A homeless man sleeps on a bench in the centre of Yerevan. There are currently around 400 homeless people in Yerevan, with three-quarters of them living on the streets. (Armine Avetisyan/OC Media)
Yerevan’s homeless population comes from all over Armenia and beyond, but they all have ended up in the same place. There is one shelter in the city, with a capacity of 100, but it is not enough to house the hundreds living on Yerevan’s streets. [Read more…]
Javid Agha is an Ankara-based writer and social media observer focusing on Armenia and Azerbaijan, whose writing has been featured across the web including on the BBC. He is editor of Azerbaijani art and culture platform, VarYox.
In Azerbaijan, as in Armenia, remembrance of the victims of past atrocities often takes on a one-sided nature. Despite attempts to twist and politicise such events to serve nationalist causes, a more compassionate approach is needed to move forward, and a remembrance that above all, innocent victims are always sacred.
Having swept to power in a landslide electoral victory, the new government of revolutionary leader Nikol Pashinyan is now laying out its vision for a ‘New Armenia’ — with ambitious plans for peace and reform.
Maria Karapetyan (Anahit of Erebuni)
As more and more women choose to enter politics in revolutionary ‘New Armenia’, a debate is raging within the country’s feminist circles: how best to transform Armenia's patriarchal systems — from within or without. [Read more…]
Gyumri, Armenia (Armine Avetisyan/OC Media)
Almost a million Armenians live below the national poverty, around a third of the country. For over two decades successive governments have promised— and failed — to tackle poverty; following the Velvet Revolution, Pashinyan’s government has promised the same. [Read more…]
(Armine Avetisyan /OC Media)
Sex is a taboo topic in Armenia, and as such, many children turn to the internet for answers about this and other intimate topics. While schools have introduced basic lessons on living a ‘healthy lifestyle’ that touch on the topic, most experts agree they are not fit for purpose. [Read more…]
Candidate of Yerevan Mayor Hayk Marutyan and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan (/Facebook)
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s My Step bloc has won a landslide in Yerevan’s City Council elections, with their candidate, Hayk Marutyan, set to become the capital’s new mayor. According to preliminary results from the Central Elections Commission, the group won 81% of votes in Sunday’s snap election. [Read more…]
Police in Armenia raided the offices of local news site Yerevan.Today on Monday morning, according to local media. The search, which was still ongoing Monday afternoon, was related to recordings of phone conversations between two top security chiefs leaked online last week. [Read more…]
Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze and German Chancellor Angela Merkel (Facebook)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has concluded a three-day long tour to the South Caucasus. During her trip Merkel faced questions about Georgia’s Western ambitions, her position on the region’s conflicts, and human rights abuses in Azerbaijan, and also suggested Georgians may soon be able to work in Germany. [Read more…]
Protesters storm the Erebuni Plaza business centre chanting ‘murderer’ (RFE/RL)
The former President of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan, was released on bail on Monday after an appeal court ruled his detention was unlawful. Kocharyan was forced to cancel a press conference on Tuesday after protesters chanting ‘murderer’ stormed the venue. [Read more…]
