
Armenia the economic course of the government and its political views
depend on the property held by a new prime minister.
According to the official declaration of Abramyan's family, the
personal finances (accumulated capital) of the new prime minister were
$1950 thousand and 270 million drams in 2013. Abramyan's revenues were
43 million drams last year. The officially unemployed wife of
Abramyan, Juliette, had $2850 thousand and 300 million drams last
year.
However, the real picture differs from the official one. The prime
minister has been living a luxurious life since the 1990s, when
privatized property was beneficially sold. Abramyan indirectly and
unofficially owns the Artashat Wine Factory, machine plants, the
Sirius Plant, a movable column convoy, a taxi park, the Artashat
Hypermarket, a restaurant, a hotel and a casino in Artashat. He also
owns a wine factory, an automobile company, a concrete plant in
Mkhchyan Village, all gas-filling stations in the region; sandpits on
the Araks River, vast agricultural territories, and mines in several
residential areas of the Ararat Region, as well as a luxurious house
in Mkhchyan, where Abramyan has been living for recent years.
A person who has a medium-sized business property will think about the
sphere. No surprise that at his first session with businessmen, the
prime minister promised to reduce sales tax for small and medium-sized
businesses. Of course, a reduction in interest rates will contribute
to the development of the sphere, but it is not enough for development
of Armenian business in general. The main problem of business and the
economy of Armenia is the unbalanced distribution of the tax burden
between privileged monopolist businessmen and ordinary businessmen who
are not inside men for the government. Thus, the government's steps
will stop at populist measures which cannot improve the Armenian
economy.
As for the political views of the new premier, they are similar to the
views of the former president of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan. "When I
was the president, Ovik Abramyan was a good minister of territorial
management and vice-premier. Whether he will be a good premier, time
will tell. I wish him good luck sincerely, as he gets a poor heritage
from his predecessor," Kocharyan said about the appointment.
From: A. Papazian
April 25 2014
Property and views of new Armenian Prime Minister
25 April 2014 - 9:11am
Interview by David Stepanyan, Yerevan. Exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza
The former speaker of the Armenian parliament Ovik Abramyan was
appointed the new Prime Minister of Armenia on April 13th. He has
always been an inside man for the authorities. Traditionally in
Armenia the economic course of the government and its political views
depend on the property held by a new prime minister.
According to the official declaration of Abramyan's family, the
personal finances (accumulated capital) of the new prime minister were
$1950 thousand and 270 million drams in 2013. Abramyan's revenues were
43 million drams last year. The officially unemployed wife of
Abramyan, Juliette, had $2850 thousand and 300 million drams last
year.
However, the real picture differs from the official one. The prime
minister has been living a luxurious life since the 1990s, when
privatized property was beneficially sold. Abramyan indirectly and
unofficially owns the Artashat Wine Factory, machine plants, the
Sirius Plant, a movable column convoy, a taxi park, the Artashat
Hypermarket, a restaurant, a hotel and a casino in Artashat. He also
owns a wine factory, an automobile company, a concrete plant in
Mkhchyan Village, all gas-filling stations in the region; sandpits on
the Araks River, vast agricultural territories, and mines in several
residential areas of the Ararat Region, as well as a luxurious house
in Mkhchyan, where Abramyan has been living for recent years.
A person who has a medium-sized business property will think about the
sphere. No surprise that at his first session with businessmen, the
prime minister promised to reduce sales tax for small and medium-sized
businesses. Of course, a reduction in interest rates will contribute
to the development of the sphere, but it is not enough for development
of Armenian business in general. The main problem of business and the
economy of Armenia is the unbalanced distribution of the tax burden
between privileged monopolist businessmen and ordinary businessmen who
are not inside men for the government. Thus, the government's steps
will stop at populist measures which cannot improve the Armenian
economy.
As for the political views of the new premier, they are similar to the
views of the former president of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan. "When I
was the president, Ovik Abramyan was a good minister of territorial
management and vice-premier. Whether he will be a good premier, time
will tell. I wish him good luck sincerely, as he gets a poor heritage
from his predecessor," Kocharyan said about the appointment.
From: A. Papazian