The session of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council, held on August 6-7 in Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan, took place in the conditions of one of the most tense stages in relations between Armenia and Russia in recent months.

Nikol Pashinyan’s participation in this event was perhaps the main intrigue, as the latter promised to address the economic restrictions applied against Armenia and the issue that the EAEU is not functioning. However, Cholpon-Ata showed the depth of contradictions and the hardness of positions. Yerevan does not consider EAEU as an unexamined and self-sufficient system of relations, and Moscow, in turn, expects clarification of Armenia’s position, especially regarding the direction of European integration.

Pashinyan’s participation in the meeting was preceded by a telephone conversation with Vladimir Putin on July 27, which was held at the initiative of the Armenian side.

In that conversation, according to the Kremlin’s report, Putin reaffirmed Russia’s commitment to the provisions of the May 29 joint declaration of the EAEU Astana summit. In particular, we are talking about the need to hold a referendum on EU membership in Armenia. At the same time, Pashinyan raised the issue of restrictions applied by Russia to Armenian products, considering them to be contrary to the Armenian-Russian legal contract base and EAEU rules.

Thus, the agendas of both parties were actually on different levels. Moscow talks about the strategic choice of Armenia, Yerevan about the fulfillment of economic obligations within the EAEU. After this phone conversation, Pashinyan’s wording in Yerevan was sharp, he declared that if the issue related to the export of Armenian products is not resolved quickly, it could become the “end of the beginning” of EAEU, claiming that the created situation shows the failure of the Union’s mechanisms.

However, Pashinyan’s rhetoric changed to a certain extent in his speech at the session of the EAEU intergovernmental council in Cholpon-Ata. If a few days ago it was about the EAEU’s “paralysis” and even harsh predictions about its future, then at the session of the intergovernmental council, Pashinyan addressed the efficiency of the union’s work in a critical tone and stated that strengthening cooperation with the EAEU countries is one of the priorities of Armenia’s foreign and economic policy. He also explained that it does not make sense to hold a referendum on the issue of EU membership in Armenia, because that issue does not exist yet.

With Cholpon-Ata’s speech, Pashinyan tried to continue the previous political line, claiming that Armenia is creating alternatives for itself, which it has a legitimate right to, and the EAEU is one of the priorities.

Pashinyan once again tried to make it clear that EAEU is an economic union, its rules should also apply in cases when economic and political relations with the given country become complicated, therefore, if this continues, a crisis will be created in the structure. Although the Russian side, for its part, has been insisting from time to time that there will be a decline in trade turnover between Armenia and Russia, in the conditions of a change in Armenia’s foreign economic and political direction. According to Alexey Overchuk, the bilateral trade, which reached about 12 billion dollars in 2024, decreased to about 8 billion dollars in 2025, and in 2026 the decline deepened.

Russia’s response in Cholpon-Ata, however, was also remarkable and indirect. Mikhail Mishustin, speaking about the general economic condition of the EAEU, emphasized not the crisis, but the positive dynamics of the union’s economic indicators, noting the growth of GDP, industry, agriculture, retail trade and mutual trade.

No representative from the EAEU intergovernmental council responded to the questions raised by Pashinyan. However, Mishustin hinted with his emphasis that the Russian side does not accept the opinion that the existing problems with Armenia indicate the systemic failure of the EAEU as a whole.

Next to the economic contradiction, there is a deeper geopolitical problem. In Cholpon-Ata, Pashinyan clearly stated that Armenia understands that it is not possible to join the EAEU and the European Union at the same time. At the same time, he emphasized that Armenia’s adoption of the law on starting the process of joining the EU does not mean that Armenia can currently become a member of the EU.

This wording creates an intermediate policy for Yerevan: not to abandon the EAEU, but also not to close the European direction. This is the main contradiction of Armenian-Russian relations. Yerevan is trying to maintain the widest possible maneuver space between the two directions, while Moscow is gradually trying to limit that space, demanding a clearer answer: EAEU or EU. It is noteworthy that the leaders of Russia and other EAEU members had already raised the issue of the referendum in the May Astana statement, and in the July 27 Pashinyan-Putin conversation, it appeared again on the agenda.

In this situation, the Cholpon-Ata meeting can be considered not as a sign of the resolution of Armenian-Russian relations, but as an indicator of continuing the phase of uncertainty. The RA authorities are trying to show that they do not accept an ultimatum, and Russia expects the RA authorities to abandon the European integration agenda in order to return to normal relations.

Therefore, the main issue of the coming months will remain the same: if one of the parties does not reciprocate, the relations will inevitably break down.

Cholpon-Ata was important in this sense precisely because of its contradiction. And here, at the current stage of Armenian-Russian relations, the main contradiction is no longer only the choice of “Russia or the West”, but whether it is possible to maintain long-term economic integration in a system with deep political contradictions with its main member.

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On April 24, 1952, the US Central Intelligence Agency drew up a document presenting a 15-year construction plan for Yerevan, the capital of Soviet Armenia.

The document states that intelligence data, foreign documents, as well as information mentioned in the press and radio programs were the basis for the secret document. The document was declassified and released only on September 30, 2011.

The US CIA presents in detail the status of Yerevan in 1951, ongoing construction, as well as future city plans that would develop and expand Yerevan.

“During 1951, industrial and residential construction works expanded in Yerevan. The 1951 construction plan of the Yerevan brandy factory has been completed and the main part of the factory is already in operation.

The construction of a brewery with a production capacity of 50,000 liters per year has been completed. More than 1,500,000 rubles were invested in the construction of a pastry-pasta factory in Yerevan in 1951 to increase confectionery production by 1,500 tons. The margarine factory with annual productivity of 3000 tons is still under construction.

