Visiting the Shores of Sevan is Expensive, No Space in Restaurants: Pashinyan

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated on Telegram: "Some respond nervously to my assertions that people are living about 50% better. On July 27, over 50,000 people were present at the shores of Sevan, the vast majority from Yerevan and nine regions. Going to the shores of Sevan with family is an expense, a tangible expense. So where is this expense coming from and why wasn't it done at these scales before? There is no space and no pause in the restaurants of Yerevan and the republic; just recently, going to a restaurant was a luxury, an unattainable luxury. Today, restaurants and cafes are sprouting up in Armenia like mushrooms, and visiting these establishments is an expense. So where is this expense coming from and why wasn't it done in these scales before?

Moreover, the former anxiety about going to a restaurant with family has long since disappeared because restaurants and cafes are no longer the domain of criminal syndicates. People are complaining about the long queues for tourist visas to EU countries, which can sometimes stretch for 6–7 months. The visa application itself is an expense, not to mention the costs of traveling to European countries for vacations, while journeys by Armenian citizens to EU countries have increased significantly since 2018.

Do you understand? Significantly. Every trip is an expense, a tangible and significant expense. So where is this expense coming from and why was it not done at these scales before? Yes, there is dissatisfaction that one could pay 50% of the legally mandated taxes, give 25% of the remainder to various officials, and keep the rest... and spend on repairs for vehicles damaged in potholes, buying four times more expensive airline tickets, raising children on the streets due to the lack of kindergartens, health care expenses, and the like.

I apologize, but this is absolutely unacceptable dissatisfaction because the well-being of a citizen primarily does not depend on how much money they spend on their well-being, but rather, it primarily depends on how much local and state budgets spend on the well-being of citizens. And the effectiveness of this equation was evident on July 27, at Vardavar.