In the pre-election period, there is everything and a lot, except honesty and truth. With increasing pathos, honesty fades, truth becomes obscenely absent.

Everyone wins in the race of dishonesty and untruth, from the government to the opposition. The loser, as always, is the society, and the account of the defeat, as always, is closed at the expense of the state, already at the expense of the crumbs left from the state.

The death of honesty towards people these days takes place in the interval between the confidence of the authorities to win a crushing victory and the opposition’s promises to give the government an equally crushing defeat.

The impossibility of simultaneous fulfillment of both promises forces ordinary people to be honest at least about their disgust with politics, which, while honest, is an irresponsible and anti-civic position. In the sense of leaving the state to the ravages of those who settled accounts with honesty.

And the problem isn’t just the perverse dose of dishonesty with ordinary people that pours from the lips of politicians and other technological outlets. Most of those people are self-deluded and believe that the lyricism of their speeches and the rabbi’s attempt to appear national will lead the government to self-defeat.

That is, many are dishonest not out of spite, but out of public dishonesty sublimated from being dishonest with oneself. But that is no excuse, because insanity cannot be sold as a mitigating circumstance in politics. Although also sold due to dishonesty of policy buyers.

But whatever the motivation, dishonest politics with promises to save the country is not a particularly manly occupation. And there is only one chance to stop the already unstoppable course of dishonesty, which all oppositions, individually and collectively, can turn to.

Many parties are participating in the elections, but the main contenders, excluding the CP, are three or four. Everyone declares that they are participating in the elections to remove the CP from power, adding in parallel, quite rightly, that otherwise Armenia is doomed to guaranteed destruction.

No nominal problem with integrity so far. But it can be honest with honesty only if all the members of the lists of all the opposition forces, without exception, publicly sign a statement that if KP and Nikol Pashinyan are not removed from power after the elections, all of them, without exception, will not take the parliamentary mandates, but the necessary supplies to stay on the street until the unconditional change of power, which will fit in a conditional backpack.

Only then, instead of leaving the state to the oppressors of the truth every day, the society can go after those who will demonstrate in practice that their goal is not the mandate, but to deprive the CP of its mandate.

Otherwise, people will pack not their backpacks, but their emigration suitcases to leave for places where there is no more honesty, but at least the cheaters are not their own relatives. And at the expense of saving the cheated, they don’t try to fit into the folds of the government, against which they organize performances to fight, especially before the elections.

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“Today the news spread that Ararat Mirzoyan, representing the RA Foreign Minister, met with the EU Commissioner for Foreign Affairs Kaya Callas in Brussels. Armen Ashotyan, Vice President of RPA, wrote on his Facebook page, giving details,- According to my habit, I tried to find and familiarize myself with the message of the Europeans parallel to the message of the Armenian side.

However, all my efforts were in vain. There was no mention of such a meeting on the official website of the European External Action Service. Moreover, there was no information, mention, record, note, even photo about that meeting on the pages of the Service and Callas social platforms: X, Insta, FB.

Such a thing happens in one case, when the meeting in question is so secondary for Europeans that it does not even deserve a ceremonial photo or 280 Twitter characters.

This is the real attitude of the EU towards the current rulers of Armenia.

#Republicans #PoliticalPrisoners #dictatorship #freedom #EEAS»:

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The government’s plan for 2021-2026 is presented in the National Assembly. the report on the progress and results of the 2025 implementation of the activity plan. At first glance, the same problem as last year is noticeable. In the report, the indicators of 2025 are again compared with 2017.

Meanwhile, logic dictates that the reporting year should be compared not with the distant past, but with the targets set in the program approved by the given government. In other words, to assess whether the government fulfilled its promises or simply tried to “look good” through comparisons.

In addition, the report contains a number of controversial and questionable wordings. Let’s consider two of them.

