May 8, 2026
from Shirak State University (SSU) 168.amAccording to the information received, another shameful incident was registered at the Faculty of Humanities of the University.
About two weeks ago, two students of the history department beat each other with mutual curses, but the rector Yervand Serobyan and the acting dean of the faculty Aida Gareginyan are silent about it.
The amazing thing is that there are cameras installed all over the university and they are trying to cover up this scandal like they did in 2025. at the end of December, the open shameful fight and insults of other students of the history department that took place in the territory of the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.
According to our information, the last fight took place during the examination of the “Armenian History” course, and the fight was heated in his office by the Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Levon Martirosyan, whose wife teaches the above-mentioned course.
It should be noted that in that case the rector reprimanded the students, met with the students’ parents, but was very concerned that the name of his friend Levon Martirosyan should not be circulated.
However, the new fight that took place a few days ago proves again that Aida Gareginyan, the wife of the former NSS officer, whose faculty also includes the Department of History, is unable to control the situation and is only busy collecting rents.
The university is worried that this situation could have tragic consequences, because the management of the faculty has been in crisis for 4 years, and the acting dean, whose friend has a high position in the law enforcement system, is not in control of his powers, busy with petty intrigues and proud of his “super-martial fearsome” temperament.
There are persistent rumors about Aida Gareginyan’s main occupation, in addition to collecting fees, is to transfer this or that weak student to the system free of charge, to send abusive sms to the parents of one of the students, etc.
The rector “doesn’t see” all this, because Gareginyan is a member of the university’s board of trustees, surprisingly combining that position with the authority of the chairman of the faculty board, with the resulting consequences for him.
The university is worried about this level of discipline, which is not typical for a higher educational institution, they are worried that the laxity will bring the university to a new, irreversible milestone.
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168: From the Yerevan summit to the note of protest. Why is it deepening in Moscow and?
May 8, 2026
The 8th summit of the European Political Community (ECC) held in Yerevan on May 4 became the watershed that finally crystallized the systemic rift accumulated over the years in Armenian-Russian relations. Although the European vector adopted by official Yerevan was not new, the events that took place within the framework of this event, in particular the participation and speech of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, brought the tension of relations to a crisis point.
The most telling episode of this tension was the summons of the Armenian ambassador to the Russian Foreign Ministry and the note of protest presented to him. This is an extreme step in diplomatic practice, which proves that Moscow is no longer limited to public statements.
The ambassador’s summons means that the Kremlin describes Yerevan’s actions not as an ordinary disagreement, but as a direct and gross violation of alliance obligations, which requires an official record. Although, it should also be noted here that both the Armenian authorities and many representatives of the expert community state that Russia has not fulfilled its alliance obligations in many episodes, as a result of which the RA authorities have decided to change RA’s foreign policy, starting to reduce dependence on the Russian Federation.
The observations made by Maria Zakharova on May 7 completed this picture. He emphasized that Yerevan, providing a platform for Zelensky’s anti-Russian rhetoric, actually becomes part of the anti-Russian coalition of the West. For the Russian side, this is not just a manifestation of the “multi-vector” policy, but a demonstrative step against Russia’s vital interests in the territory of its ally.
It should be taken into account that all this is happening against the background of already existing deep grievances. Yerevan’s public questioning of the CSTO’s effectiveness, criticism of the role of Russian peacekeepers, and the ratification of the Rome Statute created an environment where trust was nullified.
The Yerevan summit simply tore the last diplomatic veil, showing that Armenia is going to change its strategic ally.
What can follow the ambassador’s call and similar harsh response? First of all, a new phase of “freezing” of bilateral relations is expected, where Russia can take some steps and apply pressure. Dissatisfaction presented to the ambassador can turn into concrete steps, which Russia often applies to countries that leave its “orbit”.
Armenia may face a serious challenge in the international arena. the strengthening of the European vector, which was so demonstratively implemented during the summit, will require security guarantees from the West.
However, if these guarantees are not adequate and timely, Armenia may find itself in a security zone where the old ally is already hostile, and the new partners are not ready to assume full responsibility.
And the hope of the RA authorities is the peace agenda. And, perhaps, it is no coincidence that in these processes, the RA authorities talk about established peace and consider the very fact of peace as a guarantee, because no western country will assume the role of guarantor of RA’s security in the event of Russia leaving the orbit.
The May 4 summit and the subsequent Russian diplomatic démarche in the form of an ambassador’s summons mark the end of the classical model of Armenian-Russian relations. This is no longer a disagreement, but an open geopolitical separation, where each side starts playing by its own rules. For Armenia, this means a transition to a high-risk zone, where political, economic and energy pressures from Russia are possible.
