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  • Armenia: Russia's Offer Of Easy Citizenship Sparks Concerns

    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
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