A farmer stood by his newly-sprouted field of wheat near Talvorik, a village in the Baghramyan region of Armavir. “See this field? There’s not a better one in the country. Yet, I’m barely hanging on, what with the price of irrigation water and fertilizer. And there’s no hope from the government. What government?

“If it’s like this now, what is going to happen when the border with Turkey opens? Everybody that’s not afraid to admit it knows that farmers here will be broken, driven out of business, with cheap Turkish agricultural products available. But that’s only part of the picture. They’ll flood our markets with all kinds of cheap goods, which will put our factories, large and small, out of business. This is what the Turks want, and in the meantime, they’ll have a new market for their goods.

“I’m more convinced now than ever that our rulers are doing their best to ruin the country, not just fill their pocketbooks with the people’s money. Why else would they do this? We’ve had more than our share of traitors in our history, but these traitors beat all. If they stay in power, our country will be in ruins, and will be just a playground for the rich and their Turkish friends.”