Contract Servicemen to Replace Conscripts at Gyumri’s Russian Base

Russian conscripts deployed at the 102nd Russian Military Base in Gyumri will be replaced by contract servicemen. This is what the Russian Interfax news agency wrote quoting their source in the Russian Armed Forces General Staff. According to their source, this decision was conditioned by the tragic murder that took place on January 12 in Armenia. The main suspect in that crime is Russian conscript Valery Permyakov.

In the early morning hours of January 12, six members of the Avetisyan family were shot in their home and their six-month-old infant Seryozha Avetisyan was stabbed. The accused is Russian soldier Valery Permyakov stationed at the 102nd Russian Military Base in Gyumri. Permyakov was apprehended by Russian military personnel trying to cross the Armenia-Turkey border. He is currently being held in custody at the Russian base. On January 14 and 15 protests took place in Gyumri and Yerevan demanding that the accused be handed over to Armenian authorities and to stand trial in an Armenian court. On January 19, Seryozha Avetisyan succumbed to his injuries and died in hospital in Yerevan. A requiem service for the infant takes place on January 20 in Gyumri.