Observation N.1

Page 2 of the report states: “In 2025, a high economic growth (7.2%) was recorded, as a result of which in 2021-2025 The average annual GDP growth was 7.9%)”։

The numerical indicators are impressive at first glance, but here the most important point has been clearly overlooked. In recent years, economic growth has been largely determined by external factors. We are talking, in particular, about the large inflow of capital and human resources to Armenia as a result of the Russian-Ukrainian war, as well as the sharp increase in re-exports. It is no coincidence that in 2022-2023 the highest growth rates were recorded, a significant part of which (up to 6 percentage points), according to various estimates, was formed precisely at the expense of these endogenous influences. It is important to record this because the government’s plan stipulated that the minimum level of average annual GDP growth should be 7%, and in the case of a favorable external environment – 9%.

In other words, under the favorable conditions that have actually been formed, which continue to this day, the government should have ensured a higher result. But even against this background 9% growth was not achieved. This is an example of missed opportunities.

These “nicely packaged” statistics are especially remarkable in the context of foreign policy. Recently, there has been an obvious tension between the current government and the Russian authorities, as evidenced by the recent meeting between Nikol Pashinyan and Vladimir Putin. At the meeting, the Russian side made clear statements about what Armenia has gained by joining the EAEU, and what will happen if Armenia drastically changes its foreign policy vector towards Europe. This circumstance is essential. the economic growth of the last years was formed in the very environment in which today the government is trying to revise its policy. In other words, by boasting about economic indicators, the basis of those same results is at risk. Abrupt changes in foreign policy can change the rules of the game very quickly, and in that case it will become clear very quickly whether it was a question of permanent gains or temporary favorable circumstances.

Observation N.2

The picture presented in terms of tax revenues is equally telling. Page 2 of the report states: “In general, tax revenues and state duties amounted to 2 trillion 725.2 billion AMD, ensuring 100.3% implementation of the specified program and an improvement of 7.6 percentage points compared to the previous year. In 2025, tax revenues of the state budget and state duties have registered an increase of about 14% compared to the previous year, or an additional income of 334.3 billion AMD”:

The indicators are also presented here as an achievement, but the real picture is different. Actually, in 2025 the “overperformance” of tax revenues was only 0.3%, while the economic growth, 7.2%, significantly exceeded the budgeted 5.1%. In other words, the economy grew faster than expected, but this growth did not adequately translate into budget revenues. As a result, in 2025 the tax/GDP ratio was 24.1%, 0.9 percentage points lower than the program target.

This is already a clear signal that high economic activity was not accompanied by an adequate efficiency of tax administration. More simply, the government could not “take” what the economy gave. That is why the presented “outperformance” is actually rather a technical result due to an incorrectly forecasted base than management efficiency. Furthermore, these data also cast doubt on the feasibility of the program’s key target of raising the tax/GDP ratio to 25% by 2026. When it is 24.1% in 2025, and time is limited, it is difficult to talk about the realism of such a leap improvement.

In general, it is obvious that an attempt was made in the report to present as “rosy” a picture as possible. However, even with that approach, it was not possible to hide the main problem. under favorable external conditions, the government not only did not reach the highest benchmark set by itself, but also did not even provide the corresponding “return” to the budget in the form of tax revenues. Such a selective presentation of indicators is already difficult to perceive as a method of pure accountability. It is more likely that we are dealing with a propaganda package being formed ahead of the parliamentary elections on June 7, where the numbers are not analyzed, but “arranged” based on political expediency.

To be continued…

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The hearing in the case of Samvel Karapetyan, chairman of the “Strong Armenia” party, started today at the Anti-Corruption Court. The judge presiding over the session is Vahe Dolmazyan.

At the beginning of the court session, Karapetyan’s legal team submitted a motion to hold the court session without video recording and live broadcasting. The court granted the motion.

“I have Russian and Cypriot passports, regarding which the process has started. I am a citizen of the Republic of Armenia. Since I am now the chairman of the “Strong Armenia” party and we will participate in the elections and we are sure that we will win, I will give up those passports.

Yes, I will renounce Russian and Cypriot citizenship. My education is higher, I have a doctorate in economics. I have not been convicted before.

Yes, I work, I work as the chairman of the “Strong Armenia” party, I had another job before I was arrested, I live in Yerevan, I am registered in the city of Tashir. I have not received the indictment,” said Samvel Karapetyan.