In 1951, the construction of 27,300 square meters of residential space and five new schools was completed in Yerevan. According to construction units, the 1951 capital construction program of Yerevan was completed by 88.7 percent, and the residential construction program by 90.5 percent.

The commissioning of the second aqueduct increased the amount of water for each resident of Yerevan to 200 liters per day.

Many new settlements have appeared on the outskirts of the city, where construction works are underway in Nor Aresh, Zeytun and other places. Residential and public buildings are being built on Stalin Avenue, one of the widest streets in Yerevan, which stretches through the central part of the city towards the “Pobeda” bridge. In the future, a new square will be built here.

The extension of Stalin Avenue requires the removal of many old houses and the excavation of 12,000 square meters of land, 75 percent of which has already been removed. After completion, Stalin Avenue will become one and a half kilometers longer. It will connect the central part of Yerevan with the growing region on the right bank.” (Տե՛ս՝ EXPAND CONSTRUCTION IN ARMENIAN SSR, OUTLINE 15-YEAR PLAN OF CONSTRUCTION FOR YEREVAN):

It is interesting to note the fact that, looking at the further pages of the document, we notice how much importance the Soviet government attached to the increase of green areas in Yerevan, the creation of parks and the increase in the number of trees, because three zones of trees and bushes around Yerevan were supposed to protect the city from dust and dirt.

“The sixth session of the Yerevan City Council was convened on December 24, 1951 to discuss and approve the 15-year development and construction plan of Yerevan.

Socialist Yerevan has completely changed compared to the times before the Bolshevik revolution. The population has increased eight times, and the 15-year plan envisages its further significant growth in the future.

The area of ​​the city is planned to expand from the current 4,850 hectares to 7,200 hectares. The 15-year plan envisages the further industrialization of Yerevan and the expansion of residential construction. Compared to 1940, the industrial output should increase seven times.

The housing fund should be tripled, building 2,795,000 square meters of living space.

Among the public buildings to be built are the building of the Council of Trade Unions of Armenia, the new hotel, the library, the Academy of Sciences and other buildings.

The reconstruction of the two-story railway station building with an 11-meter high metal tower beam has begun. The construction of Lenin Square will be completed with the building of the Council of Trade Unions and the construction of a new hotel. The construction of 100 new school buildings will make it possible to carry out all training in one shift in the next few years.

The number of kindergartens will triple, and construction of kindergarten buildings for 6,000 children is also planned. In addition, all large apartment buildings will have their own day care centers and playgrounds. The 15-year plan also envisages the construction of hospitals with a total capacity of 1,920 beds.

The network of Yerevan’s higher education institutions will be expanded with the construction of six new buildings for the state university and polytechnic institute, the physical culture institute and the future mechanical engineering institute.

The number of technicians will increase by another 18, and appropriate buildings will be built for them. The number of passengers using public transport is expected to increase over the next 15 years.

In the same period, the fleet of trams, trolleybuses and buses should be doubled. The amount of electricity allocated to each resident of Yerevan should be tripled.

The construction of the third line of the water supply network is planned, and the length of the underground network will increase by 300 kilometers. The construction of the main sewer should be completed, and the sewer network should be extended by 150 kilometers. A new recreation and culture park will be created on the right bank of the Hrazdan River, and the banks of the Hrazdan and Getar rivers, the canal named after Stalin and the Nork canal will be improved and trees and bushes will be planted. The total area of ​​Yerevan’s green areas will reach approximately 3,500 hectares, of which 576 hectares will be gardens and parks.

Three zones of trees and bushes around Yerevan will protect the city from dust and dirt. The 15-year plan envisages the construction of 364 kilometers of new streets. (Ibid.).

This US CIA document once again documents what kind of meticulous work the American intelligence carried out during the Soviet period to obtain important information.

Apart from this, we also see that, especially in the 1950s, the Soviet leadership and the city government of Yerevan spared nothing for the development of our capital. We see most of the programs pointed out in the document in today’s Yerevan.

Z. Sh:i was late

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Satik Seyranyan’s guest in the “Lessons” program is Anush Poghosyan, president of the “Health Rights” human rights organization, doctor-expert.

• On August 7, I, like many others, was in the yard of the court of first instance of Armavir region, where the trial of the Catholicos of All Armenians started. The followers of our Armenian Apostolic Church were there in thousands. And it inspires hope, the Armenian people have the realization that all of us must stand by the side of the Armenian Apostolic Church in these difficult days.

• There are many sectarian organizations in our country, and they often target people who have certain psychological problems, these people are manipulated by them. Often, many people, including many young people, who experience certain problems and stresses during their life or at some stage, fall into the network of these sectarian structures and end up in addiction. Those heavy addictions later cause psychological and mental health problems in those people. Such people are easily manipulated, also in terms of involving them in various types of financial machinations. And, yes, the activities of these organizations are encouraged by the authorities, and the servants of the Armenian Apostolic Church are persecuted. And, yes, that sectarian resource is used during elections.

• This also causes serious health problems because over time these manipulated citizens are already facing deeper mental problems. Any addiction leads to the fact that they end up in a mentally unbalanced state, conflicts arise in families because in many cases family members do not share their choices, etc., families break up… It’s a matter of national security.

• We also have a very serious health problem with some sectarian organizations. For example, there are sects that do not allow blood transfusions, and a very serious problem arises when such a need arises to save a patient’s life.

• Why has the universal health insurance system failed? The introduction of the universal health insurance system is one of the most important reforms in the socio-economic development of the country, which, however, had to be done with a very detailed calculation, very correct and risk assessment. For years, the previous authorities discussed it, we even approved the concept, but considering the risks, they did not go for it, and that is why the state order system was introduced, which was in a large way a transitional stage to health insurance.

