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Too Cold for Comfort: Schools half full of shivering students due to improper heating
By Gayane Abrahamyan
ArmeniaNow Reporter
Secondary school has restarted in Armenia, but it is almost as if the holiday period has been extended. Classrooms
in many schools are only half filled, because parents are keeping children at home rather than send them to
improperly heated facilities.
According to the Ministry of Health of Armenia, a classroom should be heated to about 19-21 degrees C (68 degrees
Fahrenheit) to assure healthy conditions. At the Avan community School N. 177, for example, about 12 degrees (50 F)
is the best its system can manage.
`I come to school with a thermometer and if the temperature reaches at least 10 degrees I leave my child there, if
not I take her home’, says Mariam Hakobyan whose daughter studies in the third grade.
After the winter break, classes resumed January 24, with classrooms that, at best, reach about 15 degrees.
`We monitor the temperature in the classrooms every day,’ says the head of the Hygienic and Anti-Epidemic Office at
the Ministry of Health, Artavazd Vanyan. `According to the results of the monitoring especially during the first
days when the classes started, in the northern parts of the capital the temperature in classrooms did not rise over
5 degrees.’
The head of the Education Office at Yerevan Municipality, Onik Vatyan, says the problem is that the block buildings
of Soviet Era construction are not designed for holding heat.
`The mass-scale built schools have many windows and flat roofs; even if we heat for 24 hours we will still never
have a temperature exceeding 18 degrees. That is why we try to gradually put local boiler-rooms in all the schools,’
says Vanyan.
But of 205 schools in Yerevan alone, only 18 have designated boilers; the rest are heated by electric heaters in
each room.
Attendance in most schools in the capital is at about 55 percent, Vanyan says, and is especially low in the higher-
elevation parts of the city.
In School N. 12 in the southern Shengavit community of Yerevan it is relatively warm. The principal of the school
Vladimir Stepanyan insists the electrical heaters in the classrooms are switched on at 5 a.m.
`We do everything possible and do not make any savings at the expense of children’s health,’ says Stepanyan, adding
that in the first week since the break, the school has spent 300,000 drams ($600) for heat.
The principle says attendance at his school is at 84 percent.
In the warmest classroom, located on the sunny side of the school, it is 16 degrees. In the corridors, it is 5.
Children in classrooms on the north side of the building sit in coats.
`I do not take my child,’ says Armine Zakaryan, a school parent. `They need to sit from 10 to 1 o’clock and get ill;
one can not study while shivering; if the child feels cold all the time it is absolutely impossible to concentrate
on the lessons.’
If the cold in the classrooms is somehow tolerable, the means by which many classes are heated is forbidden. When
oil heaters were taken out of the buildings after the fuel crises of the early 1990s, electric plates with asbestos
insulation were installed.
It was then learned, however, that exposure to asbestos can cause health problems, including cancer.
It is already 10 years that some of Yerevan schools are still heated with those asbestos plates. Th head of
department at the Office for Secondary Education Silva Achoyan believes that they are harmless and temporary, since
all the schools are going to have local boiler-rooms in the coming years.
Tragedy in Georgia: Armenia’s neighbor to the North suffers loss of Prime Minister
By Suren Deheryan and Aris Ghazinyan
ArmeniaNow reporters
Officials in Yerevan expressed condolences to their neighbors in Georgia on Thursday, after learning of the
unexpected death of Georgia’s Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania.
Zhvania, 41, was found dead early Thursday morning at the home of an Azeri friend, Raul Yusupov, who also died in
what appears to be accidental gas poisoning caused by a faulty heater.
The deaths were discovered about 4:30 a.m. after Zhvania’s bodyguards become concerned when the Prime Minister did
not answer phone calls.
Georgian authorities discounted rumors of foul play, saying that tests found fatal levels of a substance called
oxyhemoglobin in Zhvania’s blood. Police say blood samples will be sent for testing at the US Federal Bureau of
Investigation.
In Armenia as well as in Georgia there is no centralized heating system and many people use gas heaters. Last year
twenty-five people died in Armenia from carbon monoxide poisoning.
President Robert Kocharyan sent his condolences to President Mikhail Saakashvili saying that `Zurab Zhvania had a
great contribution in the establishment of statehood and strengthening of democracy in brotherly Georgia. His input
in deepening centuries-long friendship of our peoples is invaluable.’
