Chess: Armenia in lead in Turin (37th Chess Olympiad)

Ottawa Citizen, Canada
June 3, 2006 Saturday
Final Edition

Armenia in lead in Turin

by Dave Willis, The Ottawa Citizen

The 37th Chess Olympiad in Turin, Italy, ends tomorrow. The young
Canadian team has had difficulty finding their stride, but the last
third of the event is the most important for final placings — Canada
will need some strong results in the final few rounds to improve
their standing.

After nine of 14 rounds, the current leaders are 1. Armenia (26.5
points from 36), 2. China (25.5), and 3. France (24). Pre-tournament
favourites, Russia, are tied for 4th with Ukraine and the U.S., all
with 23.5 points each. Canada has 18.5 points.

– – –

GM Ivan Sokolov (Netherlands) —

GM Levon Aronian (Armenia): Nimzo-Indian Defence

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 d5 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bg5 c5!?

Black’s sharpest and rarest option in this position. As chess
journalists at the Olympiad website point out, England’s GM Nigel
Short scored a wild draw with this line against former World Champion
Garry Kasparov in 1993.

7.dxc5 h6 8.Bh4 g5 9.Bg3 Ne4 10.Bxb8?!

10.e3! is known, and leads to complex but balanced play. The text is
new, but may not be tried again after this game.

10…Qf6! 11.Bg3 Nxc3 12.a3 Bf5 13.Qd2 Ba5 14.b4?

This appears the real culprit, and again 14.e3!? is the only chance.
Black’s initiative is dangerous, but nothing is absolutely clear.
More to the point, White desperately needs to get his K-side pieces
out of the corral, and 14.e3 would at least be a step in this
direction.

14…Ne4 15.Qc1 Rc8!

A devastatingly simple move in hindsight. White is busted.

16.Ra2 Rxc5 17.Qa1 Qc6!! 18.Qe5+ Kd8!

It is OK to lose the rook with check, but not the bishop on f5!

19.Qxh8+ Kd7 White Resigns

A brilliant win by the young Armenian who is leading their on-form
team to a likely medal in these games.

Chess: Armenia in the ascendant

The Daily Telegraph (LONDON)
June 3, 2006 Saturday

Armenia in the ascendant

by Malcolm Pein

ARMENIA look unstoppable now after a 10th round win over their
nearest rivals, China, at the 37th Chess Olympiad in Turin. Armenia
increased their lead to two points with three matches to play.

The holders, Ukraine, saw their chances of gold medals disappear
after a 1-3 loss to Russia. Peter Svidler and Evgeny Bareev won.

The United States and France drew 2-2 after Etienne Bacrot defeated
Gata Kamsky, but Laurent Fressinet, the French hero against Russia,
let Hikaru Nakamura escape with a draw in a lost endgame two pawns
down.

Scotland had a good result in defeating Australia 2.5-1.5, although
John Shaw lost his unbeaten record and their reward was an 11th round
match against England. That is not the only all-British tie in the
next round because Guernsey are playing Jersey.

England lost 1.5-2.5 to Belarus. Danny Gormally was beaten again
after outplaying his highly rated opponent with black, but going
wrong near move 40. He has lost his last three and is flying home
early.

With the Fide presidential election imminent, both “The Right Move”
ticket, led by Bessel Kok, and the incumbent, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov,
were campaigning hard. There have been allegations of irregularities
already, with the Afghanistan delegation being replaced at the start
of the event.

The supermodel Carmen Kass, who is president of the Estonian
federation, jetted in, apparently to replace her Fide delegate, who
it was thought was going to vote for Ilyumzhinov.

Leaders: 1 Armenia 29; 2 China 27; 3-4 Russia, Czech Republic 26.5; 5
France 26; 6 US 25.5; 39 England 22.5; 47 Scotland 22; 53 Ireland
21.5; 92 Wales 19; 133 Guernsey 15; 135 Jersey 15; 148 teams.