These authorities, however, without assessing the possible risks, introduced the law with impunity. By the way, after many criticisms, at least some changes were made in the problematic law, otherwise we would be in a worse situation today. They used it during the elections, they blew dust into people’s eyes, as they say. That was the key to the campaign of the authorities in the NA elections, they had nothing else to talk about. And some people, yes, took advantage, we also urged people to go and take advantage as much as they can. And we came out right, because they introduced the whole package of co-payments.

I warned and today we see that we actually have a situation where the co-payment is applied not only to people aged 18, but also to our children aged 0-18, who should have used health services for free. For tens of years, children’s medical care and service, especially out-of-hospital, was mostly free, today they pay even for the consultation of a narrow specialist, which indicates that the introduction of insurance was an imitation, and in many cases we no longer have the service of the state order, even the previous state order. And there are many complaints. people have received, for example, free medicine for years within the scope of the state order, and today they receive that medicine with a co-payment, people have been going to a narrow specialist for years and did not pay, today they have to pay.

• Business organizers of medical institutions understand that the money given is small, and today they use co-payments to cover the costs of their services, and doctors, who do 3-4 times the volume of work, today receive ridiculous salaries.

• In the out-patient unit, many narrow specialists are being cut. This means that very soon we will have such a situation when there will not be narrow specialists in polyclinics, they will be exclusively in hospitals, because their presence in polyclinics will no longer be beneficial to either the doctor or the polyclinic. We raised that issue. Directors of medical institutions used to compensate the salaries of doctors and medical personnel during the pre-election period, but now there is no such compensation, therefore, these doctors will be reduced.

In fact, the co-payment is applied so that the doctor receives an adequate salary, because the state has not planned a normal salary for the doctor. If those doctors received a fixed, per capita, base salary, and a percentage of their consultations, their paid services was added to it, then the concept of “per capita” has disappeared. In other words, those doctors no longer have basic salaries, although the workload has increased.

• We are a country with social problems… general poverty is 21-22%, and we also have an extremely large number of migrants… We have also repeatedly spoken about the need for control of migrants who come to work in Armenia, involved in service sectors, and the need for passports. For example, in terms of tuberculosis, we are a risk zone. We also have outward labor migration. citizens of our country go, work in other countries and return. In other words, if there is no prophylaxis in the relevant service, after 2-3 years we will see an increase in the number of tuberculosis, and it is an airborne disease. Again, it is a matter of national security.

• 2 years ago, I raised the issue that in the service sector, where there is a risk, all workers, regardless of nationality, should have a sanitary booklet, they should be examined for various infections every 6 months, and in some cases once a year.

I even gave examples, in the same tuberculosis dispensary we had migrants from other nations who were treated there… Finally, if I’m not mistaken, 5-6 days ago there was an announcement that from now on, migrants, from the service sector, etc., not only migrants, but everyone should have passports, should be examined. As for how much we lost in those 2-2.5 years and what epidemiological chains we missed, I can’t say, but they just decided, they listened, that these people should be examined.

• 3 years ago, we had a shameful outbreak of measles in Armenia, right here. Do you remember that case, it was revealed by me again, when a nurse who had visited some country had caught measles, returned to work, went to her work and infected the children there with measles.

• We have a serious problem related to border medical-sanitary control points (BMSCs). previously, these points operated at the border crossing points of the Republic of Armenia (for example, at “Zvartnots” airport, Bagratashen, Bavra, Gogavan) and carried out sanitary and epidemiological control. isolation of patients with fever, they were checking which country they come from, what is the epidemiological situation of that country… However, if I’m not mistaken, those HCWs were optimized in 2020, removed from the Health and Labor Inspection Authority (HAIA), and what’s happening today, to be honest, I don’t know. In addition to the fact that citizens of our country go to work abroad and return, we have many migrant workers who can bring specific diseases from their countries, which will later become a problem for us from an epidemiological point of view.

• Today, regional branches of the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention are being actively closed and workers are being laid off. We are losing specialists: epidemiologists, epidemiologists, hygienists. During the Covid, we had a serious problem with these specialists, and now infectious disease specialists are being reduced in polyclinics.

Health universal insurance system at the beginning, the state increased the budget of the health sector by tens of billions of drams. In particular, in the year of introduction of the system, the total amount allocated to health care reached about 210.9 billion drams (compared to the previous year, increasing by about 44.3 billion drams due to the launch of the insurance system itself). By: according to official forecasts and calculations, in the case of the final and complete implementation of the system (when it will include the entire population), the total annual costs required may reach about 300 billion drams.

The state has committed to fully pay the insurance premiums for socially vulnerable and target groups of the population (children under 18 years old, people over 65, people with disabilities and families included in the unemployment system), which implies stable and long-term financial injections for the state budget.

• The fact that they say 44.3 billion was increased, I have the calculations made by me as a result of official requests made to the SRC as to how many workers there are who have a salary of 200,000 drams or more. According to calculations, at the time of introduction of insurance, 53 billion were collected from the population. In other words, that manipulation that we increased by 44 billion… I repeat: at the time of the introduction of the system, the population paid 53 billion, but now that amount has increased even more, where according to their publications, the number of insured persons has increased. According to international calculations, about 550-600 billion drams are needed to organize medical care and insurance services for our 3 million inhabitants (in the context of insurance). That is, regardless of everything, even if they make that amount up to 300 billion, they will not be able to cover the insurance completely. They know these calculations very well, that’s why they take the co-payments as a red line. And, interestingly, the co-pays are sometimes double.

For example, if a citizen goes for a consultation, the consultation fee is set by the hospital at 18,000 AMD, 6,000 is transferred by the insurance, 12,000 is paid by the resident, and here it turns out that the residents pay double the amount for their service, that is, one part is given to the insurance fund, and one part is co-paid at the hospital itself. This is a serious problem, this is going to get out of control and our citizens will be the biggest victims as a result.

