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ARMENIA: RUSSIA'S OFFER OF EASY CITIZENSHIP SPARKS CONCERNS
EurasiaNet.org
April 30 2014
April 30, 2014 - 11:25am, by Marianna Grigoryan
Could a massive loss of population be the ultimate price cash-strapped
Armenia pays for closer ties with Russia? That is the question
troubling many Armenians after Russian President Vladimir Putin on
April 21 signed a law granting Russian citizenship to residents of
former Soviet and Russian Imperial territories who can demonstrate
that they speak Russian fluently and habitually.
Successful applicants must surrender their existing citizenship,
but that will do little to deter thousands of job-hungry Armenians,
local experts fear.
"This is a long-wished-for law for Armenians, and I think many of them
will apply for the program, giving up their Armenian citizenship,"
commented ethnographer Hranush Kharatian, a reform activist who
formerly ran the government's Department of National Minorities and
Religious Affairs.
With a current population of just over 3 million people, Armenia
has lost many residents since the collapse of the Soviet Union to
migration, most frequently, to Russia. That trend shows no sign of
stopping. Data from the Russian Migration Service states that in 2013
the number of Armenians who visited Russia increased by 20 percent
to 670,000.
Temporary jobs in construction, trade or the service sector are the
main draw. Armenia has an official unemployment rate of 16.2 percent,
but unofficial estimates - particularly for those under 25 -- soar
far higher. With one-third of the population living in poverty,
according to government data, Russia, the region's largest labor
market, holds a strong attraction.
This January alone, remittances from Russia accounted for 81 percent
of the total $99.5 million Armenians received in financial transfers,
according to the Central Bank of Armenia. In 2013, Russia accounted
for roughly 86 percent of the more than $1.6 billion received via
such transfers.
Preserving that cash flow is key for tens of thousands of Armenian
families who live on the money sent by relatives (mostly male)
working in Russia. A recent change to Russia's migration regulations
that restricted foreigners to 90-day stays out of any 180-day period
caused widespread alarm.
Consequently, noted demographer Ruben Yeganian, many labor-migrants
"will want to become Russian citizens to resolve their issues with
being able to work" there.
Among them are the Balaians, a family of seven that lives in a one-room
flat in Yerevan.
The 60-year-old father of the family, Gurgen Balaian, who has been
working on Russian construction sites for 30 years, described himself
as delighted by Russia's new citizenship law since, lacking a Russian
residence permit, he claims he has to bribe Russian police routinely
to keep working in the country.
"Now, my whole family will receive Russian citizenship and we'll start
to live like human beings and will receive normal pensions," he said.
"Why would I stay here? If people didn't find jobs in Russia, they
would be simply starving."
The Balaians are not alone in their view. "[T]he government has to
think about this," commented sociologist Aharon Adibekian, director
of the Sociometer polling and market research center. "If the state
does not offer decent conditions for living, if there are no jobs,
then people will start leaving the country, and Russia, in this case,
is the best option."
Under the changes, Russian citizenship now can be acquired more
promptly, too -- in three months, compared with five years in the
past. Language exams will be held monthly at Yerevan's Russian-Armenian
University. The examining office declined to tell EurasiaNet.org how
many individuals had registered for this month's test.
As yet, though, the Armenian government sees no cause for alarm. More
than a year is required to assess the impact of any measure or event
on migration flows, said Department of Migration and Refugees Director
Gagik Eganian in reference to Russia's citizenship law.
Newly elected Parliamentary Speaker Galust Sahakian, deputy chairperson
of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia, has said he sees nothing
dangerous if some Armenians opt to give up their citizenship to
become Russians.
"Those who are true Armenians will not renounce their citizenship,"
Sahakian asserted in an interview with the Gyumri-based GALA TV.
Before Yerevan's September 2012 decision to sign on with the Customs
Union, Armenian officials had asked Moscow to scrap a program that
offered citizenship in exchange for labor at designated sites.
Similarly, exceptions were requested for the stricter migration rules
introduced this year.
The relaxed citizenship requirements appear, in essence, to be the
response. Seeing Armenians surrender their Armenian citizenship
may not please the government, but, with Yerevan's agreement on the
Customs Union still a work in progress, they are not likely to raise
objections publicly.
The Union itself includes the possibility of a common labor market
for member-countries. This is a feature the Eurasian Development Bank,
founded by Russia and Kazakhstan, terms "a key advantage" for Armenia,
which, the bank estimates, could see yearly remittances increase by
$40 million.
A treaty for Armenia's accession to the Customs Union now is expected
in June.
As that date nears, political analyst Stepan Danielian believes that,
like Russia, Armenia should act to protect its own interests. "We have
to look for problems within the country and voice our disagreement
with our own authorities,"said Danielian, director of Cooperation for
Democracy, a non-governmental organization that receives funding from
the Open Society Foundation-Armenia. [Editor's note: The Open Society
Foundation-Armenia is part of the network of Open Society Foundations.
EurasiaNet.org is financed under the auspices of the Open Society
Foundation-New York City's Eurasia program, a separate part of that
network.]
"Russia is trying to solve its demographic problems at the expense
of other nations," agreed sociologist Adibekian.
But, for now, the Armenian government appears to prefer to look the
other way. Whether a person has Armenian or Russian citizenship,
"[w]e are all citizens of Mother Earth," reasoned Sahakian.
Editor's note: Marianna Grigoryan is a freelance reporter based in
Yerevan and editor of MediaLab.am.
