Armenian public accuses Russian journalists of inciting hatred

The Armenian public and users of Armenian Facebook express their indignation over the statements voiced by Mikhail Leontiev and Mikhail Yuriev, presenters of the analytical show "GlavTema", on the air of the "Radio Komsomolskaya Pravda" on April 26 and May 3.

When commenting on the Russia's reaction to the events in Armenia, Mikhail Yuriev said that to restore order, it was enough to "deploy two regiments," since "they did not have enough spirit to do that by themselves."

On May 3, Mikhail Leontiev also commented on the events in Armenia.

According to him, Russia "spent blood, people's lives, money, gas, and troops to save those (Armenian) people."

"If they want to 'jump off,' then, do please, you are welcome, go, hop it!" said Mikhail Leontiev.

The "Rosneft-Armenia" treats the Mikhail Leontiev's statements as provocative (he is the Vice-President of the "Rosneft"). The subsidiary of the Russian oil and gas corporation is going to raise the issue of professional suitability of the journalist of his position in the company.

On May 5, a petition was posted on change.org with the demand to bring the "Radio Komsomolskaya Pravda" to justice under a criminal article for inciting ethnic hatred.

"The presenters ... used extremely incorrect words when speaking about the rallies," writes Anton Melnikov, an author of the petition posted on change.org.

"Taking into account the fact that Russia is a multinational country with the large Armenian Diaspora, we note that such statements can provoke hatred on interethnic grounds," the author of the petition emphasizes.

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