• To use the system, a strictly hierarchical procedure is required: first to register at the polyclinic with a family doctor or therapist, to get a referral, which is often accompanied by long queues. In the event of an urgent or urgent need, this process makes it difficult to get medical help promptly.

Citizens prefer to go, without queuing, to receive their service for a fee, regardless of the fact of being insured.

• Who controls the activity and financial movement of this insurance fund? According to the law that was adopted, all financial activities must be managed by the board of trustees of the fund, which appoints the director of the fund. A committee headed by Nikol Pashinyan was created, which was supposed to elect the board of trustees. They announced that the board of trustees of the fund should be elected. To tell you the truth, I sent my documents myself, because when you get into the process, you understand what they are doing, and something very strange happened. By chance, I see an announcement on the website of the Ministry of Health, according to which those who want to take part in the competition should start the next day.

When I tried to find out where the competition is, what time the competition is, what format it is in, through very long calls, they either didn’t answer me, or they promised to call me back… until the next day, 1 hour after the end of the competition, I received a letter saying that my documents do not meet the requirements of the law to participate in the competition. I didn’t understand what point I didn’t meet, I was short, I was overweight, because there was no point, no link, they just wrote that you don’t meet. Then we see the composition of the board of trustees of the already selected fund.

And we noted an interesting thing: the advisor of the Ukrainian office of the World Health Organization, the regional medical director of the largest American healthcare organization “Kaiser Permanente” are also part of the board… in the event that it is clearly stated that the member of the board of trustees must be a citizen of the Republic of Armenia.

Do you understand that these people have to manage the fund with the largest budget in the Republic of Armenia, and they should also have access to our personal data generated in that fund? I ask: who are those people, what is their business in that fund, what interests do they pursue? Since the work of the board of trustees of that fund is not yet done, at the moment we just see that they have been selected, I do not give evaluations yet, but the fact that we have already seen the selection process, it is clear that it was not a competition, it was a formal procedure and appointments.

• For years, Armenian doctors have been serving as cheap labor for European countries and the UAE, which, in turn, have an outflow of personnel to Canada and Switzerland. Our doctors, especially under these conditions, prefer to leave the country.

• As a result of the insurance system and new regulations, the number of paid patients has decreased, due to which the directors of medical centers are unable to pay doctors a decent salary.

• 100% state-owned hospitals are often unable to receive timely reimbursements from state and insurance funds, which directly results in delays in the salaries of health workers.

• The Ministry of Health does not have a clear and transparent economic rationale for introducing mandatory insurance and calculating the costs of services (for example, consultations, laboratory tests).

• There are cases when the price of a doctor’s consultation was initially estimated at 2,000 drams (according to the previous logic of the state order), while the price of the same service at the “St. Grigor Lusavorich” Medical Center under the Ministry’s authority varied between 10,000-20,000 drams. 

• Attestation Threat: The system of individual licensure and attestation being introduced is rigid and unaccounted for, which may lead to large numbers of qualified doctors being left out of the system and a new wave of emigration.

• Prohibiting specialists who graduated from medical university and completed clinical residency to work without a license limits the right to professional activity.

• Most of the heads and directors of medical institutions are involved in the activities of the ruling “Civil Contract” party (council members, officials), which leads to the use of administrative resources and violations of electoral legislation.

• Pressure is applied to doctors, nurses and average medical staff for expressing political views or critical opinions on social networks, up to the point of dismissal and ban on employment in other medical institutions.

• There are tendencies to avoid responsibility and remain in a privileged position in case of possible financial abuses (for example, waste of budget funds) by directors and officials belonging to pro-power circles.

• At the time of Covid, a huge report of the Chamber of Accounts was presented, where it was written about inefficient expenses amounting to billions of drams, about purchases, about a large number of violations. Arsen Torosyan and Tigran Avinyan played an important role, but did not take responsibility.

• While the waste of billions of the state budget remains inconsequential, insurance funds apply severe sanctions to doctors for minor (for example, a 1000-dram examination) deviations in documentation or reasoning.

• When the ministry acquired a large amount of “Gensulin”, you remember, I raised the alarm, received letters from about 100 patients, collected signatures that our health is at risk. At that time, the ministry maintained its opinion that the drug is safe, until a few months ago, after our alarms, we saw a statement by the inspection body that the batch of “Gensulin” was recalled, taking into account the quality indicators, etc.

By the way, I have talked about it many times. when I announced that the Republic of Thailand had recalled the drug because there was a quality problem, the Ministry of Health’s drug department initially denied it, saying, “There is no such thing.” When I published the records of the Republic of Thailand, they said, well, there was a batch, it was recalled. And today the Republic of Armenia is recalling that drug, but 4 years have passed. perhaps for 4 years our residents have received “Gensulin” because they could not convince the Minister of Health and the drug expert center that the drug has a problem.

• For obvious reasons, all pilot programs in Armenia are carried out either in the polyclinic of Saint Grigor Lusavorich Medical Center, or in the best case they can take a region, and there is always Gyumri Medical Center. Regarding several screenings, I have formally asked for the summary results of the screening pilot to understand what the results were, how many people were screened, how many had the disease, how many were at risk…and I was told that there is no summary. The most important function of the insurance program is to prevent the disease, not to have a sick citizen, so that the sick citizen does not become disabled and does not have severe effects on the socio-economic condition of the country. But for us, preventive medicine is completely on the back burner today, and our primary care physicians today only do paperwork, they only manage to hang referrals, give some reports, and those screening programs have been completely pushed into the background.