In case of possible economic and energy pressures from Moscow, the European Union, as a rule, offers a toolkit of “resilience enhancement”. First of all, this implies financial support and investment packages to mitigate the economic shock caused by the possible closure of the Russian market.
However, in the political and security sphere, the EU’s proposals are often limited to the expansion of “soft power” and observation missions, which means that in the event of an open confrontation with Moscow, the European “safety cushion” offered to Yerevan will have a mostly advisory nature.
In the short term, EU “resilience tools” have a rather limited and mainly psychological and financial “first aid” meaning. They cannot quickly replace the decades-old economic and energy circumstances.
Summing up, it should be noted that in the short term EU instruments provide some stability, but not security in all areas.
By the way, European analysts also recognize these circumstances, noting that this is a difficult path. Regardless of the various Western aids, Armenia will have to overcome the difficult transitional phase alone, remaining in a vulnerable state.
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RFE/RL – Armenian Election Campaign Officially Starts
- Astghik Bedevian
- Shoghik Galstian
Campaigning officially began in Armenia on Friday for the June 7 parliamentary elections which will extend or end Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s eight-year rule.
Seventeen political parties and two alliances are vying for over 100 seats in the Armenian parliament. The opposition alliances led by billionaire Samvel Karapetian and former President Robert Kocharian as well as Gagik Tsarukian’s Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) are widely regarded as the ruling Civil Contract party’s main challengers. Among other opposition contenders are former human rights ombudsman Arman Tatoyan’s Wings of Unity party, former President Levon Ter-Petrosian’s Armenian National Congress and Edmon Marukian’s Bright Armenia Party.
The elections will be held solely under the system of proportional representation. The parties will need to win at least 4 percent of the vote in order to be represented in the new parliament. The legal threshold for blocs is set at 8 percent.
Pashinian kicked off his party’s election campaign in the southeastern Syunik province, visiting several local towns and villages. As expected, the main theme of his messages to voters there was what he calls peace established between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
“We got the opportunity to live, we got the opportunity to be a state, and most importantly, we got the opportunity to pass that state on from generation to generation,” he said, speaking exactly eight years after becoming prime minister during the “velvet revolution” that toppled the country’s former leader, Serzh Sarkisian.
Pashinian’s political opponents portray his track record in power as disastrous. They say that Azerbaijan poses an existential threat to Armenia even after recapturing Nagorno-Karabakh in 2023 and clinching territorial and other concession from Yerevan. They claim that Pashinian will make further concessions to Baku if he again wins reelection.
“Almost nothing has changed [since 2018,] only our country has gotten smaller,” Karapetian’s nephew and right-hand man Narek said during his Strong Armenia bloc’s first campaign meeting held outside the parliament building in Yerevan.
The 60-year-old billionaire and philanthropist, who has made his fortune in Russian, is not allowed to physically attend campaign rallies because of being under house arrest on what he calls politically motivated charges brought against him almost a year ago. Narek Karapetian insisted that Strong Armenia is aiming for an election victory despite these “unequal conditions.”
The tycoon decided to enter politics following his controversial arrest in June last year. Under the Armenian constitution, he cannot become prime minister or even parliament deputy because of also having Russian and Cypriot citizenships. His bloc has pledged to remove this constitutional hurdle in case of defeating Pashinian’s party.
Senior Civil Contract members signaled earlier this year concerns that the three opposition forces could collectively win a majority in the next parliament and thus oust Pashinian. They said at the same time that the country’s leadership “will not allow” such an outcome, stoking media speculation that at least some of the opposition heavyweights could be disqualified from the race.
Although they all have been registered by the Central Election Commission, Armenian law allows the body headed by a Pashinian ally to ask courts to disqualify contenders accused by it of systematic vote buying or campaign financing irregularities. In recent weeks, dozens of Strong Armenia members and supporters have been detained on charges of bribing voters strongly denied by Karapetian’s bloc. The Anti-Corruption Committee (ACC) made several more such arrests on Thursday and Friday.
Pashinian’s political team itself is accused by various opposition groups of trying to buy votes with public money as well as through a private charity run by the premier’s wife, Anna Hakobian. No Civil Contract party member is known to have been prosecuted on corresponding charges.