The name of Zurab Zhvania became widely known in Armenia in 1995 when he took the post of Parliament Speaker of
Georgia as Secretary General of the `Union of Citizens of Georgia’ party established by Eduard Shevardnadze.
His rise in Georgian politics was watched by Yerevan, partly because the politician was half Armenian, owing to his
mother, Emma.
But during the years of his country’s `Georgia for Georgians’ campaign, Zhvania often claimed that he was not
Armenian (a position he reversed during 2003’s `Rose Revolution’).
In 2003, Vice-Speaker of the Georgian Parliament Vakhtang Rcheulishvili, criticizing Zhvania, called the latter
a `pervert’ and an `Armenian’. Later he offered his apologies to the Armenian mass media, saying: `I want to remind
you that several years ago Zurab Zhvania, in the capacity of Georgia’s Parliament Speaker, publicly stated that he
is not an Armenian.’
The `Armenian subject-matter’ came to surface on the Georgian political field with fresh impetus during the period
of change of power when some representatives of the radically disposed Georgian establishment began to accuse
Saakashvili, Burjanadze and Zhvania for their Armenian origin. It was then that the press wrote about the contacts
the young Georgian reformers had with influential Armenians of the United States. All this, eventually, became
widespread as a result of which the Georgian mass media began to call the `Revolution of Roses’ also the `Armenian
Revolution’.
On Thursday, Saakashvili called a special meeting of the government to express his deepest concern over the death of
his `closest friend and advisor’. `This is a great tragedy for our country and for me personally,’ said the
president. `Georgia lost a great patriot.’
Georgian leader did not say who will lead the cabinet of ministers after PM’s death. According to Georgian
constitution the head of the government will be named in a week.
Zhvania, the closest ally of Saakashvili was a key leader of the 2003 “Rose Revolution” protests that toppled
veteran leader Eduard Shevardnadze and brought the West-oriented Saakashvili into power. Zhvania become PM in
January 2004 and was one of the key government figures trying to negotiate settlements with two conflict regions of
Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Before the Rose Revolution Zhvania was believed to be the key official successor of Shevardnadze as president of
Georgia. He was known for his pro-western views and for regarding Georgian-Russian relations as “close to cold war.”
Alexander Iskandaryan, the political analysts of the Caucasus Media Institute in Yerevan, says that though it is yet
early to speak about the situation in the region, but Zhvania’s death will have a negative effect on the future
development of Georgia.
`Under the new constitution this post was, strictly speaking, established for Zhvania. It was created for a specific
figure, it was a political decision to a large degree. Zhvania is a man exceptionally important for the Georgian
political system,’ Iskhanaryan told ArmeniaNow, speaking from Tbilisi where he was to attend an international
conference led by Zhvania. `I can hardly imagine what may happen to this post now.’
(Armenia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vardan Oskanian was also planning to attend the conference.)
Iskandaryan hopes that Georgian-Armenian relations will not suffer with the death of Zhvania. `This is quite a large
complex of mutual relations in different spheres from politics to economy and I don’t think that what happened may
bring any sharp changes. It is another matter, however, that changes may happen in Georgia itself and this may
influence its relations with neighbors, including Armenia.’
`Everybody understands that some new stage of the country’s development has come. Zhvania was not only a clever and
wise politician, but he was in principle division of power,’ Tamara Mchedlishvili, political analyst of the
independent Georgian newspaper `24 Hours’ told ArmeniaNow. `You know there was the trio – Nino Burjanadze, Mikhail
Saakashvili and Zurab Zhvania. Each one of this trio had his/her own function. Zurab Zhvania played a very big role
in modern Georgian politics. Now it is difficult to judge how events will develop without him.’
Reel Change?: American businessman makes bid to revive Hayfilm
By Suren Musayelyan
ArmenianNow Reporter
Armenian cinema’s revival looks not so unrealistic after a Diaspora Armenian has pledged to invest heavily in the
industry.
Khachik Khachikian, a US-based businessman of Armenian origin, has offered to pay $1.5 million for the Hayfilm
studio and pledged to invest another $100 million into the modernization of the studio during the next five years.
