Don’t you just love him? While the world has the Bushism to scratch its collective head in disbelief at, Bekaisa over at Live Journal has already introduced the idea of the Dodism. No doubt about it, the man himself — MP, Oligarch and founder of the Prosperous Armenia party ahead of the 2007 parliamentary election, Gagik Tsarukian, AKA Dodi Gago — is a phenomenon indeed.

For some, he’s a saviour, but for others he’s nothing more than the personification and embodiment of all that’s wrong in today’s Armenia. It used to be that he only made good copy when most of the companies owned by the country’s richest man paradoxically posted losses year after year, or when hired muscle clashed with rivals in gunfights on the outskirts of Yerevan.

Now, however, Tsarukian embodies the political reality of Armenia. That is, vote bribes look likely to define the coming election, and the population is desperate enough to take them. Not that anyone cares about the image of Armenia abroad, but the Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR) has come up with another term to define the situation in the country.

Armenia, it seems, is a “Potato Democracy.”

On the grounds that drought had prevented peasants from storing seeds, Tsarukian’s party began distributing winter wheat and potatoes in ten regions of Armenia. Bargavach Hayastan also launched a programme of providing free medical services for the residents of these regions.

Pensioner Marusya Karapetian who lives in Aparan 60 kilometres northwest of Yerevan is delighted.

“Neither my husband nor I have seen a doctor for 15 years,” she said excitedly. “We were dying of pain but we did not have enough money to visit a doctor. Tsarukian is a good man. He is treating us medically and he is giving out potatoes so at least we have something to plant.”

Tsarukisan’s political opponents are already attacking his initiatives. Member of parliament Shavarsh Kocharian charged, “Hungry people will swear by the name of the person who helps them. Of course, they will vote for the man who helps them. Everything has been very well thought out.”

For sure, it makes great copy given the socio-economic situation in the country, and enough to make everyone question where exactly record economic growth in the past few years has actually ended up. Indeed, the story highlighting the true face of an Armenia usually unseen by many in the Diaspora who only know the facade of central Yerevan, caught the attention of the U.K.’s Daily Telegraph.

Armenian politicians have been accused of buying votes in forthcoming elections with gifts of potatoes.

The allegations come after the Flourishing Armenia party led by Gagik Tsarukian, one of the richest men in the country, followed other parties by announcing it was giving the vegetables and medical supplies following a drought as acts of “charity”.

Opponents in the former Soviet state, where the average annual income is £750, said the handouts were cynical attempts by the elite to stay in power.

Perhaps we should all feel grateful and thank Tsarukian for bringing this reality to international attention while the media propaganda machine makes him out to be some kind of saviour. But, while some consider that Tsarukian’s wealth says more about tax evasion and using government connections that are actually partly responsible for the social situation of his beneficiaries, there’s no doubt that he’s worshipped by many.

He’s become more popular than Jesus, perhaps. However, that’s not saying much in a country still emerging from an atheist past and where the Armenian Apostolic Church represents the preservation of ethnic identity rather than anything spiritual. Perhaps it’s even only a matter of time before villagers line up to be cured of everything from haemorrhoids to halitosis at the touch of Tsarukian’s hand. Sad to see how far many have fallen.

Indeed, from time to time, those hoping for Tsarukian’s help find their way to this site, which is kind of ironic given what’s written on it. For sure, one doubts Tsarukian reads this site, but nonetheless, people still leave comments on this site in the hope that he does. One was even made today. Two sisters of Armenian descent from Bulgaria want Tsarukian’s help to finance their way through college.

Their English might not amount to much, and it’s ironic they didn’t make their plea in Armenian, but the way they consider Tsarukian is very clear.

Mister Tsaroukyan Gagik! My name is liliya, i am armenian but i am living in Nulgeria now i am stading here and i want to enter to american university. My sister and me need some help because our parents are not able already pay for our stading and we have to stope it if somebody will not help to us. we really need your help, we have hered that you are helping people thas why we are writing to you.pleas if you ca help us with somethig we will be very greaitful and somedays we will be helpful to people. we are going to stady relation ship diplomasy.

Meanwhile, civil society activists such as Isabella Sarkisyan (AKA Bekaisa) lament the situation that has given rise to this reality, but that’s how it is. After 15 years of independence, and countless falsified elections, a desperation and total disillusionment with democracy now defines an immediate future for a country that should and could have evolved in arguably more positive ways.

“Everyone realizes that this money was stolen from all of us in the form of unpaid taxes,” said Isabella Sargsian, a young civil rights activist. “At the same time, many people say, ‘At least he is giving back some of it.’ And they are so delighted. This is what strikes me the most.”

[…]

For pro-democracy activists like Isabella Sargsian, however, the rise of Tsarukian’s party not only bodes ill for the freedom and fairness of the polls, but also illustrates the weakness of civil society in Armenia. The British-educated campaigner has organized youth protests in Yerevan against government crackdowns on the opposition and engaged in civic education projects in rural regions. “Maybe civil society never existed here,” she muses now. “The values on which our society is based are quite different.”

There’s still hope in some circles, however, although it’s starting to disappear fast. In his new blog, for example, Blogrel’s Observer sums up what many of us feel about the coming vote.

I feel double guilty as the most controversial elections in the history of Armenia, as I’ve described in my post at Blogrel, are coming near… feels like running away from the most decisive battle… but then again, even with all my optimism I can’t help but feel, that these elections are going nowhere, just like the ones in 2003 and 2005.

Then again, while many, including myself, hope that promises from Europe and the U.S. to hold the authorities accountable for the conduct of parliamentary and presidential elections scheduled for May and next year are true, there’s one question that still needs answering as much today as its ever been. When will Armenians actually demand or even want their parliament and president to be legally and democratically elected?

Still, that’s their choice and not mine. Or, as one Armenian in the Diaspora wrote to me in an email immediately after the 2003 Presidential Election, people here will have the authorities they deserve.