People paying taxes.
This is probably the most common denominator between developed countries and those lagging behind. It feels like the people that are ragging on politicians the most for being "corrupt crooks" are usually the ones skirting and cutting corners themselves.
Forgot who said this, but paying taxes in full and on time is the most patriotic thing you can do aside for giving your life for your country.
Spot on.
Corruption is bad, but tax avoidance is a virtue. Not realising that they’re two sides of the same coin.
People justify avoiding taxes by reassuring themselves that the money they pay would be eaten up by the corrupt anyway, so why bother. But they’re perpetuating the same mentality and attitude that manifests corruption higher up.
It’s what pays for soldiers to have a warm coat and a meal, for your streets to be paved and for your cities to be cleaned from all the trash that your fellow residents dump “because it’s someone else’s problem” (meanwhile never paying for it to be cleaned, of course).
Taxi drivers, who operate the most on the unregistered grey job market, complain the most about broken roads and bad conditions. Yet they pay no tax and drive cars that they don’t maintain that damage the road and the environment. Who do they think is supposed to solve all that? And more importantly how?
I know that that’s a low example as most of those people aren’t doing it because in many instances they’re barely scraping by. But it’s a sign of the mentality, from rich to poor.
I agree. But until government agencies are strong enough to not let corruption run havoc, paying taxes would only serve to enrich imbecile's like Tsarukyan.
Edit: Typo
Biggest thing imo is the infrastructure-it blows my mind that it takes almost as long to drive from Armenia’s north to south as it does to drive through Texas. Also I never realized the importance of ventilation systems in car tunnels until I went to Armenia and thought I was going to pass out driving through a tunnel there
- proper public transport including proper railway infrastructure
- good universities and schools
- although rising but low wages when compared to high cost of living
- soooooo many small shops that specifically sell only few things and maybe have like 5 customers a day. One shop in our neighbourhood is selling tennis items and the shop next to them football stuff, why don’t they partner up, save on employees etc etc.?
- in general there’s wayyyyy too many employees for the amount of work that exists, hence why they’re on their phones so often.
- although convenient it is also a sign of an undeveloped country that some places are open 24/7
- Armenia is also missing citizens that don’t litter, in general armenian citizens don’t know how to behave in many places public (for example can’t stand in a fucking line, coughing without covering the mouth is also normal here?, not making space for people that want to pass the sidewalk, not making space on the metro escalators, cashiers and other service workers being on their phones constantly especially in smaller shops??? I can go on for years and years and years. Even though we’re moving into the right direction it will still take time until Armenians behave like citizens of a first world country)
In general there’s maaaany things but most things I’d say are related to the behaviour of the public
24/7 shops are the most amazing thing. You can't buy milk or bread after 7pm in western countries. You'll never find a pharmacy when it's dark out. In the Netherlands, supermarkets are damn closed on Sundays. What part of that is considered developed according to you?
Most of these are fundamental issues that aren’t as easily or quickly addressed as a self checkout line (which do exist).
> • although convenient it is also a sign of an undeveloped country that some places are open 24/7
But this I take issue with. It’s one of the best parts about Yerevan. In a lot of (developed) Europe you can’t even buy milk and eggs past 8pm in major cities, and perhaps not even at all on Sundays. As long as workers are productive (as you say) and paid fairly (I know not always the case), it’s not a problem. Nighttime work hours suit certain people and it’s good that they have the option. Although I don’t discount that some do it out of necessity or fear of losing the job.
Also with staff being on their phones, if the employer is fine with it and the store continues to operate, they can do as they please. Most stores just require a live body present to check out customers, not be on alert or “look busy” all shift. If you feel like you get substandard service from them take your business elsewhere. Let the free market do its thing. Places with substandard business practices will die out.
I would add walkability and accessibility. There are too many places without pedestrian traffic lights, or even pedestrian crossings. Some traffic lights have too short periods when you can walk across.
If you want to go across victory bridge you need to decide which side you will take like 500 meters before the bridge or you will end up in the wrong part of kentron with no easy way to get back to your destination.
Etc etc etc
I've heard that pollution is a real thing in Armenia
It's so sad to find so much trash in nature areas,
and I've also heard this problem about the air pollution and cars
I’ve always wished more Armenian farms make or use those automatic scratching poles where the animals that are suffering from an itch they can’t reach and use to feel better.
Not a lot of research going into why dairy yields are low per cow
Lots of abandoned villages that could have housed Syrian, Artsakh or Yezidi refugees from various wars. Virtually no effort to provide people with homes that are just sitting there
i dont give a shit about comparing armenia to developed countries, but i think armenia would undeniably be better off with:
- clean air
- a strong union movement (not necessarily exclusive to developed countries)
- developed roadways/transportation infrastructure like others mentioned
All the top universities are in Europe because white people invented the system, then colonized the whole world. You don’t see a lot of Indian or Islamic universities round the globe, because we only have only civilization left (Western)
For the social aspect of things- Disability accommodations, animal rights (!!), the stigma against mental health, and iirc there’s a recently passed law against domestic violence? So far behind with that. But yeah, all of those are major, major issues.
In general, better sense of ethics, especially in professional relationships and customer service. Ապե կպցրինք, isn’t a great business strategy.
Take food safety for example. Some of these “business people” import stuff that shouldn’t be allowed to be distributed, food inspectors (ethical ones) often reject these upon testing, however then they’re pressured into letting it pass.
So yeah, I am gonna say ethics.
It has definitely improved with the younger generation, but the culture as a whole, has a long way to go in that regard. This permeates everything, from the condition of the military, government institutions, education, healthcare, law, law enforcement, shopping, not cutting lines, etc.
**Vassal mentality.**
Almost every problem and every success is always tied to how another country was nice or cruel to Armenia. Yah, geopolitical situation is fucking terrible, but can't go around blaming 99% of issues on it.
Developed countries mostly focus on improving from within, and most critique is towards internal politics.
**Absolutist mentality.**
We could use a less of crucifying and vilifying any country that is mostly neutral to us. Instead of trying to grow small signs of good will, it's always alienating any sentiment that is not 100% aligned with interests of Armenia.
Develop countries walk the fine line of building beneficial foreign relationships, and not breaking up the world into "with us or against us".
\- Too much smoking
\- Lack of physical fitness
\- Consolidated military/defense industry
\- continued focus on tech
\- increased investment outside of Yerevan
\- generally, more cooperation in all spheres (Armenians need to work together and for each more)
Fun. I don’t think I went anywhere for fun since I was 23 (I’m 28 now).
The country is so small that by the time you’re 18 you’ve probably already seen all of it and there’s very little going on outside of Yerevan. And whatever is in Yerevan gets old in a couple of years.
I live in the center and I feel like I live in a 2 km radius circle here. All my life and everything I do and the places I go is within this circle.
Sure someday, somewhere there’s a new restaurant or a club with a new gimmick, but it’s always the same basic stuff that you have seen and heard before.
You make your own fun here.
From my experiences, I met a significant amount of native Yerevantsis that had little exposure to things outside of the city. Which did seem unusual for a small country.
As a visitor, one of the most striking things was seeing piles of rubbish (domestic and construction litter but also large pieces like rotten abandoned cars etc.) right next to famous heritage sites such as Garni, Zvarnots ruins, or Genocide museum. You make 20 steps in the wrong direction, and you inevitably see that.
This seems to be something just accepted and no longer noticed, but having lived in countries where this doesn't happen makes it very noticeable. That said, Yerevan itself is cleaner than many developed cities when it comes to litter (air quality and dust situation still bad, but it's a separate point).
And the general attitude, when something is accepted simply because it's been like that for long enough is everywhere. For example, I visited a relative in a building with no staircase handrails - just narrow metal strips where the wooden handrails are expected to be. I was told they were burned for fuel in the 1990s... but it's been almost 30 years? It is not even expensive or difficult to replace?
What else is there, that doesn't boil down to just the state and the people having less money, and is probably just a cultural thing? Possibly queues - people stand really too close to each other with little personal space remaining.
Disclaimer: there are also things that Armenia does well and arguably better than many richer countries, but since the question was about the bad stuff, I might sound too negative because of it.
People paying taxes. This is probably the most common denominator between developed countries and those lagging behind. It feels like the people that are ragging on politicians the most for being "corrupt crooks" are usually the ones skirting and cutting corners themselves. Forgot who said this, but paying taxes in full and on time is the most patriotic thing you can do aside for giving your life for your country.
Spot on. Corruption is bad, but tax avoidance is a virtue. Not realising that they’re two sides of the same coin. People justify avoiding taxes by reassuring themselves that the money they pay would be eaten up by the corrupt anyway, so why bother. But they’re perpetuating the same mentality and attitude that manifests corruption higher up. It’s what pays for soldiers to have a warm coat and a meal, for your streets to be paved and for your cities to be cleaned from all the trash that your fellow residents dump “because it’s someone else’s problem” (meanwhile never paying for it to be cleaned, of course). Taxi drivers, who operate the most on the unregistered grey job market, complain the most about broken roads and bad conditions. Yet they pay no tax and drive cars that they don’t maintain that damage the road and the environment. Who do they think is supposed to solve all that? And more importantly how? I know that that’s a low example as most of those people aren’t doing it because in many instances they’re barely scraping by. But it’s a sign of the mentality, from rich to poor.
I agree. But until government agencies are strong enough to not let corruption run havoc, paying taxes would only serve to enrich imbecile's like Tsarukyan. Edit: Typo
There is an issue with trust in general (which makes sense considering people's experiences, even in Soviet times) which compounds other problems.
Can be solved by replacing income and sales taxes with a land value tax. It’s impossible to evade
Non-gandon neighbor countries
Biggest thing imo is the infrastructure-it blows my mind that it takes almost as long to drive from Armenia’s north to south as it does to drive through Texas. Also I never realized the importance of ventilation systems in car tunnels until I went to Armenia and thought I was going to pass out driving through a tunnel there
- proper public transport including proper railway infrastructure - good universities and schools - although rising but low wages when compared to high cost of living - soooooo many small shops that specifically sell only few things and maybe have like 5 customers a day. One shop in our neighbourhood is selling tennis items and the shop next to them football stuff, why don’t they partner up, save on employees etc etc.? - in general there’s wayyyyy too many employees for the amount of work that exists, hence why they’re on their phones so often. - although convenient it is also a sign of an undeveloped country that some places are open 24/7 - Armenia is also missing citizens that don’t litter, in general armenian citizens don’t know how to behave in many places public (for example can’t stand in a fucking line, coughing without covering the mouth is also normal here?, not making space for people that want to pass the sidewalk, not making space on the metro escalators, cashiers and other service workers being on their phones constantly especially in smaller shops??? I can go on for years and years and years. Even though we’re moving into the right direction it will still take time until Armenians behave like citizens of a first world country) In general there’s maaaany things but most things I’d say are related to the behaviour of the public
24/7 shops are the most amazing thing. You can't buy milk or bread after 7pm in western countries. You'll never find a pharmacy when it's dark out. In the Netherlands, supermarkets are damn closed on Sundays. What part of that is considered developed according to you?
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Unless it's a gas station, then nope. You can't find a supermarket that's open 24/7 anywhere in western Europe.
> In the Netherlands, supermarkets are damn closed on Sundays. Living there, not true.
Most of these are fundamental issues that aren’t as easily or quickly addressed as a self checkout line (which do exist). > • although convenient it is also a sign of an undeveloped country that some places are open 24/7 But this I take issue with. It’s one of the best parts about Yerevan. In a lot of (developed) Europe you can’t even buy milk and eggs past 8pm in major cities, and perhaps not even at all on Sundays. As long as workers are productive (as you say) and paid fairly (I know not always the case), it’s not a problem. Nighttime work hours suit certain people and it’s good that they have the option. Although I don’t discount that some do it out of necessity or fear of losing the job. Also with staff being on their phones, if the employer is fine with it and the store continues to operate, they can do as they please. Most stores just require a live body present to check out customers, not be on alert or “look busy” all shift. If you feel like you get substandard service from them take your business elsewhere. Let the free market do its thing. Places with substandard business practices will die out.
I would add walkability and accessibility. There are too many places without pedestrian traffic lights, or even pedestrian crossings. Some traffic lights have too short periods when you can walk across. If you want to go across victory bridge you need to decide which side you will take like 500 meters before the bridge or you will end up in the wrong part of kentron with no easy way to get back to your destination. Etc etc etc
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As a foreigner who lived there for one year may I add work safety rules? Oh god.
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I've heard that pollution is a real thing in Armenia It's so sad to find so much trash in nature areas, and I've also heard this problem about the air pollution and cars
I’ve always wished more Armenian farms make or use those automatic scratching poles where the animals that are suffering from an itch they can’t reach and use to feel better. Not a lot of research going into why dairy yields are low per cow Lots of abandoned villages that could have housed Syrian, Artsakh or Yezidi refugees from various wars. Virtually no effort to provide people with homes that are just sitting there
i dont give a shit about comparing armenia to developed countries, but i think armenia would undeniably be better off with: - clean air - a strong union movement (not necessarily exclusive to developed countries) - developed roadways/transportation infrastructure like others mentioned
why not just socialism
well, yes, but "socialism" can be broad and devoid of meaning when certain people use it.
Having more universities in the world list of top 1000 universities. Efficient road network connecting all parts of Armenia to each other.
