By Tatev Baghdasaryan A week ago, it was reported that last month, Yerevan Mayor Tigran Avinyan took off on a week-long official visit to Los Angeles, USA, accompanied by a delegation of nine people. To organize the trip, the Yerevan Municipality signed a direct, non-competitive procurement contract worth around USD 31,800 with Luxury Voyage LLC. The expenses included eight […]
By Tatev Baghdasaryan Alexander Sirunyan, the ruling party’s nominee for a non-judge position on the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), has recently become one of the most controversial figures in Armenian public life. His nomination has sparked widespread criticism and raised serious concerns about the potential impact on the independence and integrity of the judiciary. The […]
By Tigran Grigoryan and Tatev Baghdasaryan Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s government has faced a wave of resignations over the past two weeks, with several ministers and officials stepping down and some positions already filled. However, the circumstances surrounding these resignations have ignited controversy and raised serious constitutional concerns. In an interview with Public Television on […]
By Karena Avedissian When Donald Trump won the presidential election in 2016, I was devastated––I didn’t get out of bed for two days, so unfathomable was the idea that an autocratic-minded serial sexual assaulter would be leading the U.S. After this election, however, despite the specter of harsher right-wing policies, accelerated dismantling of democratic institutions, […]
By Karena Avedissian The discourse around Armenian refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh in Armenia following the region’s ethnic cleansing by Azerbaijan in September 2023 highlights the troubling tendency for vulnerable refugee populations to be politicized. The plight of these refugees—marginalized by virtue of their displacement—has been overshadowed by how various actors in Armenia, from government officials to […]
By Tigran Grigoryan and Karena Avedissian Last week, an incident in Armenia’s National Assembly overshadowed proceedings when a heated exchange erupted between Argishti Kyaramyan, head of the Investigative Committee, and Hovik Aghazaryan, a ruling party MP. The altercation began during Kyaramyan’s speech when an individual sitting at the ruling party’s benches heckled him. Kyaramyan responded directly to […]
By Tatev Baghdasaryan and Karena Avedissian Recent concerns surrounding Taron Chakhoyan, Deputy Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister, have sparked debate over his compliance with the Armenian Code of Public Service. The issues primarily relate to his social media activity and alleged ties to media outlets affiliated to the ruling party. The position of Deputy […]
By Tigran Grigoryan This month, Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan attempted to reinvigorate his Tavush for Homeland movement with a rally in Yerevan’s Republic Square. Galstanyan had launched the movement in April, initially to protest the government’s approach to delimitation with Azerbaijan, and later to demand Prime Minister Pashinyan’s resignation. However, the rally signaled the movement’s decline. It […]
By Tigran Grigoryan and Karena Avedissian On September 19, the Constitutional Reform Council debated and ultimately rejected a proposal by the Union of Informed Citizens (UIC) to remove the constitutional provision that guarantees a stable majority in parliament before the 2026 elections. This provision, a central issue in discussions on electoral reforms, ensures a parliamentary […]
