Russians building a new life in Armenia
Of Armenia information The number of officially registered employees in the technology sector has increased by 50 percent
Russia since the beginning of the occupation of Ukraine in late February information Thousands of Russians working in the field of technology have moved to Armenia. Artyom Yemelyanov is one of them.
The 32-year-old programmer is from Yekaterinburg. He says to Russia’s neighbor snowThe war he started was as numerous as his free a difficult choice for a thoughtful person snowput in the bottle.
Those who think differently go
“In Russia free thinking is not desirable, and abroad all Russians are considered aggressive. If I hadn’t left, this opportunity would have been closed to me later. ” – Yemelyanov, who has a beard and a mustache like Salvador Dali, told RFE / RL’s Armenian Service.
“If a person is smart and capable, he will find a job. Those who think differently are just leaving Russia. ” He added.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan The government is currently facing opposition protests over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The opposition accuses him of being ready to make concessions to Azerbaijan in resolving the conflict. Ukraine In the war, Pashinyan tried to take a neutral position. UN The General Assembly did not vote on a resolution “strongly” condemning the Russian occupation.
Many in Armenia speak Russian, Russia is a visa-free regime with, shares the same work space with the Eurasian Economic Union. Under the influence of unprecedented Western sanctions, Russians are allowed to stay in Armenia for up to 180 days with their ID cards.
Official figures
According to a government statement issued on May 23, Armenia information The number of officially registered employees in the technology sector has increased by 50 percent.
Minister of Economy Vahan KerobyanAccording to data released by local software companies in late April 20 thousand employees. A year ago, this number was 13,500.
February 24 to March 22 268 Russia The company registered its citizens in Armenia, and 938 people received official “individual entrepreneur” status. During that period, about 27,000 Russians and other foreigners were in Armenia bank opened accounts.
Western sanctions on Russia have restricted the country’s access to high technology and made it more difficult for Russian companies to transact abroad.
Attitude
However, people like Yemelyanov say that Armenia was chosen not only for the convenience of travel and documentation, but also for the attitude of the people. The programmer wanted to stay in Georgia for a short time. But he went to Armenia because he felt negative attitude towards the Russians there. Russia supports Georgia’s separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Yemelyanov easily registers as a sole proprietor, and now plans to open a coworking center with his partners in Gyumri, the country’s second-largest city and home to a Russian military base.
“We are buying new furniture for the office, there will be Internet, printers, copiers, people will be able to work in a good environment. It will be open next week. “ – Yemelyanov said.
The programmer does not want to cut ties with Russia completely, his parents, relatives and friends are there, but he does not intend to return to his homeland soon.
Interrogation at the border
Ukraine The native programmer had to go to Russia to sell his house. When he returned, he was interrogated at the border by officers of the Federal Security Service (FSB). He said he was a programmer and went to work in Armenia. Says an FSB officer 20 He asked her “stupid questions” for a minute and she didn’t feel well.
“In Russia free It is unbearably difficult to be thoughtful. Any idea against the government can be severely fined. If you receive your salary from abroad, you can be considered a foreign spy and be prosecuted. ” – Yemelyanov says.
He says Moscow and Kiev should resolve the conflict diplomatically, not militarily.
“Relations have become tense and now Russia and Ukraine There is a gap between the peoples. The whole world considers Russia as aggressive as Germany in 1939. I don’t know how to get out of this. ” – Yemelyanov emphasizes.