YEREVAN. – Although bodyguards are entitled to work up to 12 hours a day, they work up to 24 hours in Armenia, and with little pay.  

Vahe Darbinyan, who heads a security agency, noted the aforesaid during a press conference on Friday.

“They walk behind an oligarch every day, but they [i.e., their employers] don’t comprehend that these guys are not robots; they are human, and they get tired.

“And the oligarchs do not comprehend that a bodyguard has the right to rest, eat, go home, see family members, [and] take [home] money.

“But no, and they give very little money to our bodyguards and security guards, so they can just make ends meet,” Darbinyan added.  

In his words, the security guards receive a monthly salary of 60,000 drams (approx. $147) in Armenia, $1,500 in Russia, and €1,500 in Europe.

As a result, the Armenian security guards and bodyguards likewise wish to leave Armenia.

“I worked in Europe, and the minimum salary [there] was €3,000,” Vahe Darbinyan noted.