Hayfilm Studio Director Gevorg Gevorgyan says no one of the studio staff is against the privatization. `We hope that
the investment will help Hayfilm turn into a world-class studio,’ he added.
Khachikian is the third potential buyer to have shown interest in the Armenian studio over the last year.
Earlier, US-Armenian businessman Gerard Cafesjian and Chairman of the Union of Armenians of Russia Ara Abrahamyan
also made bids to buy and invest in Hayfilm. But their bids were considered insufficient by Armenian
cinematographers.
Cafesjian had intended to pay $600,000 for the studio and invest $5 million in the industry, while Abrahamyan had
offered $1 million as a purchase price and $6 million in investment.
`Only the name of the studio is worth more than a million,’ said Gevorgyan. `The investment plan offered by
Khachikian meets our expectations in terms of studio modernization, salaries and training of the personnel.’
According to Khachikian’s studio development plan, a movie city will be built in the 34 hectares of territory
belonging to Hayfilm. It will have 22 pavilions fitted out with modern equipment, laboratories for film production,
areas and props for different centuries and countries, as well as various workshops and a hotel.
According to the plan, more than 2,000 well-paid employees are expected to work in this movie city. Currently, only
200 people are employed at Hayfilm.
Checking Claims: OSCE investigates issue of `settlement’
By Aris Ghazinyan
ArmenianNow Reporter
An international mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) began its work in
the `conflict zone’ Monday, for the first time in the history of the Karabakh conflict. The goal of the mission is
to investigate claims made by Azerbaijan government officials about the settlement of `occupied Azeri territories’
by Armenians.
The group of observers consists of 10 experts representing Russia, France, the United States, Italy, Finland, Sweden
and Germany. The mission is led by the Head of the OSCE Department of the Foreign Ministry of Germany Emily Margaret
Haber. The observers accompanied by the OSCE Minsk Group cochairmen, arrived in Stepanakert from Yerevan on January
30.
`I want to mention particularly that observers pursue strictly technical and not political goals,’ said Haber upon
arriving in Nagorno Karabakh’s capital for the 10-day mission.
Prior to reaching Karabakh, the group spent the weekend in Baku, during which they met with Azerbaijan President
Ilham Aliyev.
`The illegal population of occupied territories by the Armenian side is one of the serious obstacles on the way of
building a lasting peace in the region,’ said the president.
The Azeri authorities provided the mission with satellite shots and maps, as well as audio and video materials
testifying, as claimed by Azerbaijan’s leadership, to the facts of population of territories controlled by Nagorno
Karabakh’s defense army.
`Twenty-three-thousand Armenians are illegally settled in the territory of Azerbaijan,’ said Deputy Foreign Minister
of Azerbaijan Araz Azimov during a meeting with members of the mission. He also provided the group with information
about the use, as official Baku says, of occupied territories for the purpose of illegal drug trafficking and
organized crime.
`In the course of discussions we got acquainted with many materials that will be investigated,’ Minsk Group
cochairman Yuri Merzlyakov, of Russia, told REGNUM news agency. `From Stepanakert experts will visit separate
regions in order to specify the presence of population there, where they come from, under what circumstances, and on
their initiative or not.’
The Russian cochairman also named the regions of visits coordinated with the Azeri leadership: Lachin, Aghdam,
Shushi, Jebrahil, Fizuli, Kelbajar and Gubatly.
Despite the fact that the OSCE Minsk Group cochairmen themselves are not included in the expert group, as the French
cochairman Bernard Facier said, `if need be, the cochairmen will make a statement about the investigated facts.’ The
Russian mediator, for his part, emphasized in this regard that `in any case there is a common leadership of the
mission.’
The expert group will prepare a technical report about the results of the work to be submitted to the OSCE Minsk
Group cochairmen and the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna.
`I want to express a hope that the report prepared as a result of the work will promote the creation of a
constructive atmosphere around the Karabakh peace process,’ said Nagorno-Karabakh Republic President Arkady
Ghukasyan while meeting the mission members.
The Karabakh leader hailed this initiative and emphasized that NKR authorities had earlier repeatedly spoken in
favor of such a proposal. He noted that the authorities of Nagorno Karabakh are not carrying out the policy of
populating these territories and that it is Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan who live there. In his opinion, in
order to get a fuller picture of the situation in the conflict zone the observers should also visit the regions of
Karabakh that are still occupied by the Azeri army – parts of the Martakert, Martuni and Shahumyan regions.
