The Armenian economy ‘took a vacation’ during the past week. Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan went on a short leave at the beginning of the week for a check-up abroad.

Political events focused on Russia’s policy on the South Caucasus and the forthcoming visit of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to Armenia.

Consequences of the five-day war that was launched in Georgia at the night of 8 August 2008, affected every South Caucasus country in its own way. Georgia, long enough playing American democracy, finally lost Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and the Georgian leader, unable to justify the hopes of Western protege, acquired the image of an “unpredictable teenager”. The unsuccessful Georgian experience of a military solution to the self-proclaimed Abkhazia and South Ossetia can be picturesquely described as a “cold shower” for the Azerbaijani leadership, reducing the probability of launching a new military action in Karabakh for a certain period of time.

For dozens of centuries Armenians had been celebrating the New Year, Navasard, on August 11. Once a favorite popular holiday, it now became a topic of historians’ remarks or Armenian folklore only. “August 11 is the first day of the new year according to the ancient Armenian calendar. It was celebrated by all – the rich and the poor,” said ethnographer Gohar Vardumyan, senior fellow at the Armenian National Academy of Sciences.

An Armenian singer won New Wave song contest for the first time in nine years of its existence. Armenia was represented by Sona Shahgeldyan this year, as she passed through a selection round in April 2010. People had been talking about wonderful vocal of Sona and her unusual timbre for a long time. However, almost all representatives of Armenia were notable for their powerful vocal at the contest. Jury was traditionally delighted with Armenian artists, but each time they lacked several or even one point to win the contest. This refers also to Razmik Amyan, who participated in the contest in 2006, when everyone was speaking with admiration about the singer’s unique voice, but a representative of the U.S. won the contest. Almost the same thing happened to Mher, who participated in New Wave in 2008. He received the People’s Choice Award, but has not won the contest.

GNC Alfa has completed the first stage of IP/MPLS network construction with 10Gbps network capacity. Networks in Yerevan and 16 Armenian towns have been put into operation. Coverage of 29 towns is envisaged till yearend. GNC-Alfa is a telecommunications network services operator in Armenia. The Company owns a fiber-optic network passing along the Armenia-Iran gas pipeline. GNC-Alfa network, built on technologies of American Juniper Networks, is designed to provide wholesale transport network services to fixed and mobile operators and ISPs, as well as transit services via Armenia.

Wrestling: on July 21, Armenia’s Greco-Roman wrestler Arthur Alexanyan (weight class 84kg) won the champion’s title at Junior World Wrestling Championships in Budapest, Hungary. Earlier, Armenia’s Alexan Mikaelyan (weight class 60kg) won bronze.