• Citizens should request screening examinations for their age groups from their family doctors or therapists, pediatricians. And health insurance doctors have a duty to inform their population that they are in such and such an age group and must undergo appropriate examinations. I would urge our citizens to definitely find out what screenings are planned for their age group, and to perform those screenings without fail.

• Why do we have a shortage of drugs, because for drug manufacturers, registering a drug in Armenia is not effective from a business point of view, and also causes a lot of hassles in the drug expert center… registration processes can take months, maybe even 1 year, after paying the payments, duties, the company may receive an answer that, for example, you do not have some kind of research, and that is why the drug will not be registered.

• 2 years ago, I sounded the alarm about drinking water pollution, particularly on the example of Armavir marz. Recently, various human rights defenders have been talking about drinking water, but it was strange for me, and I even informed them that it is wrong to place the responsibility only on “Veolia water”. Water control in the Republic of Armenia is carried out by the Health Labor Inspection Body. if there are violations, deviations, and the investigations about deviations are carried out by the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention. I already said that they are reducing those regional central structures, in the event that we have natural plague foci, natural cholera foci…

In those areas, those facilities have always done research, soil sampling, water sampling, to see if those spores are active or not, if there are any dangers or not. Armavir marz is especially active with cholera in the summer. We have foci of tularemia in Gegharkunik marz, foci of plague, foci of anthrax in Vardenis region. In other words, in the direction of all of these, field work should be done on the spot, appropriate conclusions should be made, and in case of concern, areas should be closed, appropriate actions should be taken, etc., etc.

Therefore, if the issue is raised, it should be fully discussed. We need to talk about control bodies. I told Arpine Hovhannisyan about this when she wrote to me. Why is only “Veolia water” targeted when the control bodies are different? When deviations are found in research, for example, water catchments are called in marzes (Water catchment is a complex of engineering and technical measures to extract groundwater (springs, underground streams) to the surface of the earth, collect it and transport it in a clean state to an aquifer system or to a place of consumption.

The purpose is to ensure the protection of groundwater from pollution, dust and surface flows), they take samples from them and see deviations, it is mandatory that they inform the inspection body about it, and the inspection body performs control and other functions. For example, stop the water supply until they solve the problem. At one time, the inspection body received the answers, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention took samples at several points from the water collection point to the resident’s home. There used to be a lot of research done on water quality and infections, electrolytes, and chlorination percentages to get the right amount and not harm the health of the population…and the issues of pipe damage…to figure out where to start controlling and how to fix the problem.

For example, if Veolia water says, all the way down my road, my labs show that the water is clean, but the state, through its Centers for Disease Prevention and Control, must present its research in its public health function. Most importantly, if “Veolia water” detects a deviation with its laboratory, naturally it does not write to the inspection body, it says: I am not the control body, the state has its obligations for that. It is very sad for me that the state, in the form of the Ministry of Health, these important centers for disease control and prevention optimization of regional branches led to this situation. If you remember, I asked Anahit Avanesyan in the National Assembly: why are you closing those centers…

We are dealing with the criminal inactivity of state bodies… They received salaries and did nothing.

• The inspection body of the Ministry of Health does the monitoring of the quality of Zri. The inspection body can also delegate, on its own initiative, to carry out sampling and research, to carry out epidemiologic controls. So, the questions should be addressed both to the Ministry of Health, and to the inspection body, and to Veolia water. Everyone is equally responsible for it, and unfortunately we see that somewhere there is an epidemic, they declare that it is from drinking water, and then all new structures start working in some places. The same does not apply only to water, there are many epidemiological problems. For example, recently I raised the issue related to brucellosis, sounded the alarm, until I made it public, the Ministry of Health did not go, did not take samples.

The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture has given its regular grant to the Union of Armenian Actors. This organization has been chaired by Artur Ghukasyan since 2004, and he is also the real beneficiary in the register of declarations with 100 percent direct participation.

The amount of the grant recently allocated by the Ministry of Education and Culture is more than 15 million drams, which, according to the contract, will be directed to the implementation of the Hay Fest international regional market.

“The regional performing arts market HFPAM (HIGH FEST Performing Arts Market) will be held as part of the HIGH FEST international festival, which will bring together representatives of local and international cultural organizations, festivals, artists and cultural managers.

Within the framework of the project, panel discussions, pitching and speed dating format professional meetings will be held in order to develop international cooperation, professional connections and new joint initiatives in the cultural sphere. HFPAM will serve as a regional platform for the exchange of experience, the presentation of cultural products and the formation of international partnerships,” the document says.

We learn from the electronic procurement system that this is the 7th state grant directed to this structure, starting from 2022.

In May 2022, 20 million drams were allocated to the Ministry of Education and Culture for the Hay Fest, in 2023 the Ministry of Economy allocated 5 million for the organization of the “Hay Street” program of the 21st international performing arts festival “Hay Fest” in Yerevan and Gyumri, and another 3 million to the Ministry of Education and Culture, again for the Hay Fest, in 2024 – 17 million drams, 10 each million in 2025 and 2026 and, in fact, this year for the second time – 15 million drams.

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Architect Davit Stepanyan with 168TVof “People” in the framework of the program, we talked about the Kiev bridge, traffic jams, the construction of residential buildings, which is going on with great momentum, and possible solutions.

– In recent months, the Kiev bridge has been in the center of everyone’s attention due to the major repair and traffic jams caused by it. But let’s start our conversation on a positive note․when was the bridge built and what is its uniqueness?

– 1955 The construction was completed in December. Kyivan architect Grigor Aghababyan also designed the Victory Bridge. The peculiarity of Kyivan is that Arabkir connects Ajapnyak. It was the biggest flight of that time. More than 350 meters. It was even considered the longest bridge in Europe.