The expert group had been set up in accordance with the agreement reached during the November session of the UN
General Assembly about conducting a monitoring of territories controlled by Nagorno Karabakh’s defense army. This
idea was supported also by Armenia’s resident representative to the UN who called the attention of those concerned
to the fact of ethnic cleansings conducted by the Azeri army in Martakert, Shahumyan and Getashen.
As part of the exercise, the expert group is handing out questionnaires to randomly-selected residents in such
places as Fizuli and Jebrahil, which they visited on Tuesday.
Commenting on the situation, Deputy Speaker of the Armenian Parliament Vahan Hovhannisyan said that `the population
of these territories is made up of Armenians forcibly displaced from Dashkesan, Sumgait, Baku and Kirovabad. What
shall they do? It is natural that the people living there should organize elections to local government bodies and
live a full human life. If this is a crime, then nothing has changed in the world since the beginning of the 20th
Century.’
At the same time, he stressed that Azerbaijan has been raising this question at different international structures
over recent years, and if `the international structures are really concerned about this, then let them come and
control it,’ Hovhannisyan said. `The problem correctly raised by the mission may have a positive solution for the
Armenian side.’
With Prejudice?: Yerevan attorneys say Karabakh is no place for a fair trial
By Zhanna Alexanyan
ArmeniaNow Reporter
Lawyers representing three Armenian soldiers accused of murdering two other soldiers near their unit in Martakert,
Karabakh at the end of 2003, say a judge in Karabakh is acting outside the law by, among other things, forcing the
defendants to reject their lawyers and take counsel from court-appointed Karabakh advocates.
Yerevan attorneys Zaruhi Postanjyan, Stepan Voskanyan and Ashot Atoyan say their clients – Razmik Sargsyan, Araik
Zalyan, and Musa Serobyan are being set up as scapegoats for the murders that, the attorneys maintain, lead to
military unit commander Ivan Grigoryan. (Click to read relevant stories: Army on Trial and Death Over Dishonor?.)
Postanjyan, Voskanyan and Atoyan say that judge Volodia Manasaryan is helping to shield Grigoryan, a powerful
military figure, protected by the Ministry of Defense of Karabakh.
Attorneys have maintained that justice in Karabakh is determined to the benefit of the military. Motions to have the
trial moved to Armenia were made. But:
`The judge heading the session has decided to deny it instead of the president of the Appeals Court, which is a
gross violation of the law’ says lawyer Ashot Atoyan.
Attorney Postanjyan also claims that, by appointing Karabakh defenders to the soldiers, the judge has violated the
law.
`There are already NKR lawyers engaged in the case. The Republic of Armenia criminal Code excludes a lawyer living
and acting in NKR to be engaged as an advocate,’ Postanjyan says. `They want to conceal the facts and make a
decision the way they want.’
The trial has been suspended and the lawyers from Karabagh have been given a two-week period to get acquainted with
the materials of the criminal case.
`Can you imagine the trial, where the lawyers having gotten acquainted with the numerous volumes of the case in a
short period are going to defend people who rejected their counsel?’ says lawyer Stepan Voskanyan.
The lawyers say, although the trial still continues, the European Court has shown an interest towards the
investigation of the case. The lawyers have already submitted an appeal to the Strasburg Court regarding the
inclusion of lawyers from NKR and other infringements of laws; the Court has already asked for further details and
relevant documentation.
Rights activist Artur Sakunts considers the removal of the defense counsel from the right of participation in the
trial to be a violation of law.
`If such infringements are made towards the defense, that is a signal: wait, there will be something more’, predicts
Sakunts. `In fact such rough violations of the law are aimed only toward saving the military unit commander Ivan
Grigoryan.’
At a press conference, it was claimed that upon hearing Ivan Grigoryan’s name some media have even stopped covering
the trial.
Grand Problem: Pubescent pachyderm waits for April and Veda
By Marianna Grigoryan
ArmeniaNow Reporter
Armenia’s only elephant, Grand, the most popular resident of Yerevan Zoo, will soon come of age but still is without
a mate.
