The Ten Richest Men in Armenia

Okay, enough about me.

Apparently Forbes is about to publish a list of the Ten Richest Men in Armenia. The Armenian blogosphere (oh yes, there is one) has already picked up on this, so I'm coming a couple of days late.

But anyhow, you don't have to know a thing about Armenia to find this list interesting. Check it out:

Gagik Tsarukyan (commonly known as Dodi Gago) - businessman; Armen Avetisyan - The Chairman of the State Customs Committee; Mikael Baghdasarov - businessman; Hrant Vardanyan - businessman; Suqiasyan Family - businessmen; Yervand Zakharyan - Mayor of Yerevan; Robert Kocharyan - President of the Republic of Armenia; Serge Sargsyan - RoA Minister of Defense; Andranik Manukyan - Minister of Transport and Communication of the RoA; David Harutyunyan - RoA Minister of Justice;

Gagik Tsarukyan -- the first on the list -- is said to have a fortune of around 400-500 million dollars. He's Armenia's top oligarch, and he probably deserves a post of his own. The last few names are down in the $60-100 million dollar range.

Now, note that we have not one, not two, but six high-ranking government officials here. Including the President, the Minister of Defense, the Minister of Transport, and the Minister of Justice. Interesting stuff.

Is this true? How would I know? I've been here less than a year, I still don't speak the language beyond the see-spot-run level, and Armenian politics is of a complexity that goes past Baroque, beyond Byzantine, somewhere into non-Euclidean.

But I would say that, in my uninformed opinion, this seems... not entirely implausible.

Comments

[Andrew Lambdin-Abraham]

I have to wonder how many of them received their posts because they were rich and powerful, compared to became rich and powerful as part of their posts.

[Onnik Krikorian]

Firstly, welcome to Armenia and glad to stumble upon your blog. Secondly, re. Andrew's comment, it's a combination of both.

i.e. most became rich and powerful after gaining their posts. Now, they retain their power and wealth by holding on to them which is why so much is at stake during elections here and why they are falsified.

Since 2003, however, we've seen an adaptation of this system in that those businessmen who became rich and powerful because of their connection with officials have now entered into parliament to protect their interests.

Actually, in most cases -- particularly in single mandate constituencies -- money is the main factor in determining the outcome of the vote because a) money is needed to bribe part of the electorate and b) money brings power and a gang of big men dressed in leather coats who can intimidate and beat those who don't accept the bribes.

A bit of a generalization perhaps, but pretty much what usually happens during elections in Armenia. Soon you'll get to see it first-hand. ;-)

[isabella]

offtop:
was googling for snow in yerevan and came accross your blog -) Thanks, loved it !

http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav122006.shtml could be of your interest, as the author says: in Dod we trust -))
cheers and merry Christmas !

[isabella]

offtop:
was googling for snow in yerevan and came accross your blog -) Thanks, loved it !

http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav122006.shtml could be of your interest, as the author says: in Dod we trust -))
cheers and merry Christmas !