On October 17, 2021, Armenians in several villages, towns and cities headed to the polls to vote in local elections. In a major blow, the ruling Civil Contract party of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was defeated in Armenia’s second largest city of Gyumri, as well as in Goris in the southern region of Syunik. The ruling party did however secure victories in Dilijan, Tegh and Tatev.
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Can Armenia emerge as a transport and transit powerhouse?
In this episode of the Civilnet podcast, host Patrick Elliott interviews Hovsep Patvakanyan, Head of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s Investment Council for Armenia. They discuss the council’s vision for transforming Armenia into a regional trade and logistics hub through strategic investments and support for reforms. Patvakanyan shares insights into the challenges facing Armenia as a landlocked country and how the organization plans to help overcome obstacles to unlock greater prosperity.
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Putin’s economic war on Armenia
This week’s episode of Insights discusses three major events impacting Armenia – the recent launching of the country’s first satellite, the vulnerabilities exposed by the country’s economic dependence on Russia, and reflections on the passing of Henry Kissinger. Host Eric Hacopian analyzes the opportunities and strategic insights provided by each development, from advances in STEM fields to lessons for diversifying partnerships and balancing geopolitical influences.
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Toward a generational handover in Armenian studies
If there is one symptom of Armenia’s military defeat in the autumn of 2020, it is unquestionably this cognitive collapse: the revelation of a deep-seated crisis in political thinking characterised by an absence of a critical sense, an inability to decipher reality, or simply to accept it. Strange as it may seem, the elites of Armenia, a country at war since its independence, have failed to develop an original military doctrine or to lay the foundations for strategic thinking capable of anticipating geopolitical changes in its direct and indirect regional environment. Historiography is still strongly influenced by a national catechism […]
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Letter from Instanbul: Turkish Republic of Impunity
By Rober Koptaş Last month, just days after Hrant Dink’s murderer was released, leaving a significant wound in the public’s collective consciousness just sixteen years after the murder, a news story was published in the international press. According to the report, Russian President Vladimir Putin had pardoned Sergei Khadzhikurbanov, found guilty in the 2006 murder of Novaya Gazeta journalist Anna Politkovskaya, due to his involvement in fighting in Ukraine. Khadzhikurbanov, sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2014 for his role in organizing the murder of Politkovskaya, who was shot dead in the elevator of her Moscow apartment in 2006, […]
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AND IN OTHER NEWS: Aliyev Rides High on the Wave
November has seen President Aliyev of Azerbaijan riding high on a wave of victory after his complete ethnic cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh. Whereas in past years, there was an attempt to maintain plausible deniability that it, Azerbaijan, had been the one to instigate the attacks, as the non-use of force was stipulated by UN resolutions, the mask has come completely off now as Aliyev outright brags about having used force. This bragging came during a victory speech Aliyev made to the empty streets of Stepanakert, held on the third anniversary of the end of the 44 Day War. It was a […]
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Armenian opposition mayor ousted: ‘Is this what Pashinyan’s democracy looks
By Mark Dovich Local lawmakers from the Civil Contract party have ousted a prominent opposition mayor in Armenia, the latest in a string of instances where the ruling party has appeared to obstruct or undermine the democratic process after elections produced results favoring its opponents. Mayor Arkadi Tamazyan, a member of the Country for Living party who led the northern Armenian mining town of Alaverdi for just over a year, was brought down Tuesday in a vote of no confidence put forward by Civil Contract city councilors. Council members then moved immediately to install Davit Ghumashyan, a Civil Contract member, […]