Zoo director Sahak Abovyan loves to wear ties decorated with elephants, but it has not helped, so far, his efforts
to help Grand tie the knot, matrimonially. The elephant is nine. He will reach sexual maturity at age 10. A sexually
frustrated single-male elephant is not a desired occupant for any residency, so Abovyan’s urgency to play matchmaker
is understandable.
Last October Grand was to be wed to Komala, an eight-year old that was a gift from the Indian Prime Minister. But a
few days before she was to be brought to Yerevan and renamed `Candy’ (Grand is sponsored by Yerevan company Grand
Candy), Komala died of poisoning at her home in Bangalor.
After the tragedy, it was decided that a six-year-old elephant, Veda, would be sent to Armenia in April from the
same zoo in Bangalor.
But it seems as if Veda’s appearance in Armenia is also under threat.
Animal lovers and the children of India have organized a protest action insisting on keeping Veda from being brought
to Armenia.
“India’s government has decided to send Veda, a six-year-old elephant to Armenia as a mate for the elephant there.
As animal lovers we are upset over this move as we have heard that the conditions there are not suitable for
elephants…’ reads a letter addressed to ArmeniaNow.
`Much ado about the question,’ says director Abovyan. `They warn that the deep winter in Armenia lasts 6 months and
the elephant can not survive, but is that true? Does Grand feel bad?’
Abovyan says despite the shortcomings the Indian side has mentioned – cold, bad conditions, everything is normal in
the zoo. The average temperature in Grand’s cage in winter is 15-20 degrees and the 800 sq. meters are enough for an
elephant. And the opinion that an elephant can not live without its mother and grandmother seem baseless to the
director.
Abovyan says he has received visitors apparently intent on determining the zoo’s suitability for Veda.
Wheeler-Dealing: Armenia’s love affair with cars drives a $100 million market
By Suren Deheryan
ArmeniaNow Reporter
Experts estimate that cars worth more than $100 million have been imported into Armenia in recent years. The State
Traffic Inspection says there are, in all, 130,000 cars now in use in Yerevan.
Traffic jams have grown more frequent on the capital’s road. According to the Armenian State Customs Department
15,000 vehicles, including 13,000 cars, were imported into Armenia in 2004, 1,000 more than in 2003.
Car dealing was a depressed market in Armenia until the late 1990s, but now many private traders see an opportunity
to make a profit. Parallel to this, the Armenian car market has become more attractive to production companies.
Last year, two new car companies -Audi and VW- joined the list of officially represented brands that include
Mercedes, BMW, Renault, Peugeot, Nissan, Mahindra and Skoda. Confidence in the Armenian customer is changing and
almost all of the companies now sell their production on credit.
2004 was a landmark year in the Armenian car market for another reason. At least two cars – a Mercedes Benz Maybach
and a Rolls-Royce – costing more than $500,000 each were imported into Armenia for the first time. The first belongs
to the Multi Group president Gagik Tsarukyan, and the second one – to the SIL Group president Khachatur Sukiasyan.
`The number of new and latest-model cars in Armenia is very few today. Mainly, old models are imported and affection
for Russian cars still dominates in our republic. Even the State Traffic Inspection automobiles are Russian models,’
says Mkrtich Piltoyan head of the automobile federation.
Russian models may be outmoded, according to him, but buyers can import them into Armenia free of a 10 per cent
customs charge normally levied on goods from CIS countries. Taxes and customs duties on cars imported from other
countries amount to 32 per cent.
According to car specialist Ruben Hakobyan, Armenians have always had a weakness for expensive cars. In Soviet
times, he sold his Russian `Volga’ bought in Moscow for 16,000 Soviet roubles for three times as much in Yerevan. At
that time people used to stand in long lines to get cars at state prices.
`In Armenia a car is not yet considered just a vehicle. It’s prestige. The majority of people prefer to buy a well-
known car, let it be second hand. This will turn our country into a car dump,’ says Hakobyan.
The leading marques for Armenians are BMW, Mercedes, and now also the Hummer, a status symbol favored by many of the
Republic’s richest individuals.
A Fresh Start?: Ex-prisoner works to ease the path of freedom for former convicts
By Gayane Lazarian
ArmeniaNow Reporter
Gevorg Koshkaryan was in jail when he developed an idea to establish an organization to promote the re-integration
of prisoners into society upon their release.
