Velvet Revolution

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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

Ex-president Serzh Sargsyan acquitted in embezzlement case

by Arshaluys Barseghyan

•1 min read

Armenia’s third president, Serzh Sargsyan, has been acquitted of embezzling more than ֏489 million ($1.3 million) from the state in 2013. Sargsyan, who was forced to step down following the 2018 revolution, was charged in late 2019 and put on trial in early 2020. He denied the charges while his party, the Republican Party, decried them as politically motivated. Even if found guilty, Sargsyan would not have faced imprisonment because of an expiring statute of limitations. ‘It’s not like

Photo collage by Marine Danielyan/CivilNet.

Armenia

Roses and Velvet: a contested legacy of revolution

by Shota Kincha

•9 min read

This year marks 20 years since Georgia’s Rose Revolution, and five since the Velvet Revolution in Armenia. Both were born of a desire to end corruption and build a democratic future; their successes and failures, though, have remained a matter for debate. ‘Come out all of you who think that the building and development of the modern Georgian state started this day’. This was the call of the organisers of gatherings in Tbilisi and Batumi last November to commemorate the anniversary of the 2003

Protesters in Yerevan, during Armenia's Velvet Revolution in 2018. Photo: Mariam Nikuradze/OC Media

Analysis

Datablog | What do the ‘tragic consequences’ of colour revolutions actually look like?

by Givi Silagadze

•4 min read

While Russia regularly warns against the supposed negative consequences of ‘colour revolutions’, data from the Varieties of Democracy project suggests that anti-regime protests leading to changes of government in former Soviet countries have led to lower corruption, cleaner elections, and more vibrant civil society. Fearing unrest in their region, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and the Russian government often refer to the threat of ‘colour revolutions’ dislodging the existing government i

Armenia

Armenian parliament votes to remove three judges from Constitutional Court

by OC Media

•3 min read

Armenia’s parliament has passed a bill that will remove three judges from the Constitutional Court. The amendments will also remove Hrayr Tovmasyan, widely regarded as being close to the previous government, from his position as Chair. The bill, co-authored by several MPs from the ruling My Step faction, was put on the floor of the parliament in an extraordinary session on 22 June and was passed after two hearings. According to the bill, Hrayr Tovmasyan will be removed as Chair of the Consti

A campaign poster for Masis Mayilyan (left), with his slogan ‘Together we can’, and Arayik Harutyunyan (centre) with the slogan ‘Towards a prosperous future’. Photo: Mariam Sargsyan/OC Media.

2020 Nagorno-Karabakh Elections

Nagorno-Karabakh prepares for unprecedented elections

by Anahit Danielyan

•3 min read

Nagorno-Karabakh is getting ready for presidential and parliamentary elections to be held in two weeks time. Observers say the polls, the first major elections since Armenia’s ‘Velvet Revolution’ in 2018, will be unprecedented in their competitiveness. On 31 March, for the first time ever in Nagorno-Karabakh, parliamentary and presidential elections will be held on the same day — a result of the new constitution adopted in 2017. A representative of the Agency of the State Register of Legal E

Armenia

Video | Year two of the Armenian revolution

by Peter Liakhov

•0 min read

A year of growing struggle over the meaning and legacy of the Velvet Revolution. OC Media editor Peter Liakhov looks back at the biggest developments in Armenia in 2019