The Trans-Caucasus has an old saying: “Georgian has the sea, Azerbaijan – the oil, Armenia – the diaspora.” Indeed, the influence of the Armenian diaspora on the foreign policy of Yerevan is hard to overestimate. The population of the Armenian diaspora is almost twice the population of Armenia itself. According to rough estimates, half of the 5-million diaspora lives in Russia, the rest in other republics of the post-Soviet space, a million in the U.S. and another million in other countries.
The diaspora has great financial support of Armenian millionaires, making a name in the early 1920s and positioning itself as the driving force of the Armenian public movement, urging American and world societies to force Turkey to recognize the Armenian genocide of 1915. Considering the large number of Armenians living in Russia, the attitude of the diaspora towards the events in Russia was quite normal, and was at least without incident. The situation recently changed when the Armenian diaspora in the U.S. tried to make its name as a political force and put pressure on the Russian authorities.
In mid-July, the Basmanny Court of Moscow arrested Armenian businessman Levon Ayrapetyan, the 10th richest Armenian in the world. He is charged with acquisition and wasteful spending and legalization of funds or property he obtained illegally. Investigators say that Ayrapetyan was responsible for Ural Rakhimov’s sale of Bashneft shares. Rakhimov headed the company for three years. Bashkiria's ex-senator Igor Izmestyev, who is serving life imprisonment for grave crimes, testified against Ayrapetyan. The latter denies guilt and called it predictable. The position of the Armenian diaspora seems unpredictable in this case.
A demonstration to support Ayrapetyan took place in Yerevan. It was declared there that such actions to put pressure on the Russian authorities will be made in other countries of the world. The diaspora was well-organized. On August 22, the consulate of Russia in New York witnessed a group of citizens holding the flag of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and posters with demands to free Levon Ayrapetyan.
Then the headquarters for the protection of Ayrapetyan from Russian justice asked Charles Aznavour, a French singer of Armenian origin, to cancel his concert in Moscow on October 3 as a protest against the persecution of the businessman. “We understand that cancelling the concert will be costly, and your impresario may contact Artur Safaryan on the official page of Levon Gurgenovich on Facebook to discuss the issue of compensation,” says the message of the headquarters.
Attempts to break humanitarian ties may seem like a provocation, because Ayrapetyan’s supporters make him an image of a philanthropist. They are trying to give the criminal case a political appearance and a value of global scale.
“The enemy is trying to achieve the old goal, not sparing oil-dollars to break you... The incriminated acts were dictated by political motives solely. Your detention today is a challenge for all Armenians,” says the letter to Ayrapetyan written by his compatriots and somehow published.
The ones who ballyhoo the story urge Ruben Vardanyan, Samvel Karapetyan, Ara Abramyan, Daniil Khachaturov, Sergey and Nikolai Sarkisov to join the fight.
The question is not whether Ayrapetyan is responsible for the crimes he is accused of. The question is why would the Armenian diaspora put pressure on Russian law enforcers and organize demonstrations in countries that have joined anti-Russian sanctions. Why would the diaspora organize world-wide anti-Russian activities? According to American Armenians, the diaspora organizations in the U.S. are in a state of crisis caused by ideological disorientation. The largest Armenian unions, with impressive financial and political resources, are sometimes incapable of acting as a joint front due to disagreements within the elites. U.S. congressmen representing one Armenian diaspora organization do not support resolutions initiated by legislators lobbying for the interests of another. In this case, calling Russia a common enemy that will consolidate them is a significant factor, especially in the light of Western pressure on Russia.
by organizing demonstrations in countries that have joined anti-Russian sanctionsThe Trans-Caucasus has an old saying: “Georgian has the sea, Azerbaijan – the oil, Armenia – the diaspora.” Indeed, the influence of the Armenian diaspora on the foreign policy of Yerevan is hard to overestimate. The population of the Armenian diaspora is almost twice the population of Armenia itself. According to rough estimates, half of the 5-million diaspora lives in Russia, the rest in other republics of the post-Soviet space, a million in the U.S. and another million in other countries.The diaspora has great financial support of Armenian millionaires, making a name in the early 1920s and positioning itself as the driving force of the Armenian public movement, urging American and world societies to force Turkey to recognize the Armenian genocide of 1915. Considering the large number of Armenians living in Russia, the attitude of the diaspora towards the events in Russia was quite normal, and was at least without incident. The situation recently changed when the Armenian diaspora in the U.S. tried to make its name as a political force and put pressure on the Russian authorities.In mid-July, the Basmanny Court of Moscow arrested Armenian businessman Levon Ayrapetyan, the 10th richest Armenian in the world. He is charged with acquisition and wasteful spending and legalization of funds or property he obtained illegally. Investigators say that Ayrapetyan was responsible for Ural Rakhimov’s sale of Bashneft shares. Rakhimov headed the company for three years. Bashkiria's ex-senator Igor Izmestyev, who is serving life imprisonment for grave crimes, testified against Ayrapetyan. The latter denies guilt and called it predictable. The position of the Armenian diaspora seems unpredictable in this case.A demonstration to support Ayrapetyan took place in Yerevan. It was declared there that such actions to put pressure on the Russian authorities will be made in other countries of the world. The diaspora was well-organized. On August 22, the consulate of Russia in New York witnessed a group of citizens holding the flag of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and posters with demands to free Levon Ayrapetyan.Then the headquarters for the protection of Ayrapetyan from Russian justice asked Charles Aznavour, a French singer of Armenian origin, to cancel his concert in Moscow on October 3 as a protest against the persecution of the businessman. “We understand that cancelling the concert will be costly, and your impresario may contact Artur Safaryan on the official page of Levon Gurgenovich on Facebook to discuss the issue of compensation,” says the message of the headquarters.Attempts to break humanitarian ties may seem like a provocation, because Ayrapetyan’s supporters make him an image of a philanthropist. They are trying to give the criminal case a political appearance and a value of global scale.“The enemy is trying to achieve the old goal, not sparing oil-dollars to break you... The incriminated acts were dictated by political motives solely. Your detention today is a challenge for all Armenians,” says the letter to Ayrapetyan written by his compatriots and somehow published.The ones who ballyhoo the story urge Ruben Vardanyan, Samvel Karapetyan, Ara Abramyan, Daniil Khachaturov, Sergey and Nikolai Sarkisov to join the fight.The question is not whether Ayrapetyan is responsible for the crimes he is accused of. The question is why would the Armenian diaspora put pressure on Russian law enforcers and organize demonstrations in countries that have joined anti-Russian sanctions. Why would the diaspora organize world-wide anti-Russian activities? According to American Armenians, the diaspora organizations in the U.S. are in a state of crisis caused by ideological disorientation. The largest Armenian unions, with impressive financial and political resources, are sometimes incapable of acting as a joint front due to disagreements within the elites. U.S. congressmen representing one Armenian diaspora organization do not support resolutions initiated by legislators lobbying for the interests of another. In this case, calling Russia a common enemy that will consolidate them is a significant factor, especially in the light of Western pressure on Russ