Koshkaryan, who received a 10-year sentence for theft in 1993, had plenty of time to dream about a life of liberty
but was scared to think of how he would adjust to freedom.
`During the ten years I was in prison I saw many people who were released but then in a week or two were back to
prison. For some, it was not easy to be at liberty because they had no job, no shelter, and no idea of how they
would live,’ he says.
`That’s why some former convicts prefer to commit another crime, for example to steal something, just to get sent
back to prison where they have at least a meal and shelter.’
Koshkaryan was released in November 2003 and within a month established the Huys non-governmental organization. It
is one of the few organizations in Armenia dealing specifically with former prisoners.
Many men are renounced by their families when they get into prisons. Their families, relatives and friends do not
want to have any connection with them after their release.
`After you leave the prison colony you start everything from scratch. You are ready to integrate into the world that
produced you, but they regard you as a stranger,’ says Koshkaryan.
Huys (which means `hope’) has more than 150 members, all former prisoners for whom Koshkaryan is trying to get jobs.
However, his first year’s experience has shown that few in society are enthusiastic about his efforts.
Most of the organizations approached for help by Koshkaryan have refused to deal with former prisoners, while banks
refuse to loan money to Huys.
Koshkaryan is still inspired by his idea but admits that the organization faces many problems. Although he is the
founder, he took the position of vice chairman and appointed a person with an `unsullied past’ as the chairman.
Gevorg Petrosyan, the man appointed as chairman, says Huys can do little without state support
`The convicts feel unwanted by society. There is not a single state organization that will call and ask them about
their occupation or any problems,’ he says.
Petrosyan says that their organization is planning to set up units to produce pumice stone in Masis town (Ararat
Marz) and to develop agricultural programs for former prisoners living in rural areas.
According to data from the Criminal-Executive Department of the Ministry of Justice, 2,430 people were released from
prison in 2004, of whom 1,728 were on parole.
Varouzhan Melkonyan, the deputy head of the department, agrees that former prisoners often find themselves alone and
abandoned.
`People get stressed and depressed when they are released from prison, but for some it is no more difficult than the
effort it took to get into jail. We conduct social-psychological work with prisoners and try to prepare them for
going into society, but we do not prepare society at the same time.’
Today, depending on the number of convicts, there is one psychologist and one social worker for each 100 convicts,
and one lawyer for 150 prisoners.
`Now we face a task of giving specialist skills to convicts. We want to cooperate with educational establishments to
help them to complete their education in order to help them to get job upon their release,’ says Melkonyan.
He explains that a new division is being formed within the Criminal-Executive Department to deal with those given
non-custodial sentence and to supervise convicts on parole. Inspectors will be appointed to work at regional courts.
`Those having fully served their sentences are already citizens and do not need controlling in any way. The new
inspections will carry out social-psychological works and provide legal aid. They will take care of providing them
with jobs,’ Melkonyan says.
State attention will apply only to those paroled and the rest of the former prisoners will be left again to face
their problems alone. Melkonyan says that ex-prisoners fared better during Soviet years and were provided with a job
and a hostel room.
Karen Ter-Abrahamyan, chairman of the National League for Democratic Reforms, a local ngo, argues that the state
incurs extra expense by failing to help former prisoners. An individual in a difficult social situation commits a
crime again and damages society and the state.
His organization has worked for two years to set up a center for the rehabilitation of former prisoners. The center
provided specialized training for 76 former prisoners last year, of whom 18 found jobs. This year, the number is 98.
They train as cooks, hairdressers, car mechanics and computer operators.
`After leaving prison these people should know that there is someone thinking about them. They should believe in
themselves and overcome obstacles. It would be good if support was from the state, since project grants will end one
day,’ he says.
Meanwhile the founder of `Huys’ wants to create a foundation to provide clothes for convicts before they go home.
The organization estimates that some 25,000 drams ($50) is needed to help each convict on his release.
`Children must not see their father in convict clothes. We want to buy new clothes and prepare a suitcase with
presents so the father of the family will not enter the home with empty hands,’ says Koshkaryan.
Meet the Meat of Echmiadzin: A visit to `Kyufta’ street
By Gayane Lazarian
ArmeniaNow Reporter
For 45-year-old Lusik Manukyan the busy working week begins on Thursday and lasts till Saturday. On the other days
of the week she sells the product she prepares on these days: kyufta.
