Sargis Nahapetyan, Mayor of Khoronq, a rural community in Armavir Marz, says that during the past year ten local families have packed their bags and left Armenia for the promise of a brighter future in Siberia of all places.

Mayor Nahapetyan says that the families left under the auspices of the “Hayrenakitsner” project launched by Russia which allocates a one-time payment of between $4,000 – 8,000, work and a house to families willing to move to Russia’s far-flung regions.

The community leader says it’s getting progressively harder for local villagers to make a living from the land given the rising costs of farming, exorbitant loan rates, and the prices villagers can sell their crops at.

“Two years ago, residents were selling tomatoes at 32 AMD per kilo and it’s the same today. But it costs them 50 AMD to grow. Throw in the inflation of basic foodstuffs and people just can’t make a go of it,” says Nahapetyan.

He says that more and more villagers are leaving for seasonal work in Russia and now entire families are making the journey.

“Under the Russian program, citizenship is obtained quite quickly. So it’s very attractive to Armenians who have to work from dawn to dusk just to make ends meet,” the mayor said.

Also, almost all village residents have taken out 24% loans and are now in a financial squeeze.

Even Khoronq Deputy Mayor Robert Ayvazyan had taken out a loan and, not being able to pay it off, left for Russia three months ago with his family.

On his new plot of land in Russia, Ayvazyan has planted tomato and cucumber varieties he took with him.

In a recent telephone conversation with Mayor Nahapetyan, Ayvazyan said he’s harvested two crops already and sold them all, netting revenues of 20 times that in Armenia.

Ayvazyan is sending the profits to his son in Armenia to pay off the loan.

The son and his family plan to join Ayvazyan in Russia along with 60 other extended family members.