In his Facebook page, former Armenian Prime Minister Hrant Bagratyan today writes that the “No to Plunder” movement opposing an electricity rate hike in Armenia is doing a great deal of work to develop the mindset of rebellion within the public and that the public, in essence, is doing the work of the government.

“It is evident that Russia, the owner of the Electricity Network of Armenia, found out about what’s happening in the energy sector and the scope of the abuses due to this movement,” Bagratyan writes. “My intellectual friends in Moscow were dumbstruck from the anger they felt upon hearing what the electricity rates were in Armenia (in comparison to those in Russia). Nevertheless, the people did what should have been done by Armenia’s government.”

Bagratyan goes on to say that the energy sector in Armenia still operates according to a state methodology, noting that the market practices introduced in 1993-1997 were removed after 1999.