P Svidler – A Volokitin

37th Olympiad, Turin (10)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.Bd3 d5
8.0-0 Nf6 9.Qe2 Be7 10.b3 0-0 11.Bb2 c5 12.Rad1 Bb7 13.Na4 (Odd, but
it avoids any possible pawn d5-d4 with tempo followed by e6-e5 and
prepares to play pawn c2-c4. Also the Bb2 is opened up) 13…Qc7
(13…c4!? 14.bxc4 Qa5 15.e5 Nd7 16.Nc3 d4 17.Ne4 Nxe5 18.Bxd4 is
good for White) 14.exd5 Nxd5 (14…exd5 15.Rfe1 is annoying because
if 15…Rfe8 16.Bxf6 forces gxf6 because of the bank rank. If
14…Bxd5 15.Be5 Qc6 16.f3 threatens c2-c4 trapping the bishop and if
16…Qb7 17.Qe3 intending Bxf6 and c2-c4 with an edge) 15.Be5! Qc6
(15…Bd6 16.Bxd6 Qxd6 17.c4 Nf4 18.Bxh7+ Kh8 19.Qe3 Nxg2 20.Rxd6
Nxe3 21.fxe3 Kxh7 22.Nxc5 with total domination, 22…Rab8 23.Rb6)
16.Be4 f6 (16…Nf4 17.Qg4! wins) 17.c4! Rfd8 (17…fxe5 18.cxd5 and
Black cannot recapture; or 17…Nf4 18.Bxf4 Qxe4 19.Qxe4 Bxe4 20.Bd6
wins a pawn) 18.Qh5! fxe5 (18…g6 19.Bxg6 hxg6 20.Qxg6+ Kh8 21.Rd3)
19.Qxh7+ Kf8 20.cxd5 exd5 21.f4! exf4 (21…dxe4 22.fxe5+ wins)
22.Bg6 (Threat Qh8 mate) 22…Qe6 23.Qh8+ Qg8 24.Rxf4+ Bf6 25.Rxf6+!
1-0

Volokitin

Svidler

Final position after 25.Rxf6+! and if 25…gxf6 26.Qxf6+ Qf7 27.Qxf7
mate

Art: On the right tack

Canberra Times (Australia)
June 3, 2006 Saturday
Final Edition

On the right tack

EXCITING news that Canberra artist Elefteria Vlavianos has a solo
show of new paintings, at the Hawthorn Town Hall in Melbourne until
June 24. The title, Metaphor for Longing, hints at the artist’s
concerns with memory and cultural heritage in the formation of
individual identity. A recurring device is a short, fine line which
she calls a “tack”, the stitch used in textile construction and
repairs, which she relates to heritage items and keepsakes – objects
important to her own identity as the daughter of a Greek father and
an Armenian mother. I saw several of her paintings hanging in the
residence of a high commissioner in Deakin recently, and many readers
may recognise her work from the recent ANU painting alumni
exhibition, which is travelling to the Sydney College of the Arts and
to the Victorian College of the Arts in the next few months.

While we’re on fabulous Canberra artists, I caught up with Robert
Boynes’s show In Real Time at the Manly Art Gallery and Museum last
weekend. What an amazing setting. You almost mistake the view through
the windows for the works on the walls. The work in this show is
largely in Boynes’s present-day idiom -screenprints of photographs
later worked in paint to give the impression of human figures moving
in the urban landscape. The show runs until June 18.

That powerhouse of artistic activity, the Tuggeranong Arts Centre, is
launching a film- society season tomorrow at 4pm, with a screening of
The Year My Voice Broke (PG).

There will be a discussion and tea and coffee after each film, which
will screen on Sundays until October 15. The season of 15 films costs
$35. Phone 62931443.

A jam-packed function at Teatro Vivaldi restaurant in the ANU Arts
Centre on Tuesday celebrated two years of operation. Not only has
Vivaldi become a hub of fine eating and, as the owners Mark Santos
and Anthony Hill say, “a less intimidating point of contact between
town and gown”, but it has filled the gap in Canberra’s cabaret
entertainment, with top shows and good local artists.

The National Institute of Dramatic Art has announced the world
premiere of a new play by Timothy Daly, to open in late June. Beach:
A Theatrical Fantasia covers nearly 250 years of our country’s
history, as seen from the “national arena” of the beach. With more
than 140 roles, it is claimed to be the largest-scale Australian play
to be seen on our stages in recent years. From Governor Phillip to
Gallipoli, from beach cricket to shark attacks, from legal arrivals
to illegal drop-offs, from the death of a Prime Minister to the
murder of innocent children, Beach is billed as a national journey.

