INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
popular cafe and hangout spot for local hipsters and Russian emigres in the heart of the Armenian capital.This place was recently
transformed into a hub for humanitarian aid as volunteers started collecting and distributing boxes filled with clothing, shoes, food,
hygiene products and children's toys to assist refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh.During a visit by a Moscow Times reporter last week, Russian
and Armenian volunteers were packing cars with humanitarian aid destined for tens of thousands of refugees pouring into Armenia from the
disputed territory.A number of Russians who relocated to Armenia when Moscow started its war against Ukraine are now assisting ethnic
re-orient its charity work, which initially focused on refugees from Ukraine, toward the influx of Armenian refugees, Ethos head Yevgeny
Yevsyukov told The Moscow Times.In addition to collecting humanitarian aid in Yerevan, the organization has also established distribution
points in multiple Armenian cities, including Goris, a city in the southern Syunik province where ethnic Armenians sought refuge from
Azerbaijan's military offensive.Volunteers say they work almost nonstop in Goris, which has taken in a major portion of the 100,000 refugees
Goris.Ethos said it received over 30,000 requests for assistance from refugees in the week following the escalation of the conflict.Many
refugees had to leave their homes in a rush with no opportunity to pack their belongings when Baku lifted its nearly 10-month blockade on
necessities.According to Yevsyukov, around 30 businesses and organizations, including Russian companies, are currently providing assistance
Volunteers said that along with distributing food and clothes, they also started offering psychological and legal assistance to
refugees.Ethos is not the only group of Russian volunteers providing assistance to refugees."I had no other option because offering help is
not something extraordinary
who recently moved to Yerevan and spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Moscow Times.An Ethos volunteer speaks to refugees in
Goris.EthosAnother Russian emigre, Valeria Kopirovskaya, 29, who moved from Moscow to Yerevan last year, has organized charity film
screenings to benefit Ukrainian refugees
classes for children in the refugee camp because their schooling has been interrupted
psychiatrists for displaced people.In the neighboring Georgian capital of Tbilisi, Anna, a Russian in her 30s who owns a vintage shop,
who declined to provide her surname.According to Anna, the main problem lies in transporting the aid across the Armenian-Georgian
cargo, which we cannot pay
They provided us with the contacts of 500 families in need of assistance
However, when we delivered the aid, a person from the city administration informed us that the authorities had forbidden them from accepting
remain in Nagorno-Karabakh out of its total population of 120,000.Baku this week published its reintegration plan that says it guarantees
republic of Artsakh hang in the Ethos office.Kirill PonomarevHowever, Armenians said they feared repression and ethnic cleansing from
Azerbaijani forces if they were to return.Many Nagorno-Karabakh residents also felt let down by Moscow when, as they say, Russia's
They asked where we were from