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/68326
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
EurasiaNet.org
April 30 2014
April 30, 2014 - 11:25am, by Marianna Grigoryan
Could a massive loss of population be the ultimate price cash-strapped
Armenia pays for closer ties with Russia? That is the question
troubling many Armenians after Russian President Vladimir Putin on
April 21 signed a law granting Russian citizenship to residents of
former Soviet and Russian Imperial territories who can demonstrate
that they speak Russian fluently and habitually.
Successful applicants must surrender their existing citizenship,
but that will do little to deter thousands of job-hungry Armenians,
local experts fear.
"This is a long-wished-for law for Armenians, and I think many of them
will apply for the program, giving up their Armenian citizenship,"
commented ethnographer Hranush Kharatian, a reform activist who
formerly ran the government's Department of National Minorities and
Religious Affairs.
With a current population of just over 3 million people, Armenia
has lost many residents since the collapse of the Soviet Union to
migration, most frequently, to Russia. That trend shows no sign of
stopping. Data from the Russian Migration Service states that in 2013
the number of Armenians who visited Russia increased by 20 percent
to 670,000.
Temporary jobs in construction, trade or the service sector are the
main draw. Armenia has an official unemployment rate of 16.2 percent,
but unofficial estimates - particularly for those under 25 -- soar
far higher. With one-third of the population living in poverty,
according to government data, Russia, the region's largest labor
market, holds a strong attraction.
This January alone, remittances from Russia accounted for 81 percent
of the total $99.5 million Armenians received in financial transfers,
according to the Central Bank of Armenia. In 2013, Russia accounted
for roughly 86 percent of the more than $1.6 billion received via
such transfers.
Preserving that cash flow is key for tens of thousands of Armenian
families who live on the money sent by relatives (mostly male)
working in Russia. A recent change to Russia's migration regulations
that restricted foreigners to 90-day stays out of any 180-day period
caused widespread alarm.
Consequently, noted demographer Ruben Yeganian, many labor-migrants
"will want to become Russian citizens to resolve their issues with
being able to work" there.
Among them are the Balaians, a family of seven that lives in a one-room
flat in Yerevan.
The 60-year-old father of the family, Gurgen Balaian, who has been
working on Russian construction sites for 30 years, described himself
as delighted by Russia's new citizenship law since, lacking a Russian
residence permit, he claims he has to bribe Russian police routinely
to keep working in the country.
"Now, my whole family will receive Russian citizenship and we'll start
to live like human beings and will receive normal pensions," he said.
"Why would I stay here? If people didn't find jobs in Russia, they
would be simply starving."
The Balaians are not alone in their view. "[T]he government has to
think about this," commented sociologist Aharon Adibekian, director
of the Sociometer polling and market research center. "If the state
does not offer decent conditions for living, if there are no jobs,
then people will start leaving the country, and Russia, in this case,
is the best option."
Under the changes, Russian citizenship now can be acquired more
promptly, too -- in three months, compared with five years in the
past. Language exams will be held monthly at Yerevan's Russian-Armenian
University. The examining office declined to tell EurasiaNet.org how
many individuals had registered for this month's test.
As yet, though, the Armenian government sees no cause for alarm. More
than a year is required to assess the impact of any measure or event
on migration flows, said Department of Migration and Refugees Director
Gagik Eganian in reference to Russia's citizenship law.
Newly elected Parliamentary Speaker Galust Sahakian, deputy chairperson
of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia, has said he sees nothing
dangerous if some Armenians opt to give up their citizenship to
become Russians.
"Those who are true Armenians will not renounce their citizenship,"
Sahakian asserted in an interview with the Gyumri-based GALA TV.
Before Yerevan's September 2012 decision to sign on with the Customs
Union, Armenian officials had asked Moscow to scrap a program that
offered citizenship in exchange for labor at designated sites.
Similarly, exceptions were requested for the stricter migration rules
introduced this year.
The relaxed citizenship requirements appear, in essence, to be the
response. Seeing Armenians surrender their Armenian citizenship
may not please the government, but, with Yerevan's agreement on the
Customs Union still a work in progress, they are not likely to raise
objections publicly.
The Union itself includes the possibility of a common labor market
for member-countries. This is a feature the Eurasian Development Bank,
founded by Russia and Kazakhstan, terms "a key advantage" for Armenia,
which, the bank estimates, could see yearly remittances increase by
$40 million.
A treaty for Armenia's accession to the Customs Union now is expected
in June.
As that date nears, political analyst Stepan Danielian believes that,
like Russia, Armenia should act to protect its own interests. "We have
to look for problems within the country and voice our disagreement
with our own authorities,"said Danielian, director of Cooperation for
Democracy, a non-governmental organization that receives funding from
the Open Society Foundation-Armenia. [Editor's note: The Open Society
Foundation-Armenia is part of the network of Open Society Foundations.
EurasiaNet.org is financed under the auspices of the Open Society
Foundation-New York City's Eurasia program, a separate part of that
network.]
"Russia is trying to solve its demographic problems at the expense
of other nations," agreed sociologist Adibekian.
But, for now, the Armenian government appears to prefer to look the
other way. Whether a person has Armenian or Russian citizenship,
"[w]e are all citizens of Mother Earth," reasoned Sahakian.
Editor's note: Marianna Grigoryan is a freelance reporter based in
Yerevan and editor of MediaLab.am.
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/68326
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress