Armenians Protest Russian Leader's Visit

Hundreds of Armenians unhappy about Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to their country gathered at two separate rallies in Yerevan on November 23. In one of his rare recent trips abroad, Putin arrived in the Armenian capital for a summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) -- a Russian-dominated military bloc. One rally was organized by the pro-Western opposition alliance National-Democratic Pole, the other by civil-society activists and attended by Ukrainian expatriates. The protesters slammed Armenia's engagement with the CSTO, arguing that it did them no service in the recent conflict with Azerbaijan.