03 March 2015, 22:13
Poll in Gyumri: locals are not against Russian base (+video)
Despite all the tragic events, associated with the presence of Russian troops in Gyumri, city residents are in no hurry to change their attitude, and most of them are not against the Russian military presence on their land. This was confirmed by a poll, conducted by the "Caucasian Knot".
The 102nd Russian Military Base stationed in Gyumri, has repeatedly got into criminal chronicles. Prior to the massacre of the Avetisyan family, committed on January 12, 2015, the most resonant incident occurred in the marketplace in Gyumri on April 14, 1999. Then, two Russian border guards equipped with submachine guns, while being drunk, came to the marketplace and opened disordered fire. As a result, two persons were killed and nine others wounded. On December 27, 1999, the Gyumri Court sentenced the Russian border guards – Corporal Alexander Kamenev and Private Denis Popov – to 15 and 14 years in prison.
The poll covered over 35 residents of Gyumri. The "Caucasian Knot" also asked them to comment on the above tragedy of 1999.
The "Caucasian Knot" tried to figure out how long a tragedy remains in people's memory; whether their attitude to Russia has changed since then; whether the old trauma strengthens the new pain; and how both tragedies have affected the attitude of Gyumri residents to the Russian military base.
Judging from citizens' answers, direct participants of the events of 1999 remember them in detail. Others know about the then tragedy firsthand or from the media. What happened to the culprits after the trial, most of the respondents not just could not recollect – they did not know it.
The vast majority of respondents, including victims of the 1999 incident, believe that the Russian base in Gyumri should be preserved, "as a guarantor of national security." However, residents of Gyumri expressed a necessary precondition for this - "maintenance of strict order there."
Those townspeople, who expressed doubts about the effectiveness of such guarantor, were in minority. Several times it was suggested that "the issue of the presence of the military base should be solved by the authorities, not citizens." Also, some residents of Gyumri stuck to the opinion that Armenia itself must ensure its security, without relying on external help.
Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.
Author: Armine Martirosyan Source: CK correspondent
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