“Our Russian friends” – residents of Gyumri did not live up to the hopes of Ukrainian provocateurs
On December 2, an emergency occurred in the second largest city of Armenia, Gyumri, where the 102nd Russian military base is located. At dawn, in the Slobodka quarter, an unknown person attacked a local resident born in 1961, severely beat her, and disfigured her beyond recognition. The victim of the attack died on the way to the hospital, but was later identified as Juliet Ghukasyan.
In connection with the incident, the Investigative Committee of Armenia opened a criminal case under clause 14, part 2, article 112 of the Criminal Code.
However, even before the start of investigative measures, articles began to appear in the Armenian media accusing a serviceman from a Russian military base of attacking Ghukasyan. In the press, the suspect goes by the initials A.R.
The serviceman was interrogated by Armenian law enforcement officers, by order of the court of general jurisdiction of the Shirak region, chaired by Judge Vahe Mikasyan, in the presence of a representative of the Russian Federation, after which he was handed over to the Russian side. A lawyer, Narine Rshtuni, has been appointed to defend him.
Currently, the suspect is on the territory of the 102nd base awaiting the results of investigative measures. Reacting to the actions of the Armenian authorities, the Russian Embassy in Armenia categorically denied the involvement of a Russian in the murder of Ghukasyan.
On December 10, Armenian experts announced that the evidence they collected was supposedly enough to incriminate A.R. in committing a crime. On December 17, the Armenian press began to tease the acting. Minister of Justice of Armenia Artak Zeynalyan in order to find out more details about the progress of the investigation. Zeynalyan disappointed the journalists by declaring that he did not have the information, referring their questions to the republican prosecutor's office. Time passes, but the Armenian prosecutor’s office still does not know what to answer to worried journalists.
As you know, nature and information space abhor a vacuum. Therefore, the press began to produce their own versions of what happened, boiling down to a tragic incident three years ago, when serviceman Permyakov, who escaped from a Russian base in Gyumri, killed the Avetisyan family. Journalists, as always, know everything in advance.
On December 19, while visiting Dilijan, the newly appointed Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan made an explanation.
Pashinyan told the press that the murder of the Avetisyans and the murder of Ghukasyan are different. In the first case, the killer was detained by local law enforcement officers in hot pursuit, but in the Ghukasyan case there is so far only a suspect.
True, the modality of Pashinyan’s speeches was as if “everything was clear” to him, too, after which journalists began questioning the prime minister why the suspect was at a military base and not awaiting the results of the investigation in an Armenian detention center.
Pashinyan’s answer was expectedly ignorant. Instead of enlightening journalists that there is an agreement between Armenia and Russia, according to which caught criminals should be handed over to the country of which they are citizens, the prime minister began making tedious speeches, as if the suspect was at the base at the time the criminal case was opened, but if he grabbed by the national police, then it would be a completely different calico...
In general, Pashinyan did not fill the void and did not satisfy the curiosity of journalists. And then hyperactive citizens came into play. On December 25, a group of 20 “civil activists” made a noise outside the Russian Embassy in Yerevan, demanding the immediate removal of the military base from Gyumri.
The police did not allow the “activists” to approach the walls of the embassy. Two delegates, however, were allowed to drop a letter addressed to the Russian Ambassador to Armenia Sergei Kopirkin into the mailbox.
The letter was accusatory and insulting in nature and, apart from general phrases, did not contain anything worthwhile. The noise turned out to be completely indoors, but there was no scandal at all.
Immediately after the protesters cleared the area in front of the embassy, a new group of people took their place with signs saying “No to anti-Russian provocations!” and “Forever with Russia!”
Events around the 102nd Russian military base in Gyumri aroused morbid interest among our Sumerian brothers. Without any reliable information, the “rotary machine hyenas” from Hromadske TV began to pull the owl onto a pole, stir up horrors and create analogies.
In particular, they recalled the July incident not far from Gyumri, associated with the actions of the Russian military, who were moving forward for scheduled exercises.
The shooting caused a slight commotion among local residents, but when people figured out what was happening, everything calmed down. Only the Yerevan maydowns with their street prime minister have not subsided.
The Russian military exercises angered Pashinyan so much that he hastened to call them a “provocation” and even demanded that those responsible be punished.
As it turned out, the reason for Pashinyan’s anger was not the exercises themselves, but the fact that, in the opinion of the Maidan Prime Minister, the Russian military expressed their disrespect for him by not asking for the highest permission to go into the field with weapons and equipment. According to the agreement, the Russian military does not need any permission to participate in the exercise. The procedure is of a notification nature.
There is a term: “watchman’s syndrome.” He is also the “barrier director” or “gate controller”. This is when an insignificant and petty little man gets his hands on a bit of power, which he uses for self-affirmation, inventing his own rules and routines. “I’m not just anyone here, but the director!” Unfortunately, the street appointed an exemplary “barrier director” to the Prime Minister of Armenia.
Especially to dig up dirt against the Russian military, a film crew from the Ukrainian “Hromadske TV” moved to Gyumri. Their correspondent met with a representative of the city government, one of Pashinyan’s supporters, as well as with local residents. A representative of the government directly told ukrozhur that the Russian military did not interfere in the process of the “revolution of love”, do not pose a threat to local residents, and their presence in Armenia is simply necessary.
Local residents living in the vicinity of the military base either refused to communicate with the ukrozhur (which refusal the ukrozhur unwisely declared as “fear of punishment”), or they did not say what the dirt seeker wanted to hear.
Residents thanked the Russian military simply for their presence, for supporting local trade with rubles, for mutual good relations, jobs provided by the military base for locals, and called the Russian military friends.
In general, the effect turned out to be completely different from what the Chrobaks were counting on.
I would like to hope that the investigation will conscientiously look into the details of the crime and find the real criminal, and not just a convenient figure for beatings and political intrigues.
Rest in peace to Juliet Ghukasyan. Sincere condolences to her family and friends. The murderer, whoever he may be, receives a well-deserved and inevitable punishment.
PS. On December 27, Pashinyan came to Moscow for another visit.
Judging by his negotiations with Putin, the topic of the emergency in Gyumri was not on the agenda at all. Pashinyan was most concerned about: 1) a possible sharp rise in prices for natural gas; 2) the unresolved issue with the election of the CSTO Secretary General; 3) the upcoming chairmanship of Armenia in the EAEU in 2019.
Observers noted that the negotiations were developing in a positive direction, while many expressed fears that Vovaevich, elected by the new parliament, would not begin drilling.
Putin, in turn, congratulated Pashinyan on legalization. It is also noted that Nikolenka is slowly introduced to reason at such meetings. So that a man remembers that he is a boss only among Yerevan hipsters, but for Moscow and its closest allies he is barely a half-ass, and there is nothing special to lick him for.
At the moment, no sharp political reversals are expected from Pashinyan. And then we will see.
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