Directed by NIDA’s acting tutor Kevin Jackson, it will be performed
by third-year graduating acting students, with production by
full-time technical production, scenery construction, design and
production students. If you’re at NIDA’s open day today, you can pick
up tickets for Beach at the box office at the discounted price of
$15/$10. The play will be at 215 Anzac Parade, Kensington, from June
22 to July 1.

Bookings on 132849 or

www.ticketek.com.au

Boxing: All eyes on Aussie Vic

Herald Sun (Australia)
June 3, 2006 Saturday
FIRST Edition

All eyes on Aussie Vic

by BARRY MICHAEL

THE world boxing spotlight will be on Vic ”Raging Bull” Darchinyan
when he defends his IBF/IBO flyweight title in Las Vegas tomorrow.

Darchinyan, Australia’s only reigning world boxing champion, will get
huge international exposure when he makes his fourth title defence,
against Mexican Luis Maldonado.

This fight is the main supporting bout to the third battle between
Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo for the WBC lightweight title
at the Thomas and Mack Centre.

Darchinyan is at the peak of his career. The 30-year-old is
undefeated in 25 fights.

Darchinyan is a powerhouse for this weight division, a southpaw who
throws punches with bad intentions from the first bell.

He faces tough opposition here with Maldonado bringing to the ring an
impressive record of 33 wins, one draw and no losses with 25 of his
wins by knockout.

It looms as a great fight between two undefeated warriors who will
wage war from the first bell.

I believe Darchinyan is the strongest flyweight in the world at the
moment and I would be surprised if Maldonado is around to hear the
final bell.

Darchinyan is Armenian-born but now a proud Australian having stayed
in Australia since the 2000 Olympics where Jeff Fenech convinced him
to join his team.

In the fight for the WBC lightweight title, I believe Jose Luis
Castillo will repeat his effort from their last bout by knocking out
Diego Corrales again.

Their first fight saw Corrales out on his feet before clawing his way
back to stop Castillo.

Their second encounter was controversial as Castillo didn’t make the
weight but went on to score a crushing knockout.

Chess: A SMALL country with a big chess tradition, Armenia

Weekend Australian
June 3, 2006 Saturday
All-round Country Edition

Chess

MATP

by Phil Viner

A SMALL country with a big chess tradition, Armenia, defeated a big
country with a shorter tradition in the international form of the
game, China, by 2.5 points to 1.5, to establish a clear lead after
the 10th round of the 37th Chess Olympiad in Turin, Italy.

The main contenders, with three rounds to play, are Armenia on 29
points (from 40 games), China on 27, Russia and the Czech Republic on
26.5.

Vladimir Kramnik, due to play Veselin Topalov later this year for the
reunified world title, is doing well as anchor man for the Russian
team, but this is not proving sufficient.

Here is the Russian’s fifth-round win over his Armenian opponent, a
positional masterpiece.

White: Kramnik. Black: Levon Aronian. 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 b6 3.g3 c5 4.Bg2
Bb7 5.0-0 g6 6.d4 cxd4 7.Qxd4 Bg7 8.Nc3 d6 9.Rd1 Nbd7 10.Be3 Rc8
11.Rac1 a6 12.b3 0-0 13.Qh4 Rc7 14.Bh3 Qb8 15.Bg5 (A novelty.) Bxf3?!
(Surrenders the light squares.) 16.exf3 b5 17.Bxd7 Rxd7 18.Nd5! Nxd5
19.cxd5 Rc7 20.Rc6! Rxc6 21.dxc6 Rc8 22.Rc1! e6 23.Bd2 Qc7 24.a4! d5
25.axb5 axb5 26.Qb4 Rb8 27.Qa3 Bd4 28.Qa6 Be5 29.f4 Bd6 30.Ba5 Qc8
31.Qa7 Ra8 32.Qb6 Rb8 33.Qd4! b4 34.c7! Ra8 35.Qb6 Bf8 36.Bxb4 Bxb4
37.Qxb4 Qe8. Black resigned.

Australia has scored 21 points. Individual results: Ian Rogers 2.5/5,
David Smerdon 5/8, Zong-Yuan Zhao 5/8, Gary Lane 2/7, Aleks Wohl 6/7,
Nick Speck 1/6. Further match results: round five, v South Africa,
3.5-0.5; round six, Albania, 1.5-2.5; round seven, Luxembourg,
2.5-1.5; round eight, Qatar, 2.5-1.5; round nine, Egypt, 1.5-2.5;
round 10, Scotland, 1.5-2.5.

