HARDSHIPS OF AVIATION ELITE:
DUE TO UNSOLVED SOCIAL AND EVERYDAY PROBLEMS, THE DESIRE OF OFFICERS OF THE RUSSIAN AIR BASE IN ARMENIA TO SERVE DISAPPEARS

by: Vadim Udmantsev
Translated by Pavel Pushkin

Source: Voenno-Promyshlenny Kuryer, No. 9, March 07-13, 2007, p. 5
Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
March 12, 2007 Monday

SERVICE OF SERVICEMEN OF THE RUSSIAN AIR BASE IN ARMENIA IS BURDENED
WITH SERIOUS SOCIAL AND ROUTINE PROBLEMS; Officers and warrant
officers who have served in the Soviet Armed Forces remember that at
one time, appointment on a post in one of the groups of the Soviet
forces abroad has always been considered an incentive. Unfortunately,
everything is quite different today. At least, the correspondent of
Voenno-Promyshlenny Kuryer had a bitter aftertaste after communication
with servicemen of the Russian air base in Armenia (Erebuni airfield
near Yerevan).

BODY:

Officers and warrant officers who have served in the Soviet Armed
Forces remember than at one time, appointment on a post in one of
the groups of the Soviet forces abroad has always been considered
an incentive. Unfortunately, everything is quite different today. At
least, the correspondent of Voenno-Promyshlenny Kuryer had a bitter
aftertaste after communication with servicemen of the Russian air
base in Armenia (Erebuni airfield near Yerevan).

According to Lieutenant Colonel Igor Mikheev, commander of an
aviation squadron, one of the main problems is the procedure of
financial support of our servicemen in Armenia. Mikheev explains:
"We receive money allowances in rubles but because there is no means of
payment on the territory of the republic besides the Armenian dram, our
servicemen have to exchange rubles at the exchange rate set by exchange
offices. Throughout the year, the dram noticeably appreciated. Whereas
at the beginning of 2006, the exchange rate was 17.80 drams for 1
ruble, now the exchange rate is 13.10 drams for 1 ruble. As a result
of such an exchange, our servicemen actually lose up to 25% of their
money allowances a month and do not receive any compensation for this."

If we bear in mind that the high prices in Yerevan stores is almost
equal to those in Moscow, as well as the fact that a majority of
servicemen of the air base are warrant officers and junior officers
earning 10,000-12,000 rubles a month, we can understand the reason
for the servicemen’s complaints. Besides, the salaries of Russian
servicemen in Armenia were raised by 10% since January 1 but their
salaries were subject to a 13% income tax that was not charged
before. As a result, the money allowances of our servicemen, being
already small, decreased by a further 3%.

Officers are also confused about another circumstance. They say:
"Here, in Armenia, there are also Russian border guards who guard
the border with Turkey. They are actually the same servicemen but
somehow they do not pay a 15% tax and earn more. It simply offends
us. Why does a border guard sergeant of the Federal Security Service,
who has just got enlisted for contract service, earn the same 18,000
rubles a month six months later that is earned by a colonel of the
Armed Forces with a service term of 25 years?"

All social payments to Russian servicemen and members of their families
are made according to the laws of the country of presence.

In Armenia, they are miserable in comparison to Russia.

Due to undeveloped labor market in Armenia, more than 90% of wives of
the servicemen of the air base cannot get employed anywhere to somehow
repair the family budget. Compensations can be paid to unemployed
Russian women in Armenia according to local norms and amount to
approximately 100 rubles a month. Even to get these miserable amounts
according to Russian standards, the candidates need to collect a lot
of various documents first.

Practically all servicemen and their families live in three hostels
that require overhaul. These buildings remain on the balance of the
Armenian Defense Ministry and according to a protocol of one of the
meetings of the interstate commission they should be repaired by the
Armenian party that has no money for this.

According to current laws, Russian servicemen cannot overhaul buildings
that do not belong to Russia. Due to the unregulated nature of this
issue, the conditions of living for the Russian aviation elite in
Yerevan are "very far from normal, to put it mildly."

No provisions are made for the construction of even service housing
for servicemen of the Russian Armed Forces in Transcaucasia. That is
why compensation payments to Russian servicemen could ideally solve
this problem. Due to these payments, pilots and technicians of the
air base could solve the problem of decent housing in the city on
their own. Being unable to tolerate terrible conditions of living
in hostels, some officers dared to hire more decent housing in the
form of private apartments at their own expense. For example, one of
the officers of the command of the Russian military base in Armenia
reports that hiring a two-room apartment, he and his wife heat only
the room where their child sleeps for the whole winter and simply do
not have money to heat the rest of the apartment.

Another pressing problem is the drawn out period for the issue of
foreign service passports. These passports are issued for five years.

Without them, Russian servicemen and members of their families cannot
return to Russia on vacations or cannot cross the border because of
other motives. According to many officers, the scheme for issuing
these passports to our citizens in Armenia is ill considered.

Documents for obtaining passports roam in various state institutions
for 18-24 months (since the moment of submission of a relevant
application via the higher command to the Foreign Ministry). Knowing
that they may encounter such delay, officers submit applications
for foreign service passports 18-24 months beforehand. Despite this,
documents are still not issued for all members of the family.