Yerevan, February 12. /Mediamax/. Armenia is the 78th in the World Press Freedom Index-2014.

World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters without Borders international organization indicates this, Mediamax reports.

As compared to 2013, Armenia yielded its positions by 4 points. Georgia is the 84th and Azerbaijan is the 160th.

"Moldova, Georgia, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan all enjoy a significant degree of pluralism and relatively little state censorship. But the considerable social polarization is reflected in the media and the climate for journalists, who are often harassed by pressure groups. Given that the political orientation of individual media usually coincides with that of their owners, it would seem that respect for the editorial independence of media employees is still limited", noted the authors of the index.

According to the organization,  the 2013 elections in Georgia and Armenia were calmer than previous ones.

"Violence against journalists was rare. Armenia’s state broadcaster has progressed as regards impartiality but the electoral environment exacerbated the ongoing information war in the privately-owned media – a war in which the authorities have a clear advantage", the index says.

The former Soviet republics that most violate freedom of information – Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. 

Reports without Borders noted that more repression is also the strategy being adopted in Azerbaijan, where the very survival of media pluralism is in danger.