In the women’s Olympiad being played concurrently, Ukraine holds a
slender lead with 23/30 over Russia on 22.5 and China on 20.5.

The Australian women’s team has 14 points: Irina Berezina 4.5/9,
Laura Moylan 2.5/7, Arianne Caoili 3/7, Ngan Phan-Koshnitsky 4/7.
Further match results: round five, v Slovenia, 0-3; round six,
Algeria, 3-0; round seven, Vietnam, 0-3; round eight, Kyrgyzstan,
0-3; round nine, Guatemala, 2.5-0.5; round 10, Moldova, 0.5-2.5.

The massive oval at Lingotto, Turin, the site of ice-skating events
at the Winter Olympics, provides ample space for the players and
spectators as well as for ancillary events. It is linked to the
Olympic village by a long, hi-tech walkway over railway lines. The
village is a large administrative and residential complex, with
nearly 40 apartment buildings, most six storeys, housing the players
and officials.

The next Olympiad will be in Dresden, Germany, in 2008. So far there
have been four bids for the following event in 2010: from Latvia
(Riga), Montenegro (Budva), Poland (Posnan) and a now autonomous
Siberian region, Khanty-Mansyisk, which staged last year’s World Cup.

At the eleventh hour, Garry Kasparov has issued an open letter
supporting Bessel Kok’s bid for the presidency of FIDE, the
International Chess Federation. It is likely, however, that the minds
of most national federations have been made up.

The starting dates of forthcoming Myer Tan Grand Prix weekend
tournaments are: Foundation Day Open in Perth, today; Victorian Open
in Melbourne, NSW Open in Sydney, Tasmanian Open in Hobart and the
Queen’s Birthday Weekender in South Australia, all June 10.

* Last week’s solutions: (1) 1.Rb7 Kc8 2.Rb5 c1=Q 3.Rc5 Qxc5
stalemate. (2) Key 1.b8=N. If 1…Bxb8 2.Qc8 mate, Bd8/Kf8 Qf7X, Rf8
Qd7X, Rh5 Qg8X.

Moldovan enclave wants independence

Weekend Australian
June 3, 2006 Saturday
NSW Country Edition

Moldovan enclave wants independence

by Jeremy Page, Richard Beeston

MOST people would struggle to point out Pridnestrovskaya Moldavskaya
Respublika on a map, let alone pronounce it.

Those who can, know it as a hotbed of smuggling, the site of a vast
Soviet-era weapons dump, or perhaps the home of Sheriff Tiraspol
football club.

However, this tiny sliver of land, known in English as Transdniestr,
is the latest European enclave to make a bid for independence
following Montenegro’s decision to declare statehood last month.

Igor Smirnov, Transdniestr’s ”President”, has announced that its
550,000 people will vote in a referendum in September on whether to
seek formal independence from Moldova.

”The recent example of Montenegro proves that a referendum is
becoming a norm for solving conflicts,” said Mr Smirnov, 64, a
former metalworker.

In the unlikely event that Transdniestr wins independence, it would
become Europe’s 19th new country since the collapse of communism in
1989.

Montenegro’s example has kindled hopes that even tiny enclaves in
Europe’s forgotten corners can still become viable states. The fear
is that declarations of independence by mini-states could spark fresh
instability in unstable regions.

In the Balkans, Montenegro’s independence drive is likely to be
followed by Kosovo, a predominantly ethnic Albanian province of
Serbia. That could spark moves by the ethnic Serb Republika Srpska to
break away from Bosnia, and Herceg-Bosna’s Croats to join Croatia.

In the Caucasus, Russia is still struggling to contain the separatist
rebellion in Chechnya. Georgia is split by breakaway regions in
Abkhazia and South Ossetia. There is still no resolution to
Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed enclave in Azerbaijan that is controlled
by Armenia.

Transdniestr broke away from Moldova in 1990 and the two sides fought
a war in 1992 that left more than 1500 people dead. Although never
recognised internationally, it has close ties to Russia, which helped
the ethnic Russians in the war and has maintained 1500 troops there.

Officially, they are there to keep the peace and guard a stockpile of
40,000 tonnes of weapons stored there in case of a NATO invasion. In
reality, this remains Moscow’s westernmost strategic outpost — a
bulwark against the expanding European Union and NATO.