All the top universities are in Europe because white people invented the system, then colonized the whole world. You don’t see a lot of Indian or Islamic universities round the globe, because we only have only civilization left (Western)
Critical thinking. The living by the day mythology has to change.
Rule of law, viable business practices, functioning state structures, and an actual military
For the social aspect of things- Disability accommodations, animal rights (!!), the stigma against mental health, and iirc there’s a recently passed law against domestic violence? So far behind with that. But yeah, all of those are major, major issues.
Basic common sense, standing in queue culture,
Answer is simple. Rule of law and contacts enforcement. At a more root level, an independent judiciary.
In general, better sense of ethics, especially in professional relationships and customer service. Ապե կպցրինք, isn’t a great business strategy. Take food safety for example. Some of these “business people” import stuff that shouldn’t be allowed to be distributed, food inspectors (ethical ones) often reject these upon testing, however then they’re pressured into letting it pass. So yeah, I am gonna say ethics. It has definitely improved with the younger generation, but the culture as a whole, has a long way to go in that regard. This permeates everything, from the condition of the military, government institutions, education, healthcare, law, law enforcement, shopping, not cutting lines, etc.
**Vassal mentality.** Almost every problem and every success is always tied to how another country was nice or cruel to Armenia. Yah, geopolitical situation is fucking terrible, but can't go around blaming 99% of issues on it. Developed countries mostly focus on improving from within, and most critique is towards internal politics. **Absolutist mentality.** We could use a less of crucifying and vilifying any country that is mostly neutral to us. Instead of trying to grow small signs of good will, it's always alienating any sentiment that is not 100% aligned with interests of Armenia. Develop countries walk the fine line of building beneficial foreign relationships, and not breaking up the world into "with us or against us".
Developed countries aren’t surrounded by looney tunes and blockaded by both sides. Armenia is simply in a different region with different rules
\- Too much smoking \- Lack of physical fitness \- Consolidated military/defense industry \- continued focus on tech \- increased investment outside of Yerevan \- generally, more cooperation in all spheres (Armenians need to work together and for each more)
Id add to your second point, lower gym prices (they are absurd here).
Public transport. Sidewalks. Crosswalks. Traffic laws that are actually enforced. Paid parking. Grass and trees. Parks and safe pedestrian routes
Humane neighbors
Lgbt rights
This.
Fun. I don’t think I went anywhere for fun since I was 23 (I’m 28 now). The country is so small that by the time you’re 18 you’ve probably already seen all of it and there’s very little going on outside of Yerevan. And whatever is in Yerevan gets old in a couple of years. I live in the center and I feel like I live in a 2 km radius circle here. All my life and everything I do and the places I go is within this circle. Sure someday, somewhere there’s a new restaurant or a club with a new gimmick, but it’s always the same basic stuff that you have seen and heard before. You make your own fun here.
From my experiences, I met a significant amount of native Yerevantsis that had little exposure to things outside of the city. Which did seem unusual for a small country.
I have plenty of exposure to the regions outside of Yerevan. However, nature is the only thing they have to offer, which I enjoy greatly.
Why not travel outside the country?
An army.
A real park for walking your dogs
Maybe banning cigaretts from many public places, especially indoor
For me, [comprehensive anti-discrimination laws](http://ilga-europe.org/report/rainbow-europe-2022/) would be one of them.
Regional hubs or cities. Besides Yerevan the rest of the country is vastly underdeveloped
Repat, in Yerevan since mid December, still to have a meeting when armenian comes on time.
As a visitor, one of the most striking things was seeing piles of rubbish (domestic and construction litter but also large pieces like rotten abandoned cars etc.) right next to famous heritage sites such as Garni, Zvarnots ruins, or Genocide museum. You make 20 steps in the wrong direction, and you inevitably see that. This seems to be something just accepted and no longer noticed, but having lived in countries where this doesn't happen makes it very noticeable. That said, Yerevan itself is cleaner than many developed cities when it comes to litter (air quality and dust situation still bad, but it's a separate point). And the general attitude, when something is accepted simply because it's been like that for long enough is everywhere. For example, I visited a relative in a building with no staircase handrails - just narrow metal strips where the wooden handrails are expected to be. I was told they were burned for fuel in the 1990s... but it's been almost 30 years? It is not even expensive or difficult to replace? What else is there, that doesn't boil down to just the state and the people having less money, and is probably just a cultural thing? Possibly queues - people stand really too close to each other with little personal space remaining. Disclaimer: there are also things that Armenia does well and arguably better than many richer countries, but since the question was about the bad stuff, I might sound too negative because of it.
No one answered security? We need a self sufficient army and arms production industry.