From an aesthetic point of view, the Bridge of Victory is more profitable for me, taking into account the stone structure, scale, symmetry, painting. Nowadays, it has suffered a lot from the constructions of the environment, and Kievan has still retained its uniqueness to some extent. However, the scene is not the same. In the past, when we passed by, Mount Arai and Aragats were in front of our eyes, now they are largely closed due to high-rise buildings.

– Are there no ornaments?

– There are decorative motifs on the cast-iron railing, I regret that they should not be torn down suddenly and put something faceless. Kievan is a completely reinforced concrete structural structure.

– The Kiev bridge was built in two stages, why?

– Yes, in 1952 there was an accident, the big arch collapsed, 47 people died. 1949 The construction started in 1951. they were supposed to finish, but they noticed deficiencies in the amount of about 1 million rubles, and in 1955 when they finished, they tested it: they brought trucks, stopped it, the engineers calculated the bending and it already worked normally.

– Before the construction of the Kiev bridge, that part of Leningradyan was considered the end part and I think the road was intended only for pedestrians, not for cars. Is it possible that one day the Kievan will serve only the pedestrian?

– When I look at the developments, I see that nothing is for man. Everything is for traffic jams, stress. Where was such luck?

– Is it true that so many cars are parked on the bridge during traffic jams?

– In the case of bridges, the most dangerous thing is the same frequency that affects. For example, when soldiers cross the bridge, they give the command “Free” so that they don’t tap their feet in the same rhythm.

It is natural that the accumulations and wear and tear of the years will have left some traces.

– Architects often talk about building bridges and overpasses to reduce congestion․ will that solve the problem?

– In general, it will not solve the problem if irregular construction has taken place and continues at the same pace. From the point of view of traffic jams, adding infrastructure will not solve the problem if we continue to implement irregular construction. In one place, the congestion will be eased, in another place there will be accumulation. It is already late, we are at a dead end, and in fact, it should have been calculated from the beginning. Over the years, we have to correct the mistakes, some of them are irreversible.

– High-rise buildings are constantly being erected․ Is this normal for Yerevan?

– Of course it’s not normal. Every high-rise is an emptying village under the conditions of Armenia. And secondly, it is those high-rises that create the mentioned problem. Stress, consumerism, traffic jams, aesthetic disfigurement, because first of all the natural world is impoverished and destroyed, the scenery is also cut off from people’s emotions.

In addition, the parts of the city that have a certain historical layer are treated with disharmony. Once upon a time, when an architect educated a person, an Armenian person was formed, now it is a construction made for the crowd, it is not even architecture. They do not solve a social problem, it is beyond all norms: lighting, green, anti-seismic norms… they just create an environment that creates a consumer society.

– It is not that the buildings built during the USSR are ideal․․. the neighbor seems to be in the other neighbor’s house, because the buildings are very close to each other. It is the same now. Is there no solution to not have the buildings so close to each other, and secondly, we are in a seismic zone?․ Where will people flee in case of an earthquake?

– Yes, they will hit each other in a chain and even if a person stands in the middle of the street, they will pour out and cover the street. About 20 years ago, the Chinese calculated that if there was an earthquake in the middle of the day, there would be 300-400,000 victims. In recent years, the current mayor admitted that the amount of construction built during the previous ones was 5 times greater. In other words, the whole abnormality has increased 5 times. They only think about filling their pockets at that moment. Not even a business. it implies a long-term process. Residents do it, at that moment they put the money in their pocket, move on to the next one to get rich quickly.

 – Architects say that new buildings are more earthquake resistant…

– Worse. They calculated, but how did they build it? The same Kiev bridge was calculated, but later it became clear what kind of frauds were involved.

– Will Ajapnyak metro save us from stress?

– It will help to some extent. But it won’t solve a big question. The tunnel has been dug, the bridge remains. At this rate, accumulation will be created elsewhere, and it will become a common thing.

– “Old Yerevan” is not becoming ordinary. About 20 years ago, they decided to restore the appearance of old Yerevan. How do you evaluate the idea of ​​artificially creating an old Yerevan in the Center?

– The old Yerevan passing through Aram street is a mockery, it has nothing to do with old Yerevan at all. Armenia used to be called a museum in the open air, now it is a domestic architecture. You can see the old Yerevan with a photo, but in this case, it’s ruined, with some volumes on it, and you have to explain to people: this is the old, this is the new.

For me, Old Yerevan is Tamanyan Yerevan, because the noble Armenian architecture began in Tamanyan. Until then, they were structures of tsarist Russia and that style, as well as mixed with some eastern motifs, that did not represent identity. Yes, they are important as history, but we had a high architecture from the Tamanian school, which we quickly degraded again with the environment, colorful interventions on the buildings, annexes, cladding. Not to mention how the air conditioners and wires were laid.

If there was a plan to at least preserve and bring back the center of Yerevan like Tbilisi, it would be a certain positive step, but there is no such trend at all.

– Is it possible to bring it back?

– At least with small details, maybe it is possible, but there must be a plan. At one time, the cafe next to the Opera House was dismantled, then it went the same way. There was a blindfold.

Everyone decorates the building with wonderful tuff and ornaments in a different color according to their taste. The decorative problem had to be solved, then they moved on to the contours. A 50-100 year plan should be drawn up and implemented.

– In the cities of Greece, for example, antiquity is completely preserved, people have not touched it, but here they say: it is old, let’s demolish it.

– Europe has enormous antiquities, it preserves them sacredly, but I must say that we did not even have that kind of antiquity, what we have is from the last 100 years, and we were not able to preserve it either.

For example, in Italy it is forbidden to stick something on the surface of the stone, they put it in the opening along the line of the window.

– Therefore, architects and society in other countries respect their culture.