It is also a haven for money-laundering, smuggling and illegal
weapons sales.

Mr Smirnov runs it as a personal fiefdom, financed by local oligarchs
and propped up by nostalgia for the Soviet Union. It has its own
currency based on the old Soviet rouble, uses the old Soviet Moldovan
flag and stages annual Soviet-style military parades. Shop windows
display tawdry goods from the 1970s and 1980s. The only redeeming
feature is Moldova’s only FIFA-approved football stadium, home to the
country’s top football club, Sheriff Tiraspol.

Peace talks, mediated by the Organisation for Security and
Co-operation in Europe, have stalled over Transdniestr’s refusal to
accept autonomy within a Moldovan state. Russia has backed the
referendum.

Karel De Gucht, the Belgian Foreign Minister and OSCE chairman, has
said there is no legal basis for a referendum and urged both sides to
negotiate.

A-320 flight recorders handed over to forensics

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
June 2, 2006 Friday 04:42 PM EST

A-320 flight recorders handed over to forensics

Investigators from the Prosecutor General’s Office have transferred
to experts the flight recorders of a A-320 jet of Armenian Airlines,
which crashed near Sochi on May 3.

“Forensic experts and specialists from the Interstate Aviation
Committee are studying the flight recorders,” a source at the
Prosecutor General’s Office said on Friday. “The DNA tests of bodily
fragments are underway.”

Transport Minister Igor Levitin said earlier that it would take 1.5-2
months to decipher information form the flight recorders. The
commission will have to analyze about 300 parameters. Armenian
experts will take part in the investigation, as the crew spoke
Armenian.

The crash killed 113 people, and over 100 aggrieved parties have been
named in the case. The investigation is being done in close
cooperation with Armenians.

Scacchi: Olimpiadi: Armenia a un passo dal titolo

ANSA Notiziario Generale in Italiano
2/6/ 2006

SCACCHI: OLIMPIADI; ARMENIA A UN PASSO DAL TITOLO

TORINO

(ANSA) – TORINO, 2 GIU – L’ Armenia e’ ormai a un passo dall’
aggiudicarsi le Olimpiadi di scacchi, in corso a Torino. Oggi l’
incontenibile compagine caucasica ha mietuto l’ ennesima
vittoria – un 3-1 a spese della Repubblica Ceca – e, a due turni
dalla conclusione, ha aumentato il suo distacco sulle
inseguitrici.

Adesso solo un crollo nel finale puo’ impedire alla squadra
trascinata dal ventitreenne Levon Aronian di vincere – e sarebbe
la prima volta nella storia degli scacchi – la medaglia d’ oro.
La classifica del torneo generale (cui partecipano 158 squadre)
vede al comando l’ Armenia con 32 punti, poi Cina e Francia a
28.5. Fra i risultati spicca la vittoria della Francia sulla
Cina (2.5- 1.5) e la sconfitta della Russia, grande favorita
della vigilia, per 1.5-2.5 ad opera degli Stati Uniti (i quali
pero’ hanno schierato tre ex sovietici).

Le italiane navigano a meta’ classifica. Oggi si e’ visto il
derby fra Italia A e Italia B, terminato 2-2. Italia C/Provincia
di Torino e’ stata opposta allo Zambia e ha perso 1.5-2.5, anche
se la sconfitta non ha sorpreso gli osservatori. Gli africani,
infatti, hanno dimostrato un’ abilita’ non comune: arrivati a
Torino in ritardo, sono stati inseriti nel torneo solo a partire
dal terzo turno (il regolamento lo consente) ma sono riusciti a
rimontare posizioni su posizioni, battendo anche squadre piu
titolate.

Le azzurre del “femminile” hanno pareggiato (1.5-1.5):
Italia A con la Finlandia e Italia B con la Scozia. (ANSA).

Syndrome of Defeated People. Homeland is The Safest Place to Live

SYNDROME OF DEFEATED PEOPLE. HOMELAND IS THE SAFEST PLACE TO LIVE

Lragir.am
03 June 06

The reporter of Lragir.am asked Vahan Hovanisyan, ARF, to express his
view on the murder of two Armenian young men in Moscow.

According to him, we cannot see a determined anti-Armenian policy
behind what has happened because `representatives of other nations and
simply foreigners are murdered and undergo assaults.’ This teaches two
important lessons.

