my step

7 Posts

•

0 Followers

Protesters in Yerevan during the Velvet Revolution. Photo: Mariam Nikuradze/OC Media

Armenia

Power of the people: what made Armenia’s Velvet Revolution successful?

by Arshaluys Barseghyan

•10 min read

In 2018, Armenians peacefully ousted their government in a fast-moving decentralised revolution. Six years on, and amidst regional upheaval, participants of the Velvet Revolution assess the key factors in the movement’s success. In the run-up to the spring of 2018, a change of government in Armenia seemed unlikely at best. Opposition to Serzh Sargsyan’s government had been steadily growing, intensifying in light of the announcement on 12 April that he would run for prime minister, having s

Armenia

Fists fly during sitting of Armenia’s National Assembly

by OC Media

•4 min read

Tensions were high in Armenia’s National Assembly this past week after a physical altercation broke out between representatives of the ruling My Step and opposition Bright Armenia factions. On 8 May, during a parliamentary session during which Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and members of the Government were present, head of the Bright Armenia parliamentary faction Edmon Marukyan and ruling My Step coalition MP Sasun Mikayelyan got into a physical altercation, that quickly involved multiple ot

Alen Simonyan

Deputy chair of Armenian parliament headbutts far-right leader

by OC Media

•5 min read

The deputy chair of the Armenian Parliament, Alen Simonyan, has attacked a far-right government critic in the street allegedly after he swore at Simonyan. On Wednesday, Simonyan said he bumped into Artur Danielyan, who heads far-right political group Adekvat and is a vocal government critic in the street by chance. According to Simonyan, he greeted Danielyan to which Danielyan responded by swearing at him. In response, Simonyan said he headbutted Danielyan leading to a fight. The fight res

Anna Kostanyan

Blasphemy at the puppet theatre: death metal band sparks freedom of speech debate in Armenia

by Hovhannes Ishkhanyan

•7 min read

Death metal band Vader’s attempted performance at the State Puppet Theatre has sparked debate over the limits of free speech in Armenia. The Facebook post read: ‘Yesterday I learned that the Satanist, Polish band Vader is going to give a concert in Yerevan.’ Next to those words, Armen Hareyan, a sub-deacon of Armenian Apostolic Church living in the United States, also posted two photographs from a previous Vader performance. In one, the band is on stage with a large, flaming devil behi

Armenia

Armenian security service questions family of constitutional court chair

by OC Media

•5 min read

The father and two daughters of embattled constitutional court chair Hrayr Tovmasyan, who was recently accused of ‘seizing state power’, have been questioned by Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS). The NSS called the three in for questioning on 18 October, according to them to answer questions that emerged from a preliminary investigation into Tovmasyan. The family’s lawyers were not fully informed about the reason for the questions or what kind of case the NSS had launched prior

Armenia

Pashinyan block wins landslide in Armenia’s snap parliamentary elections

by OC Media

•4 min read

Nikol Pashinyan’s My Step Alliance has won a landslide in Armenia’s snap parliamentary elections, according to preliminary results. The previous ruling party, the Republican Party of Armenia, as well as their former coalition partner the Armenian Revolutionary Federation both failed to gain seats in Sunday’s vote. Pashinyan’s My Step Alliance, made up of his Civil Contract Party, garnered 70.4% of votes, 880,000 people. Of the nine political parties and two alliances that took part in the

Analysis

Analysis | The revolution will not be postponed: what does Pashinyan’s resignation really mean?

by Volodymyr Soboliev

•6 min read

Armenian revolutionary leader Nikol Pashinyan has resigned as prime minister. While his goal is to eradicate the remnants of the old ruling elite in snap elections, many wonder if the former regime has what it takes to strike back. On 16 October, at 20:00, Armenians were once again glued to the screens of their TVs, laptops, and phones, just like in April, as news of Serzh Sargsyan’s resignation broke. This time, they were watching their protest-leader-turned-prime-minister Nikol Pashin