Lragir, Armenia
Oct 27 2006

RUSSIA NO LONGER FEELS LIKE HOME

The Haykakan Zhamanak Newspaper wrote that the Armenian businessmen
are transferring their property from Russia to the United States and
Europe because the Russian government is said to be likely to start
persecution. The Lragir has learned from a reliable source that
another similar process is underway. The businessmen of Armenia, who
run businesses in Russia, are also taking their property away from
Russia.

This tendency is believed to be determined by the pre-election
situation and the costs required for a desirable outcome of the
election. However, our source says this money is too much for the
election, especially that the `pocket’ money of the Armenian
oligarchs is enough to supply the `demand’ of the election. The
Armenian businessmen were simply instructed to `pack their things’,
otherwise hard consequences were promised. In this context, there is
notable information on the visit of the Russian Attorney General Yuri
Chaika to Yerevan. Another source of the Lragir informed that during
this visit the Attorney General of Armenia and his Russian
counterpart had a confidential talk over the problem of the Armenian
oligarchs running businesses in Russia, and Yuri Chairka said the
procuracies of Armenia and Russia do not have a corresponding
agreement that would enable the procuracy of Russia to deal with the
businesses of the Armenian oligarchs at full. Eventually, this
agreement was signed, which gave rise to this process.