By Tigran Grigoryan The recent meeting between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Russian President Vladimir Putin exposed a widening gap between Yerevan and Moscow over the future of their relationship. Russia continues to view Armenia through the lens of a traditional security alliance, while Yerevan increasingly sees that model as outdated and is seeking […]
By Hayk Khanumyan #DemocracyWatch – Following the 2018 Velvet Revolution, law-enforcement agencies increasingly appeared to act on Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s metaphorical and often confrontational political rhetoric. In 2018–2019, statements such as “laying someone on the asphalt” and “throwing them against the walls” were followed by highly publicized arrests and displays of force against former officials’ bodyguards […]
By Hayk Khanumyan Armenia’s government stated in its 2026–2031 five-year action plan, under the section “Ensuring Equal Opportunities,” that it will “continue the housing provision program for 10,000 families displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh.” This raises a straightforward question: does the government’s target cover the actual housing needs of the forcibly displaced population? To answer it, we […]
The Regional Center for Democracy and Security (RCDS) has published a new report by Louis-Mathieu Tartinville and Eduard Arakelyan, Towards an Asymmetric Defense Model: Building a Layered Drone Capability in Armenia. The report examines Armenia’s military transformation and argues that, given the country’s structural disadvantage vis-à-vis Azerbaijan, conventional military parity is neither realistic nor sustainable. […]
By Tigran Grigoryan #DemocracyWatch – Armenia’s newly re-elected government introduced “spiritual security” as a new policy priority, framing reform of the Armenian Apostolic Church as a national security issue. The agenda is included in its draft five-year action plan, published on August 20, and goes as far as envisaging the removal of Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin […]
By Eduard Arakelyan The issue of a new uniform for the Armed Forces of Armenia has been under discussion for several years now. A detailed analysis of the protracted process was published in October 2025, optimistically suggesting that the transition to a new uniform would not take place before the fall of 2026 or early […]
By Hayk Khanumyan According to official statistics from Nagorno-Karabakh, as of the pre-war period in 2019, the number of people of working age in Nagorno-Karabakh exceeded 105,000. The working-age population included people aged 16–63. The economically active population—the number of employed people and those seeking employment—was approximately 72,000. The distribution of the labour force across […]
By Eduard Araqelyan A recent Hetq publication, based on the testimony of a participant in a 25-day military training exercise, has once again brought long-standing problems within the Armenian Armed Forces into the public spotlight. The significance of the article lies not so much in its description of conditions at a single combat position, but […]
By Eduard Arakelyan The Iranian government has approved a bill on the ratification of the 2018 Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea and submitted it to parliament. The bill was approved under an “urgent procedure,” meaning it will undergo expedited review in the relevant parliamentary committees. In addition, an upcoming Caspian summit […]