The knives sharpened in advance are waiting for the order of the lady of the house. The apron hanging at one corner
of the kitchen supplements what is missing, when Mrs. Lusik ties it around her waist with special ceremony.
Kyufta is a poached whipped beef with brandy or vodka, onion and spices, it is very soft and juicy. Along with
barbeque, kyufta is loved by Armenians who are fond of meat meals.
`I have been cooking kyufta for 23 years. I learned this job from my mother-in-law, Laura. The whole of Echmiadzin
and Yerevan knew her. Many came to taste the kyufta made by her. Till now, we arrange hospitality parties at our
house and well-known artists, political figures come specially to eat Echmiadzin’s kyufta. We’ve had guests from
Germany, the United States, Holland, Argentina,’ says Lusik with pride.
She lives in the famous street of `Kyuftachiner’ (Kyufta cooks) of Echmiadzin. It is situated near the town’s
market. If you want to get a `really delicious’ kyufta in Echmiadzin, then new and old residents of the town will
direct you to the renowned street. `In the `kyuftachineri neighborhood’ there are no billboards. They don’t need
advertising.
`There is no one in the street that wouldn’t be engaged in this business. And you know they do not hinder each
other. Each has his own customers. In one word, we always have work,’ Lusik explains.
Her son, Mher, says that it is interesting to live in the district of `kyuftachineri’. Journalists come from
different countries of the world, shoot the whole process of kyufta preparation. He points at their neighbor’s house
and says that actor Khoren Abrahamyan used to buy kyufta from there and showman Ashot Ghazaryan buys from the house
next to it. He doesn’t forget to mention with pride that years ago one famous Brazilian soap opera actresses came to
try their kyufta.
In the 1950s only two families ran this business in the street. And one of the families was Lusik’s.
`The market place is near. They bought fresh meat, processed it and started to sell kyufta. At that time kyufta was
chopped on a flat basalt stone with the aid of a special stick called `tak’. In the 1980s the whole process got
mechanized,’ she says.
`Echmiadzin’ and `Kyavar’ kyufta are well known in Armenia. Lusik says laughing: `It is a very knotty story, we say
ours is good, they say theirs.’
Generally, kyufta was brought here by Western Armenians when they emigrated to Eastern Armenia in 1915. The recipe
was authored by the Armenians of the Taron province some of whom settled down near Lake Sevan and others in the
Ararat Valley (in and around Echmiadzin).
Lusik says that kyufta meat must be fresh. After slaughtering the cattle, butchers first deliver the meat to kyufta
cooks. They use a young calf’s thigh, forelegs and neck.
She skillfully shows how first the meat is separated from bones, then from sinews. The knife accustomed to Lusik’s
hands dances on the cutting board. From that dance the meat pieces become so small that they are put in a special
machine from where they go out already as a homogenous mass.
Lusik is assisted by 47-year-old Ruzan. She is happy to have a job. After the machine has done its job, the women
continue the same process by hand, adding salt and water.
`It’s cold, but my hands are not freezing, because they are in motion. It is important that you feel the meat play
in your hands,’ says Ruzan.
Then there comes the most ceremonial part. Lusik puts kyufta balls seasoned with onion and flour into water that is
not yet boiling. She says that if you do this with heart, the end product is sure to be tasty. While kyufta is
boiling, she finds time to complain about the abundance of kyufta cooks nowadays.
`There are many of them, and they’ve discredited the name of a kyufta cook. You can find kyufta for as little as
1,300 drams, but we work for quality. We buy meat for 1,500 drams, sell for 1,600 drams a kilo, on the New Year it
sells for 1,700 drams. By the way, we sold 570 kilograms during those days. There is a house in the street that sold
2 tons,’ she says.
Lusik says that despite people’s bad social and economic conditions, they still continue to buy kyufta. Over recent
years they even more began to appreciate this dish. During wedding parties and other family occasions kyufta is
served to guests, of course after khorovats.
`One kilogram is meant for four people. It is a light meal and is eaten with pleasure. During grand wedding parties
50 kilograms of kyufta are ordered. And today in the morning I had an order for 5 kilograms of kyufta. They said
they would take it with them to Canada,’ she says.
