Armenian self-proclaimed ensemble gave a concert in self-proclaimed Donetsk

The so-called Ministry of Culture of self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic issued an official statement according to which Ararat ensemble from Yerevan gave a concert in Donetsk.

“On Thursday, September 14, Ararat ensemble from Yerevan city of the Republic of Armenia gave its first solo concert in Donetsk since the start of military actions,” reads the statement.

However, even though Ararat ensemble that gave a concert in Donetsk which is under control of separatists, it does not represent Yerevan. The Ministry of Culture is neither aware of the concert nor the abovementioned ensemble. The band consisting of one soloist and three musicians can be a “private business” according to the public relations department of the ministry. This band had concerts in Donetsk earlier as well, its soloist won the Golden Scif award in 2002 in Donetsk and considers Donetsk as a “part of her homeland”. According to press publications, the charity concert was organized by the Armenian community of Donetsk. About twenty spectators were present at the concert.

The misinformation that the ensemble presents Yerevan was published by a number of other media outlets existing on the territory of the self-proclaimed republic including Novorosia news agency, the Donetsk news agency. The news is also available on the official website of the Donetsk People’s  Republic.

Some local media such as Gorlovskaya pravda presented the concert as “a gift of the Armenian people to Donetsk residents”, but officially Armenia has nothing to do with this concert.

The news was also published by some Russian news agencies, including Komsomolskaya pravda periodical. The news containing misinformation was published by vesti.am from Armenian media.

People’s Republic of Donetsk is a separatist movement formed in April 2014 in eastern Ukraine and is not officially recognized by any state.