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Owner Opposes Government Takeover Of Armenian Electric Utility
A representative of billionaire and opposition leader Samvel Karapetian said on Friday that he will reject a government offer to give up ownership of Armenia national electric utility at a symbolic price.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian called for the nationalization of the Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA) operator last June just hours after Karapetian was arrested on charges stemming from his strong criticism of Pashinian’s crackdown on the Armenian Apostolic Church.
Karapetian was also charged with tax evasion, fraud and money laundering following his subsequent decision to set up his own political group. It is now expected to be the main opposition contender in Armenia’s June 7 parliamentary elections. The tycoon, who was moved to house arrest in late December, rejects all the accusations as politically motivated.
The government forcibly took over ENA’s management in July, accusing its parent company owned by Karapetian’s Moscow-based business conglomerate, Tashir Group, of mismanaging the power distribution network. Tashir rejected the accusations, appealing to the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC).
Armenia’s Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC) formally revoked Tashir’s operating license on November 17. The decision meant that ENA can be nationalized if the two sides fail to agree within the next three months on its sale to another investor.
In a formal proposal submitted to Tashir on February 17, the government valued the utility employing thousands of people at just 23.3 billion drams ($62 million). According to a copy of the proposal obtained by RFE/RL’s Armenian Service last week, payment of that sum is conditional on Karapetian and his family returning about 23.2 billion drams in dividends from ENA profits paid to them over the past decade. The proposed deal would leave the tycoon with a net gain of 142 million drams ($380,000).
“Of course, we will not accept the proposal,” said Davit Ghazinian, who managed ENA until its seizure by the government. “What rational or sensible person would accept that proposal? On the contrary, the person making that proposal should be sent to an appropriate [psychiatric] specialist.”
Under Armenian law, Tashir has three months to formally reply to the government proposal. Citing this provision, Armenia’s Administrative Court banned the government recently from nationalizing ENA before May 25.
The government will have to compensate Tashir even in the likely event of the nationalization which Karapetian’s group will almost certainly challenge in court. Tashir is already seeking $500 million in damages for what it calls an illegal “expropriation” of Karapetian’s biggest asset in Armenia.
The Stockholm arbitration body ordered the Armenian authorities last summer to refrain from seizing ENA, changing ENA’s top management or revoking Tashir’s operating license pending a verdict in the case. The authorities ignored the order.
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Kocharian Blasts Pashinian’s ‘New Adventure’
- Robert Zargarian
Former President Robert Kocharian accused Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian of drawing Armenia into a new geopolitical “adventure” fraught with severe consequences for the country as he kicked off his Hayastan alliance’s election campaign on Friday.
Echoing criticism voiced by Russian officials, Kocharian deplored “provocative statements” made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other foreign leaders during two European summits hosted by Pashinian’s government earlier this week.
“They are trying to drag us into a new adventure again,” he told a campaign rally held in the town of Vagharshapat. “Are they doing this to please [French President Emmanuel] Macron, or are there deeper reasons?”
“There are two reasons,” he went on. “First, they [the Armenian authorities] have nothing to say because they have not fulfilled any of their promises and have come up with that threat of war with which they need to convince our people to get reelected. And second, they are dragging us into a new adventure … so that the Europeans turn a blind eye to everything that is happening in Armenia today.”
Armenian opposition leaders have for years accused the West of turning a blind eye to what they see as Pashinian’s crackdowns on dissent for geopolitical reasons. They view this week’s European Political Community and EU-Armenia summits in Yerevan as a show of support for Pashinian ahead of the June 7 general elections.
Macron openly endorsed Pashinian during his trip to Armenia. He repeatedly praised the Armenian premier’s efforts to reorient the South Caucasus nation, traditionally allied to Russia, towards the West.
The Russian Foreign Ministry on Thursday accused the Armenian government of siding with the European Union against Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin warned last month of a heavy cost of that policy, pointing to Armenia’s dependence on Russia for trade and energy.
Kocharian’s Hayastan bloc is widely regarded as one of the three leading opposition groups challenging Pashinian’s Civil Contract party. Pashinian has repeatedly branded them as a “three-headed party of war” keen to reignite Armenia’s conflict with Azerbaijan. Opposition leaders say he is resorting to scaremongering in a desperate bid to avoid losing power.
“We strive for peace, but peace must be guaranteed. This is not peace,” Kocharian, dismissing Pashinian’s regular assertions that the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict has already been resolved.
A lasting peace can only be based on a “a strong army, a strong leader and ally,” added the 71-year-old ex-president who had ruled Armenia from 1998-2008.