Lusik loves her job and says that it is a quite lucrative business. Besides, she always has ready meat for dolma and
cutlets. The family members, thank God, have not yet grown tired of eating meat. The kyufta mistress is glad that
she can employ a few people.
`When I have too many orders and can barely attend to all of them alone, I take 7 or 8 workers from my surroundings.
Imagine that people are waiting impatiently for such busy days. Besides money I give them some ready kyufta meat.’
Lusik’s daughter, Laura, puts oval-shaped `ishli kyufta’ in another pan near the kyufta boiling on the gas stove and
no less professionally than her mother explains that `ishli kyufta’ is a traditional dish of Musa Ler folks. It is
prepared from the remaining fat meat pieces (when fatty parts and sinews are separated).
`Ground cereals are mixed with kyufta, then separately boiled cores consisting of fat meat and a lot of spices are
put into them,’ the girl says.
Finally kyufta is ready to be served. Lusik takes it out of the pan with great ceremony and cuts into pieces.
`It is important that kyufta should crunch while being cut, and then its `eyes’- small holes on it, should by all
means be seen open. If there is all this, then the right thing has been done. Now you’ll try it and see for
yourself,’ says Lusik.
Butter or oil is served on the table along with kyufta, and `ishli kyufta’ is eaten with lemon. Around the table
Lusik continues to praise the result of her work. ArmeniaNow’s reporter, not so keen on eating kyufta, tries some
and understands that Lusik’s kyufta has a really amazing taste.
Lusik raises a glass of vodka and drinks for her children to continue the traditional and rewarding business handed
down to them from their grandfathers.
Burger Kings: Students offered chance to manage McDonald’s in Armenia
By Arpi Harutyunyan
ArmeniaNow Reporter
It has restaurants in more than 100 countries and soon the Golden Arches of McDonald’s may be a common sight in
Armenia.
With McDonald’s already operating in Georgia and Azerbaijan, Armenia is the last country in the South Caucasian
country without the world famous hamburgers. Although the first restaurant appears to be a few years away, selection
of its future managers is already going on.
Thirty six students at the Yerevan State University are being offered the opportunity to get McDonald’s management
training in England. They will have practical training and employment in McDonald’s outlets for two to three years.
The idea of opening McDonald’s in Armenia belongs to Armenian Britain businessman Mike Ghazaryan. Last summer
Ghazaryan visited Armenia to meet students at YSU. The company also held a seminar with students to make them
acquainted with the plans for the Armenian market.
`The first McDonald’s complex is expected to open in Yerevan within two to three years,’ says Arsen Karamyan, the
president of the YSU graduates union. `The company informed us that it is planning to open more complexes in Armenia
within five to six years.’
According to arrangements between the YSU and McDonald’s, the graduates union will present applications from 130-150
senior undergraduate and graduate students. 36 of them will be selected by test examination and leave for England
this summer.
After training in England, the students will sign contracts and be offered work either in the Armenian company or in
other McDonald’s networks in other countries.
In three months, the future employees of McDonald’s will be known. Though it is still unknown whether consumers in
Yerevan will like the McDonald’s food, it is clear that many people would love to become managers for the company.
The average salary in the Armenian network will be over $1000.
`Since I can’t provide for my family with my journalistic work I made up my mind to apply. Journalism can provide me
with only enough for transport and a packet of cigarettes a day. Of course, I have not dreamed of working for
McDonald’s all my life, but this will give me an opportunity for a good life in the future,’ says Armen Avetisyan, a
graduate student at the YSU’s Department of Journalism.
McDonald’s offer of employment to students at YSU is the first large-scale contract between Armenian students and a
well-known international brand.
Students from all departments are eligible to apply, apart from male students who have not yet completed their
military service. So far, 78 applications have been submitted, mainly from students in the Economy, Romance-Germanic
Philology, Information, and International Relations Departments.
Applicants must have excellent knowledge of English, computer literacy, an ability to work in teams and to absorb
information quickly, be hard working, honest and loyal.
`The McDonald’s Company also contacted the Linguistic University after Brusov but then realized that knowledge of
languages alone was not enough. Students of YSU are noted for intellectual and other abilities, and they concluded
that graduates of the State University can stand working in an international market,’ says Karamyan.
Each year, the YSU has over 2,000 graduates and many remain unable to find a job in their specialty field.