Yerevan, Armenia
Videography
Editing
Assignment Submission
In 2013, protests erupted in Armenia's capital city of Yerevan as Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the country in an effort to expand his country's planned Customs Union. Protesters were carrying signs reading 'Stop Russia' and 'Leave the Oligarchs in Moscow'.
Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan confirmed Armenia's participation in the Eurasian Customs Union, which includes Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus and now Armenia. The move effectively negates preparations for entry into the Eastern Partnership program of the European Union, reversing Armenia's future economic cooperation'd direction toward the East. Ukraine's president Viktor Yanukovych also reversed a path towards a pact with the EU in favor of the Russian Customs Union, sparking similar violent protest in the nations capital city Kiev.
Russia has been pursuing a way to reconnect with former Commonwealth of Independent States in order to bolster greater economic trade and the Eurasian Economic Partnership is one of the latest attempts to re-envigorate cooperation with former Soviet Union nations.
The video shot was recorded using an iPhone at the protests and shows Armenian policeman restraining protesters.