500 thousand people will possibly leave Armenia - Ruben Vardanyan

Baku/27.02.21/Turan: People in Armenia talk about the past all the time, but they do not discuss the country's future. "There is an option that Armenia can become a very quiet, not very active place, where 1.5-2 million people will remain, where the same $ 2 billion in aid from the Armenian diaspora abroad will be sent,"  said in an interview with RBC Russian businessman, former owner of Troika Dialogue Ruben Vardanyan.

He believes this scenario is "absolutely realistic", since, according to his data, 200 thousand people intend to leave Armenia this year, and another 200-300 thousand are thinking about it. The population of the republic is now slightly less than 3 million people. “These people vote with their feet. They do not believe that they themselves or their children will achieve success in this country,” he said.

According to Vardanyan, under such a scenario, passive people will remain in the country. They will live badly, but in general, they will be happy with everything. “You get used to this (money coming from abroad). It's like a drug,” he said.

At the same time, according to Vardanyan, another scenario is still possible, in which Armenia will become a unique successful example of interaction between the state and society. However, in this case, according to the businessman, diaspora should take more active part in the life of the country. “It's not just from Moscow, from St. Petersburg, from Paris or from Los Angeles to criticize and say how bad it is here; or send a small amount of money and feel that their conscience is clear. Are they ready to get up, come? And to come not as ministers, but to come to the village,” Vardanyan asked. -02D-