Armenia is in a very difficult region in terms of human rights.

Arch Puddington, Vice President for Research at Freedom House, told the aforesaid to the Voice of America Armenian Service, as he presented the latest results of the annual Freedom in the World report by this human rights organization.

He noted that Armenia is surrounded by countries such as Azerbaijan and Russia, which have a very rigid authoritarian system, and added that it is very difficult for democrats to function in such surroundings.

In 2015, Armenia was recognized a “partly free” country, with “not free” media but “free” Internet.

The Freedom House official noted that Armenia’s unchanging “partly free” status in recent years is primarily due to the Russian pressure and its negative impact, which also has made Armenia prefer the Eurasian—and not the European—Union.

Arch Puddington stated that ever since its independence in 1991, Armenia has actually been a semi-democratic country.

As per the Freedom House official, even though the pressure by the ruling political force in Armenia is not as extreme as in Azerbaijan, for example, it is sufficient enough to obstruct the emergence of a strong opposition and oversee the country’s politics.