Three years after family massacre in Gyumri: incidents involving soldiers continue

Over the past three years, the murder of the Avetisyan family members committed on January 12, 2015, for which Valery Permyakov, a Russian regular soldier, was sentenced, became the most resonant, but far from the only incident involving soldiers of the Russian military base in Gyumri.

The proximity of the military base beyond the control of the Armenian authorities threatens the security of local residents, believes rights defender Arthur Sakunts. According to him, the 102nd military base is an institution of Russian military and political interests, which "disregard threats to the Armenia's security," the "GalaTV.am" reports.

According to the edition, the Russian authorities do not fulfil the agreement stating that only contract soldiers should serve on the military base.

Earlier, Levon Barsegyan, the leader of the Journalists' Club Asparez, has stated that the Russian military base poses a threat, since there are no security guarantees for residents of Armenia.

According to Levon Barsegyan, incidents involving Russian soldiers may be related to the lack of discipline on the territory of the military base, and the Armenian authorities cannot ensure the safety of city residents.

After the murder of the Avetisyan family members, the attitude towards Russian soldiers changed for the worse.

According to the calculations run by the "Caucasian Knot", in the period from 2015 to 2017, in Armenia, there were 13 incidents involving Russian soldiers.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.