First, the `Russian society is sick. Only a nation suffering a loser’s
complex behaves so. Take, for example, Germany in the early 1930’s,
which started to repress ethnic minorities after a bitter defeat in
World War I.’ For Russia, it `was simply beaten in the cold war and
lost its domain called the Soviet Union.’ Then the Russian people
appeared in a situation when `the teaching of 70 years that the
Russian people are the most progressive, the best people, that
Mayakovsky’s poem saying that I would learn Russian only because Lenin
spoke it arouses laughter outside the borders of the Soviet Union. The
Germans defeated by them live better than they do. They are unable to
solve their economic problems even with the soaring price of oil. This
is the reason why the sick members of the society start behaving
so. The killers, the sick members of the society, shout `Glory to
Russia’, whereas those people, who could really bring glory to Russia,
remain silent.’

According to Vahan Hovanisyan, the Russian skinheads have no idea of
real fascism. `If the founders and political fathers of fascism
Mussolini, Franco, Salazar, who were southern Europeans and close to
the Armenian race, would become a target of skinheads on appearing at
one of the Russian markets.’

Therefore, Vahan Hovanisyan concludes that the actions of Russian
skinheads do not have an ideological ground. `Simply a set of
officials have turnedthis into a business.’

The second lesson is that `one can feel safe and secure in one’s
homeland only.’ Vahan Hovanisyan says though their murder is a deep
sorrow,they could nevertheless be useful. It is surprising that their
parents `living abroad for decades, should have realized that there is
always the danger of becoming victim in a foreign country. They saw it
in Baku but they did not learn anything and again preferred to go to
live in a foreign country. It is better to live a hard life in one’s
homeland than to be a well-off slave in a foreign country.’

The Russian law enforcement agencies say these killings do not have an
ethnic motive. `As the chairman of the Armenian-Russian Parliamentary
Committee, I always raise this issue. I think this issue will become
the key issue on the agenda of the next meeting.’ 2006 is declared an
Armenian year in Russia.

These murders allow Vahan Hovanisyan to conclude that `it is a
hypocritical, a Soviet-fashion false event, and this situation will no
way bring the societies and cultures closer.’
ARAM ZAKARYAN

Victor Dallakyan is Not Going to Work as Button

VICTOR DALLAKYAN IS NOT GOING TO WORK AS BUTTON

Lragir.am
03 June 06

Member of Parliament Victor Dallakyan, Ardarutiun, assures that the
Security Council of Armenia has not been operating since 1997 and it
is hard to tell where the problems of security of Armenia are solved,
in `casinos or saunas’ .

Victor Dallakyan criticized the current policy on national security by
citations from the conception of national security of this
government. `Among internal threats the imperfection or failure of the
government system, corruption, public mistrust in the government are
mentioned. The government is to blame for these vices, and one of the
major threats for the Republic of Armenia is an illegitimate
government. This is a confession that there is no national security,’
says Victor Dallakyan.

He thinks that Armenia should have friendly and mutually beneficial
relations with its neighbors, and the three South Caucasian countries
musthave an integrated system of security. Two out of these three,
Georgia and Azerbaijan are craving for appearing in NATO, Armenia is
for a close and individual partnership with NATO. `95 percent of the
energy sector was given to another country. This is a problem related
with our security and independence,’ says Victor Dallakyan. He says in
the recent 15 days the citizens of Armenia have lost 26 million
dollars as a result of dram-dollar exchange games. Economists have
calculated that in the same game `the government annually robs people
of 300 million dollars.’ More figures: the minimum consumer basket is
28 thousand drams, whereas 530 thousand pensioners in Armenia get an
average retirement benefit of 10 thousand drams a month, and 170
thousand people receive an average monthly benefit of 7000 drams.

`80 percent of the population is poor, 40 percent is malnourished,60
percent do not see the doctor because they have no money, birth rate
has halved against 1991, 700 thousand young people are unemployed,
forests are destroyed ` under the auspices’ of officials and generals,
migration rates aresoaring, and Armenia is facing a demographic
disaster. The income of the poorest class is 26 percent times less
than the income of the poor class, and the richest class possesses 95
percent of the country’s wealth. There is a grave social polarization
in Armenia.’ It is not clear yet how Victor Dallakyanwill contribute
to the struggle against these problems, but after stating thesefigures
he announced, `I am not going to work as a button at the National
Assembly.’