Entrepreneurial mentality taking hold in the art scene in Armenia.

There was a small item today in the 'Haykakan Zhamanak'. It was describing the working conditions in the Paronian Comedy Theater in Yerevan. The theater is losing audience because their productions are not any better than the rest of the theaters, yet the theater building is hot during summers, and cold during the winters. The audience prefer to go to the theaters that have air conditioning or central heating instead as it is not worth sacrificing their comforts.



Well, entrepreneurship has triumphed. In another small article it tells the story of Paronian Theater being on a tour in Gyumri and Vanadzor where they have been successful. It is nice to see the art scene having managers who will take ownership of the problems and start looking for solutions instead of giving up and expecting to get subsidies from the government.

Photo for December 13, 2006.

ThePathToTheBridge, originally uploaded by nazarian.

The path to the bridge.

An interesting tidbit about the Azeri soldier apprehended by the Karabagh border guards.

While browsing zerkalo.az, a (usually anti-Armenian hate filled) newspaper based in Azerbaijan, I came across an interesting tidbit about the Azeri soldier apprehended by the Karabagh border guards. A wekk or so ago the Armenian news sources reported that an Azeri soldier was captured after he crossed the border and entered Karabagh.



Well, it turns out the soldier, Vusal Garajayev, is from a poor family. His mom tells Zerkalo that her son suffers from bronchial asthma. She says that their family did not have enough money to treat his illness. As far as I know, kids who have health problems like that are not sent to combat duty. My guess is that when she says 'treat his illness' she really means 'pay bribe to get him free' of army duty or a cushy position like a cook.



An earlier version of the article had a mention of earlier incidents like this when the Azeri soldiers were captured and then returned to Azerbaijan. It turns out that these soldiers were convicted of treason and sentenced to 12-13 years in prison. There was a 'military analyst' who claimed that the border is mined both on the Azeri and the Armenian sides, and crossing it is a dangerous endeavor. So the explanation given that this Garajayev fella crossed because of heavy fog seemed unlikely to this analyst. What he implied was that this was either a premeditated act of 'treason', or some botched reconnaissance mission. The truth may be that he simply escaped the bullies.

The Economist ranks Armenia at 110 in its '2006 Economist Intelligence Unit democracy index'

In an article titled 'A pause in democracy’s march', The Economist has ranked Armenia at 110 in its democracy index for 2006.



When I was looking for the Armenian rating, I scrolled to the bottom and came across Azerbaijan. I hesitated for a moment - should I scroll further down or go up? Azerbaijan was rated at 129. Then I scrolled up and found Armenia among the 'hybrid' regimes flanked by Haiti and Kyrgyzstan. Armenia is below Gambia and Haiti but is ahead of Kyrgyzstan and Iraq. See the pdf file here.



There is not much to say about this ranking except to be happy that Armenia is not among the authoritarian regimes. It would be if it ranked 113.



Maybe next year...

Lookalikes.

Russian Nuclear Chief Sergei Kiriyenko










US Secretary of State Condy Rice

The exam time is upon us.

We are about to enter the crappiest time period for students - the two week period filled with projects due and the final exams. I've been busting my chops on a managerial economics project and preparing for a cost accounting exam next Wednesday. Then I have to prepare for the exam for the managerial economics class. I used to think that I liked economics but have changed my mind after this semester. Regressions and decision trees make sense but I still find that there is too much math involved. Yes, the production capacity for a plant is non-linear but I do not want to sit down and calculate where the marginal benefit is equal marginal cost.



Hopefully I'll be able to retain some of this knowledge.

The noose is tightening around Armenia.

Well, it's final!



The Kars - Tbilisi - Baku railroad is going to be built. The construction starts in spring 2007. This is despite the pretending by the Armenian government to stop any progress of the negotiations, and the promises gained by the US government not to participate in the funding of the project. The estimated cost of the new railroad is $480 million which is a small amount - even Armenia would be able to raise enough funds. The excitement of the Foreign Minister Oskanian over the US promises was ill founded.



Well, while the Armenian nation is busy spending its resources on the recognition of the 1915 Genocide, the Azeris and the Turks have been busy achieving practical results in isolating Armenia further. The isolation of Armenia is a stated strategic goal of Azerbaijan. Once this railroad is built, all that remains to make Armenia a geopolitical ghetto is to build a pipeline and a railroad from Iran to Georgia via Turkey or Azerbaijan.

Photo for December 5, 2006.

LonelyBench, originally uploaded by nazarian.

I tried sitting on this bench and I felt like a little child. It's just too high. My feet could not reach the ground.

The ex-KGB spy Litvinenko's story still intrigues the news audience.

CNN has a report that a friend of Litvinenko's, another Russian ex spy in exile, says that he knows who killed him. Yuri Shvets, who lives in the US, says that he has told the police the identities of the people responsible for Litvinenko's death.



I have a hard time believing this latest revelation. It all seems to be too obvious. The allegations are that the killers are the Russian secret services. The key word in here is 'secret'. But when every Tom, Dick and Harry ex spy knows all the details then there is not much secret, is there? True, the public eventually learns the dirty tricks of the secret services of different countries but usually these deeds are revealed late. And usually, the names of the agents involved are never revealed.



I have to give a little bit of consideration to the Russian government's explanation of all this. It does seem that there is a conspiracy to discredit the Russians. I mean, they are not angels by any means, but I don't think they are as stupid as to kill someone with such a highly visible method in order to silence him. If Litvinenko had slipped in the London underground and fallen under a train, he would have been silenced and his death would have been deemed as an accident.

The Armenian Soldier Wounded in Iraq Is Recovering.

The Armenian lieutenant Georgi Nalbandian, who was injured in Iraq on November 10, 2006, is now able to move around in a wheelchair. He had been a victim of a roadside bomb and lost his leg. His doctor tells us that he has gone through 2 surgeries since the injury and is still being treated in Germany. The treatment may last additional 2-4 weeks before he is able to be discharged.