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RFE/RL – Armenian Opposition Youths ‘Bullied’ Ahead Of Elections
- Narine Ghalechian
An opposition party led by Armenia’s former human rights ombudsman Arman Tatoyan has accused authorities in the Armavir province of harassing local young activists involved in its parliamentary election campaign.
Tatoyan told the Aravot newspaper earlier this week that the activists and their parents received threats after attending a recent meeting with him in the provincial capital of the same name. He claimed that local authorities controlled by the ruling Civil Contract party identified them after studying pictures of the meeting posted on social media.
“They went to people’s homes to intimidate them,” said Tatoyan. “Some were threatened with dismissal, others with a cut in their pay and so on. These are concrete examples that show that there is a government in the country that is afraid of the people.”
Tatoyan echoed claims made last month by Levon Chukalian, another senior member of his Wings Of Unity party, a major opposition contender in the June 7 parliamentary elections.
“Their photos were sent to their colleges, their parents’ places of work, and there were attempts to intimidate them through their relatives,” Chukalian said at a news conference. “One of the young people said that he will not be able to participate in future [Wings of Unity] events.”
One of the opposition youths spoke with RFE/RL’s Armenian Service on the condition of anonymity. She said that following the meeting with Tatoyan an unknown man phoned her father, a civil servant, and threatened to have the latter fired.
“Through educational institutions and parents, they have warned not just me but also all other [Wings of Unity] volunteers,” she said.
“We keep volunteering and supporting [the party] very actively. We just don’t do that publicly and avoid cameras,” added the young woman.
Vahram Khachatrian, the Armavir governor leading the provincial branch of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s Civil Contract party, flatly denied the allegations.
“If they know the names, know who they are, let them say it, I will make sure that such things don’t happen,” he told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. “But I’m sure they didn’t happen. In my opinion it’s a lie.”
Armenia’s Investigative Committee said, meanwhile, that it cannot investigate the allegations in the absence of a formal complaint from Tatoyan’s party or its individual activists.
This and another law-enforcement agency, the Anti-Corruption Committee, have arrested in recent months scores of opposition members and supporters on charges of vote-buying and other election-related offenses. No members of Pashinian’s party are known to have been prosecuted in the run-up to next month’s elections.
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One of the most fundamental conflicts in the pursuit of peace is the power of the military, which
May 8, 2026
We must strive for peace, but one of the most fundamental factors in striving for peace is the power of the army, the military power, which I consider not a factor of war, but a factor of peace.
It was written by Levon Ter-Petrosyan, the first president of RA.
Let’s remind that today in Armenia is celebrated the Day of Earth Guard. In these days of 1992, the Shushi liberation operation took place.
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Thank God, we have an independent state, the choice should come from us, not others
May 8, 2026
The authorities want to turn the parliamentary elections into a choice between foreign powers. At the start of the pre-election campaign in Goshavank, Arman Tatoyan, the prime ministerial candidate of the Wings of Unity party, former RA human rights defender, announced this.
According to him, no matter how much they try to convince the people that a choice should be made between the West and Russia, it is still the case that Armenia’s interests should be chosen.
“All their theses are that Armenia has no other choice. the people should look at which foreign power supports which party, and we say that the important thing is not what others want, but what we want,” he said.
Tatoyan emphasized that Nikol Pashinyan, who promotes the thesis of a choice between the West and Russia, actually enjoys the support of Azerbaijan. He added that Pashinyan did his best to turn the summit of the European Political Community into a tool of his propaganda.
“However, Armenia did not get anything from that summit, neither in visa liberalization, nor in the security system, nor in matters of investment and trade. The problem is that the Armenian authorities simply do not promote national interests,” Tatoyan said.
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“Through the former president of Artsakh, Pashinyan conveyed that the Armenians of Artsakh should separate
May 8, 2026
Various representatives of the government, including Nikol Pashinyan, continue to announce from the high podium of the National Assembly that “Artsakh is not Armenian”, “they will not continue the Karabakh movement”, etc.
Yesterday, NA Vice President Ruben Rubinyan announced from the NA podium that “Artsakh is not Armenian after September 19, 2023, when Artsakh Armenians left Artsakh.” He is referring to when the Armenians of Artsakh were forcibly displaced from their homeland under the threat of Azeri genocidal actions. In this context, however, Ruben Rubinyan did not talk about the fact that before 2023, on October 6, 2022, Nikol Pashinyan recognized Artsakh as part of Azerbaijan in Prague.
Metaxe Hakobyan, deputy of Artsakh NA “Justice” faction According to him, Ruben Rubinyan is lying precisely because he contradicts the statements of his political leader and members of his political team.
