Met up with Thomas from Follow The Way last night and over one or two vodkas he told me a story. Now I see that he’s posted the tale of two of his friends. , and what a story. It sounds unbelievable at first, but as I’ve always considered myself fortunate not to get stuck in the middle of a mafia shoot out in Yerevan, I know full well that others aren’t so lucky.

This is the story of a married couple,. She’s native Armenian. He’s foreigner, but with Armenian roots still (what the hell would he be doing here otherwise).

Anyway, these two people are outstanding, cultivated, smart, easygoing, welcoming, in brief everything you could expect in this Caucasian world.

Moreover than being a really good friend, he’s a workmate, so he’s more than able to understand my situation, and the other way round.

This morning 7h, he calls me. I won’t come to work today. She’s been shot.

I have to admit that at this point in the story last night I was kind of looking at Thomas and thinking, what did he say? Sounded like he said shot, and the gesture he’s making of a bullet going up through her neck seems to confirm this, and I can only imagine Thomas being as confused and surprised as me when he heard the news.

Me : a little floating moment. I’m thinking : they’re not the gangsta style to be into troubles. I guess not in fact.

Me: “Wait a second, she’s been shot? With real live bullets? What’s the fuck happening to you?”

Him : “Apparently a lost bullet that went through our apartment window. During our sleep. She’s been screaming to death. We’re going to ER.

Afterwards I got some fresh news. She lost a few teeth. But her head is heavy so she will get out easily after a week in hospital.

In one photo posted in his post, Thomas writes its caption as “Yerevan, new playground for mafia???,” but unfortunately, it’s been like this for the past few years. Actually, I swear the rule of law has meant less and less since the 2003 presidential elections, and the number of mafia shooting killings as reached unprecedented numbers in the eight years I’ve been here.

What’s most frightening is that most of these clans are linked to the authorities or are even part of the Government. Vahan Ishkanyan gives us a “who’s who” in the Yerevan mafia.

Officially, legally, constitutionally, the capital belongs to its residents, who through elections choose eleven prefects (the mayor of Yerevan is appointed by the President).

In reality, and in ways that matter most to average citizens and especially to small business owners, the city belongs to organized, sometimes criminalized, clans – “akhperutyuns”, or brotherhoods, that assert their power through their position or connections.

Like the fantasy of Hollywood gangster films, or an episode of “Sopranos”, this capital is owned by factions that sometimes battle for their turf; for their share of the income that is to be had from doing business the old fashioned way – through power and intimidation. They travel the city in convoys of the most expensive SUVs. Restaurants are cleared to seat them, while thick-necked body guards flank tables, pistols tucked into the fold of their sizeable waistlines.

The bosses have nicknames by which they are known, but not called to their faces. Many, too, are Members of Parliament, affording themselves the power to make the very laws by which their businesses are governed. (Recent changes in the Constitution have also yielded separation of powers that gives more autonomy to the National Assembly.)

[…]

[…] In Soviet times gangsters were limited to their subculture, under constant persecution from authorities. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, when competition for sources of income became ungovernable, gangsters quickly began to penetrate the government system.

The subculture spread to broader domains – the army, education, government structures.

In a related post, Simon at Blogian presents us with a multiple choice question on who doesn’t pay their gas bills in Yerevan. Giving the options of “the poor,” “the middle class,” and “the rich,” you don’t need to be a brain surgeon to understand that the correct answer is probably going to to be the last. Hey, it’s Armenia where corruption is at staggering levels and the “super rich” believe they’re above the law. Let’s face it — they are.

The gas bill collectors in Armenia go from home to home after the payment. Knowing that my sister is a journalist, one collector complained to her that the prosecutors, judges and the “elite” in their neighborhood (people who have become super rich through corruption, bribes and direct thefts from national and local budgets) don’t pay one cent for their gas bill. Whereas, the super rich use the most gas to heat their huge houses.

[…]

Now, I can’t claim and don’t have evidence that all Armenian oligarchs and the several hundred thieves who own the most wealth in Armenia don’t pay the gas bill, but I am sure the bill collector made a reference to our direct neighbor, a prosecutor who built a huge house taking the site of Ararat from our eyes, and to the rest of our few super rich neighbors.

My sister feels so vulnerable that she expects every minute having their home taken from them of course without just compensation or consent. One of our neighbors, who apparently doesn’t pay the bill and became relatives with Pres. Kocharian after they married off their children, has started a process of buying the entire neighborhood. The poor people of the street are being forced to sell their homes – one of them the family of an 18-year-old boy who died in the war. A cleansing of vulnerable socio-economic people takes place in downtown Yerevan and in other “desirable” areas.

Great posts from both of you guys, and an unfortunate reality that needs to be addressed. Yes, it does happen frequently in Yerevan as I wrote here. Hope the wife of Thomas’ friend recovers soon, although I doubt that anyone will be brought to justice.