Thousands of demonstrators in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, faced down riot police yesterday as popular protests against a steep rise in electricity prices entered a fifth day.
Youth activists behind the “No to Plunder” protests say the action is not political, but reflects dismay among impoverished Armenians that their electricity bills are to rise for the third time in two years.
However, Russia is closely watching developments in Armenia amid concern that its closest ally in the former Soviet South Caucasus could slide into Ukraine-style political turmoil.
No to Plunder began staging a peaceful sit-in in Yerevan last weekend after government regulators gave permission to the Russian company that monopolises supplies in Armenia to raise prices by 17 per cent.
Protests have also been taking place in other Armenian cities, including Gyumri where Russia has a large military base.
On Monday, No to Plunder upped its game, leading a march through Yerevan and blocking off the city's main thoroughfare close to the residence of the Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan.
Armenian riot police cracked down, unleashing water canons that sent demonstrators fleeing for cover.
Activists said plain-clothes policemen concealed in the crowd took advantage of the mayhem to beat protesters and journalists covering the event. More than a dozen people, including some law enforcers, were injured in the clashes.
Makeshift barricades
Police detained 237 protesters but say but most have since been released. Undeterred by the violence, several thousand protesters returned to the streets yesterday, facing off riot police from behind makeshift barricades made of dust carts.
Armenian politicians, actors and other celebrities formed a human shield at the barricades to guard against further police violence. The US embassy in Yerevan called for a full and transparent inquiry into reports that police used excessive force against the demonstrators.
Edward Nalbandian, Armenia’s foreign minister, moved to reassure the US yesterday, saying that an investigation was already under way.
“We once again reaffirm our commitment to democracy, the protection of fundamental freedoms and human rights in Armenia,” he said in a statement.
Awkward questions
However, the scale of the protests is raising awkward questions for Mr Sargsyan, who took Armenia into the Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union this year with a pledge that closer trading ties with Russia would bring lower energy prices.
Instead, Armenia has been battered by the fallout from the Russian economic crisis. Both export revenues and remittances sent home by Armenian migrant workers in Russia have fallen, prompting many people to question the benefits of EEU membership. Mr Sargsyan invited No to Plunder activists to talks aimed at resolving the dispute, but they refused saying the protest was not political.
In Moscow politicians are not so sure. Nikolai Ryzhkov, a senator in the Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian parliament, warned yesterday that the events in Armenia were "not coincidental" and could develop "according to an Ukrainian scenario".