“Alen Simonyan and Nikol Pashinyan made other statements, probably Ruben Rubinyan has lost his memory, he does not remember his leader’s statement regarding Artsakh itself, when he said that there is no option, Artsakh Armenians should accept Azerbaijani citizenship.
From the beginning, they were forming their agenda at least on the basis of the statement made in Prague on October 6, 2022. Through the former president of Artsakh, Nikol Pashinyan conveyed to us that the Armenians of Artsakh have no choice but to accept Azerbaijani citizenship.” of 168.am Metakse Hakobyan said in a conversation with
According to him, taking into account all the listed circumstances, at this pre-election stage the government is trying to remove the responsibility from itself and put all the responsibility on the government of Artsakh and the Armenians of Artsakh in general, as well as on the PB.
“I repeat, Ruben Rubinyan is lying, because from the beginning they adopted that “course” that the Armenians of Artsakh should integrate with Azerbaijan and get Azerbaijani citizenship, the rest is to forget, not to talk about their crimes. They know very well that their leader committed the greatest crime of the century on October 6, 2022, denying the Armenianness of Artsakh. At least let them keep quiet until they face the responsibility before the law, the criminal group will have to answer before the law. Yes, they handed over Artsakh,” added Metaxe Hakobyan.
According to his observation, no government is eternal, including Nikol Pashinyan’s government, national governments have always been eternal, but treacherous governments have not.
“The longer the reign of the treacherous government, the greater the punishment, because they continue to commit crimes as long as they are able to avoid punishment, because they are in power today and have paralyzed the entire law enforcement system.
But at some point, they will cease to be in power and will definitely be responsible before the law for all crimes,” emphasized Metaxe Hakobyan.
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“Heydar Aliyev once announced: “Forget Artsakh, Shushi is no longer ours.
May 8, 2026
On May 8, 1992, the city of Shushi of the Republic of Artsakh was liberated after a long period of Azerbaijani occupation.
Although years later it was again under the occupation of Azerbaijan Mayor of Shushi Artsvik Sargsyan it is certain that one day the Armenian city will be liberated again.
He considers what happened 34 years ago to be one of the brilliant pages in the history of Artsakh’s liberation struggle and the history of the Armenian people in general.
“Without the liberation of Shushi, it was not possible to keep Artsakh, and everyone understood this at that time. At that time, Azerbaijanis were bombarding the capital Stepanakert, including Askeran, Karin Tak, from Shushi. In addition, Shushi had to be liberated in order to open the way with Armenia so that the connection would always be there.
Shushi is another symbol in the lives of all of us, it is not for nothing that it is said that whoever controls Shushi, he will also cut off the whole of Artsakh. Shushi is the heart of Artsakh, and it is not for nothing that Artsakh’s victories began with the liberation of Shushi.” 168.amArtsvik Minasyan said in a conversation with
The mayor of Shushi remembers: the preparations for the liberation of Shushi and the whole process seemed to turn into a holiday, because everyone thought that they were going not to war, but to victory.
“The interesting thing is that everyone wanted to participate in the liberation, everyone had their money, everyone had the same goal: the liberation of Shushi. There was the realization that everything depends on the liberation of Shushi. If it was not liberated, then Artsakh would be lost, that’s why everyone went together and registered a victory,” added Artsvik Sargsyan.
Continuing, our interlocutor reminded that the foundation for the liberation of Shushi was laid on January 26, 1992 with the heroic battle of Karin Tak, in which he personally participated. The battle lasted 12 hours, the enemy gave 201 victims and fled in panic, leaving half of the bodies in the valley.
“It was with this battle that Azerbaijan understood that the back of its army was broken, their regular army was depressed. If Shushi and Karin Tak were not released, they would enter Hadrut and other places. Since then, Azerbaijan has named Karin Tak “Bloody Gorge”.
For 30 years, Azerbaijan said that it will capture Shush again, if the Armenian side organizes everything correctly, if they don’t say: forget Artsakh, Artsakh does not exist, then we will be able to liberate both Shush and all of Artsakh again.
Heydar Aliyev used to announce in their Mejlis that “forget it, Artsakh is no longer ours, Shushi is not ours”, but the people organized against his will. We have Artsakh, we have Shushi, cemeteries, sanctuaries, for the sake of all this, even after years, we must achieve what we want, because that land will not forgive us.
I congratulate all the participants in the liberation of Shushi, who feel our Trinity and keep it in their hearts. I bow to the graves of all the victims and to all those who liberated Shush and live next to us today,” stressed Artsvik Sargsyan.
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