– Yes. In our country, if the same garbage thrower appears in Europe, such an act will not take place. The environment has an effect there. Scaffolding construction itself is a magnified garbage.

– What is your opinion about the Kond development project?

– The city of artisans was a good idea in general, it is worth keeping. Kond does not represent a higher national architecture, but it has value.

For us, first of all, the architecture that forms the identity is valuable, which we have disfigured.

– We are mainly talking about Yerevan, but is the Armenian architecture preserved in the marzes, or is the situation the same there?

– It is the same situation. It is terrible. In recent years, the law has been changed, an unlimited number of taxes have been given, high-rises have sprung up behind the Cathedral. When you enter the tower, high-rise buildings greet you. one in front of the Red Church. The same is true in Yeghvardi highway.

Abnormal “Singaporeization” is going on.

– As a young architect, do you have a project in mind, an idea that you would like to implement?

– I would like to eliminate all this by some miracle, our old city would be revived, everything that started in the marzes would be stopped. If a conscientious architect still creates, he creates a small island, which does not solve a question in the general sense. The state always stands at the head of the principles of general urban development. This is the profession that fluctuates with the decline and development of the state.

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Yesterday on his Facebook page, Nikol Pashinyan referred to the initial signing of the “Peace Treaty” between the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan on August 8, 2025, in Washington with the mediation of Trump.

“Now we call the August 8 meeting the Peace Summit, and the joint declaration accepted by me and the President of Azerbaijan, which was also signed by the US President as a witness, the Declaration of Peace.

The page of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan is closed, peace has been established, and it is right in front of your eyes, it is your life and everyday life. It is not easy to establish any peace, and it was not easy to establish our peace either. But it is extremely easy to collapse and nullify any peace, and it can be done very quickly, and the question is, in that case, will it be possible to establish peace again after 35 years?

Today, many, some intentionally and some unintentionally, act with the logic of destroying the peace, and these activities are sometimes disguised under a benevolent or “patriotic” smokescreen. I want to say without hesitation that in order to make peace irreversible, it is necessary to stop talking about the right of “the return of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians” and “the return of Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan”, and in Azerbaijan about the right of “the return of West Azerbaijan and West Azeris,” he wrote on his Facebook page. wrote Nikol Pashinyan.

Artsakh cultural heritage ombudsman, Caucasus expert Hovik Avanesovi խոսքով՝ Placing a sign of equality between the Armenians of Artsakh and the Azerbaijanis who left Armenia does not have any logic, these two issues cannot be considered on the same level for one simple reason, because the Armenians of Artsakh want to return to their historical living space.

“Artsakh has always been Armenian and has been a part of Armenian statehood, even at the time when Armenian statehood did not exist or was partial in different parts, Artsakh was one of the unique parts where state institutions have always existed.

As for the artificially invented Azerbaijanis, they have nothing in common with the forcibly displaced Artsakh Armenians. First of all, those Azerbaijanis are not related to any settlement in Armenia or Artsakh, both from a historical and a legal point of view. Before 1918, there was no state unit or entity called Azerbaijan in the region.” 168.amHovik Avanesov said in a conversation with

According to him, in 1918, they created that organization artificially. In addition, the phrase “title-bearing Azerbaijani” is also artificially invented, before the adoption of the 1936 Constitution of the Soviet period, the concept of the Azerbaijani nation, which could be attributed to the current territory of Azerbaijan, did not exist.

“Even after it was artificially formulated in the 1936 Constitution, it was not applied. We find the first applications as such from the 1940s onwards. In this context, we should also note that the term “West Azerbaijan” is as artificial as the state formation of Azerbaijan itself today. Considering all this, it is unacceptable to consider the Armenians of Artsakh on the same level, whether at the level of the head of state or another person,” added Hovik Avanesov.

He also emphasized that connecting the return of Artsakh Armenians to Artsakh with the peace agenda is, to put it mildly, illiterate, regardless of who is the author of such formulations. There is also another important circumstance that today there is no peace agenda. Azerbaijan has never had such an agenda and will never have it. It is possible to talk about a real peace agenda, taking into account several circumstances.

“Here we are talking about the complete de-occupation of Artsakh, returning to the status quo of September 27, 2020. Withdrawal of all types of Azerbaijani presence from the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia, that is, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces and border guards, who are illegally in the territory of Armenia, must withdraw. Eradication of Armenian hatred in Azerbaijan, starting with the state speech and ending with school educational programs.

To return the prisoners of war illegally held in Baku to their homeland, without exception and without any preconditions. If these provisions come true, then they can talk about real peace, but until all this is there, talking about real peace is at least naive. Regardless of who makes what statements, the issue of Artsakh is not closed. No person, regardless of his status, has the right to close this issue, the issue of Artsakh is not the issue of one person, it is the issue of all Armenians,” said Hovik Avanesov.

He is sure that Nikol Pashinyan is very well aware that putting the forcibly displaced Artsakh Armenians and Azerbaijanis on the same level is at least unacceptable. This is just a specially designed policy within the framework of the so-called unilateral peace agenda. Regardless of everything that Nikol Pashinyan gives, the issues are not closed for the Artsakh Armenians and they will never stop talking about the return and, within the framework of all this, talking about the problems of preserving Artsakh’s cultural heritage.

“I repeat, such statements cannot deter us from our demand, but these statements can and will have negative consequences. After each such announcement, we notice a significant increase in the destruction of Artsakh’s cultural heritage in the territory of Artsakh,” emphasized Hovik Avanesov.

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Like last year, this year also there are vacancies in universities in several specialties. Some professions do not interest young people at all.

Although the evaluation and testing center had announced an additional competition for applicants, none of the universities had applied for the vacant professions.

Education expert Serob Khachatryan he says, compared to last year, there is no particular change this year either.

