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Agency — January 26, 2005Armenia's Authorities Do Not React to Request of the Spiritual Christians Molokan Community of YerevanYEREVAN, JANUARY 26. ARMINFO. — The authorities of Armenia did not give a positive answer to a request from members of the Spiritual Christian Molokan community of Yerevan to allot them 1-1,5 ha* of land for the construction of a village of Sloboda, the Head of the Fund of Assistance to Russian Compatriots Ivan Semyonov told ARMINFO.[Semyonov a Molokan is President of the Foundation of Help And Assistance to Russian Compatriots in the Republic of Armenia. He wrote the book: Molokane in Armenia.]*[1 hectare (2.47 acres) to 1.5 hectares (3.7 acres)] He said that the members of Spiritual Christians Molokans community made a request to Armenia's President Robert Kocharyan and to Mayor of Yerevan Yervand Zakharyan. They received an answer only from the Yerevan municipality. "Spiritual Christians Molokans were told to watch announcements in Armenian newspapers for auctions for sale of land and to participate in them", informed I. Semyonov, adding that Spiritual Christians Molokans have no funds to buy the land. Spiritual Christians Molokans also addressed the Speaker of Armenia's National Assembly Artur Baghdasaryan. To note, in the beginning of 1990s' about 51,000 Russians were living in Armenia, half of them of are Spiritual Christians Molokanian religion. Only 5,000 Spiritual Christians Molokans are living in Armenia nowadays, of them 2,000 in Yerevan. [Data from: "Molokans (Old Ritualists)", page 17, The Ethnic Minorities of Armenia, Yerevan 2002.] |