“This year was also a big competition at the Yerevan State Medical University, Faculty of Law, international relations, IT field specialties. The competition has increased a lot in the architecture profession. the number of applicants in that line has increased significantly.

As in previous years, this year there are no applicants in most of the faculties of the Agrarian University. Agribusiness is mostly competitive, but the number of applicants in other faculties is small.

According to me, the university will soften that situation a little. I think they will be accepted remotely.” 168.amSerob Khachatryan said in a conversation with

According to the expert, today there is a problem in the profession of pedagogue, although 70-77 thousand students who have chosen the relevant profession are given scholarships in the field of science, but, for example, there are quite a few vacancies in the fields of “Chemistry”, “Biology”, “Geography”, “Natural Science”, “Crafts and Art”.

“It is possible that some of these vacant places have been filled, because the competition for vacant places was concluded on July 30, but there will certainly be places left.

The same situation exists in regional universities in terms of pedagogical specialties, there are also some vacancies in engineering specialties,” added Serob Khachatryan.

Speaking about the lack of interest shown by young people in vocational professions, Serob Khachatryan said that those professions that are profitable, so to speak, take most of the talent.

“If a child, for example, does well in chemistry and biology at school, he does not go to the chemistry department, but goes to the Medical University, and some apply to the Faculty of Biology at YSU.” This year, there were applicants at the Pedagogical University who applied for “Chemistry” and “Biology” subjects, but the vast majority of them were not satisfied.

In other words, most of the applicants did not meet the minimum requirements of that passing threshold. The same is the case with the “Informatics” subject, those who have a good command of it go for IT. If a child has good knowledge in a certain subject, he goes in the direction of a more profitable profession in that subject,” emphasized Serob Khachatryan.

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One of the prosecutors indicting His Holiness and 6 high-ranking clerics in the “case” was Aram Aramyan, Deputy Prosecutor General of the Republic of Armenia and First Class Counselor of Justice.

Aramyan started his career at the Arabkir Investigation Department of the Yerevan City Investigation Department of the RA Police and assumed the position of Deputy Prosecutor General from December 2024.

And, as you can see, in this position he is already entrusted with “highly responsible” tasks.

168․amtoday will convey several episodes of Aram Aramyan’s “achievements”, which are included in his 2025 declaration of property, income, expenses and interests submitted to the Corruption Prevention Commission in 2026.

Thus, in his declaration, the official informed about the apartment he bought in Arabkir administrative district of the capital in 2014 and jointly owned, and the 2019 Toyota car he bought from Yunex LLC in April 2025 for 5.4 million drams.

During the year, the balances of his bank accounts fluctuated between 700 thousand and 500 thousand drams, cash funds both at the end of the year and at the beginning of the year were in the amount of 6 million drams.

Aram Aramyan’s income of 40,645,824 drams for the reporting year was generated from a 15 million dram loan received from the closed joint stock company “AMIO BANK” and from the salary of 25,645,824 drams received from the RA Prosecutor’s Office and/or other payments equal to it.

For comparison, let’s note that Aramyan, for example, in 2021, when he was the deputy head of the department for monitoring the legality of pre-trial proceedings in the RA National Security Service of the General Prosecutor’s Office of the RA, declared an income of 9,130,630 drams for the reporting year, of which 8,820,630 drams was the salary received from the RA Prosecutor’s Office and/or other payments equivalent to it and 310,000 drams received from VTB Armenia Bank. loan.

Aram Aramyan also announced the principal amount of the loan at the end of the reporting year, 2025.  about the balance of 13,327,620 drams and recorded that he allocated 11,658,317 drams to repay the loan in 2025.

Aramyan’s wife, Anna Astvatatryan, declared 3 immovable properties. two, a building of public importance in the Sevan community, which he bought in 2007 and manages alone, and one, a jointly owned apartment in the Arabkir community.

The official’s wife also declared 4 thousand dollars and 2.8 million drams in bank deposits and 3 million drams in cash, in the event that her income for the reporting year amounted to 305,581 drams and was generated from interest and other compensation received for loans or bank deposits given to two banks.

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Singer and actor Raff: Harutyunyan 168TVof “The Rendezvous” during the program, he reflected on the most painful pages of his life, talking about childhood, family, work, creative path and personal struggle.

He says that he started working at the age of 12-13 and took care of his family’s needs with the first money he earned.

“I used to finish my work late at night, I would call home and ask what should I bring?” When my mother said bread or cheese, it seemed to me that the world was mine. I felt like the man of the house,” said the singer.

Raff Harutyunyan admits that he did not get to fully enjoy either his childhood or his student years because of his work. However, he is sure that this path has hardened him.

Speaking about the music market, he expressed concern about the rapid pace of artificial intelligence, noting that thousands of songs a day are already created using AI.

“Today the market is flooded with robot songs. I think there will come a time when live sound will be the most expensive value again,” he says.

Ruff also touched on the history of his famous song “Map”, which was once a big fuss.

He emphasized that his dissatisfaction with Iveta Mukuchyan was not related to the performance of the song, but to not mentioning the fact of his co-authorship.

“I was upset only that I was a co-author, but my name was not mentioned. Then I realized that the performance of my song by an artist like Iveta Mukuchyan was a great appreciation,” said the singer.

Speaking about his personal life, Raff Harutyunyan admitted that now all his attention is focused on his career.

“At this moment, I have given my heart to my career. First, I want to solve my household issues, then think about my family,” he says.

Հարցազրույցի ամենահուզիչ հատվածում երգիչը խոստովանել է, որ վերջերս կրկին արտասվել է։

“The burden is too much. I want to do everything at once, but sometimes it seems that I am not where I should be yet,” said Raff Harutyunyan.

Details in the video

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