Addressing Judge Dolmazyan, Samvel Karapetyan said that Arshak Vardanyan brought a stack of papers with him, but he does not consider it an indictment.

“The accusers, those who gave them orders, have more to do with that pile of paper than I do. I said: I got it from Arshak Vardanyan, I didn’t get it from the accusers, if you consider that I got it, then I did,” said Samvel Karapetyan.

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The first hearing of the criminal case against Samvel Karapetyan is underway in the Anti-Corruption Court.

His supporters are in the court yard.

Chairman of the “United Armenians” party, Nairi Sargsyan, speaking about the expectations, mentioned that it is necessary to achieve the final victory by combining forces.

“We have repeatedly stated that we have pursued the short-term priority goal of removing the number one obstacle to Armenia’s development on June 30. Nikol Pashinyan’s justice should be treated the way they treat the country, the Armenian people and the judicial bodies, that is, with fingers crossed.”

He added that justice and the period of Nikol Pashinyan have no relation to each other. “The 3 member parties of the alliance have set a new congress, and, I think, mergers are still possible.”

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“I was detained to protect the Armenian identity, to protect the church. I want the prosecutor, Dallakyan, to participate in these court sessions, and as a boy from Lorraine, to be guided by his conscience,” said Samvel Karapetyan in court, referring to the reasons for the criminal proceedings initiated against him.

At today’s court session, Samvel Karapetyan’s defense attorneys petitioned to change Samvel Karapetyan’s restraining order. The judge decided to discuss the matter in order of priority.

The prosecuting prosecutor requested to extend the detention for 3 months, justifying that there are persons on whom Samvel Karapetyan can influence.

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Samvel Karapetyan has already started the process of renouncing the citizenships of both countries, Mamikon Aslanyan, a member of the “Strong Armenia” party, said this in the court yard.

“Samvel Karapetyan considers serving the RA as a priority interest and continues the course of changes that he will bring with him. Every time we come to the court, we think that we should come early, there is a place for a car or a place to stand, but contrary to what we think, we come and see that there is a huge crowd, big traffic jams that reach kilometers.

This proves that although our rival, the Ahoyan, is a genius in a negative sense, it is so in history. the greater the impact, the more the resistance will increase like a spring.”

To remind, the first court hearing in the criminal case against Samvel Karapetyan is going on in the Anti-Corruption Court, his supporters are in the court yard.

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Government 2021-2026 The report on the progress and results of the 2025 implementation of the action plan, to put it mildly, raises more questions than it answers, especially with regard to records related to unemployment and poverty.

On page 23 of the report, it is written about unemployment. “The unemployment rate was 11.8% in the third quarter of 2025, compared to 13.3% in the same quarter of 2024 and 16.4% in 2017.“. However, the full picture is not presented here. We are talking about a quarterly indicator.  2025 annual data have not yet been published. And the last available annual indicator refers to 2024, when the unemployment rate was 13.4% in 2023. 1.0 percentage point more than the indicator, that is, instead of decreasing, it increased. It turns out that, despite the recorded economic growth, the unemployment rate has increased in 2024.

According to the target set by the government’s plan (page 22), the unemployment rate by 2026 should be below 10%. However, existing trends already suggest that this target will not be achieved. It is practically impossible to reduce the unemployment rate by 3.4 percentage points within two years, because even in the years of high economic growth, such rate of reduction was not recorded. Such was the case, for example, in 2022-2023. the period when the largest decrease in the unemployment rate in conditions of high economic growth was 3.1 percentage points.

The picture regarding poverty is no less problematic. On page 63 of the report there is the following record. “The poverty rate continued to decrease, from 25.7% in 2017 to 21.7% in 2024, and extreme poverty from 1.4% to 0.6%.”. However, the most important thing was bypassed here: the government’s 2021-2026. comparison with program targets. Meanwhile, by 2026, it is planned to to halve the level of poverty (p. 21), and to completely eliminate extreme poverty (p. 67).

When you put the numbers side by side, the picture becomes more than telling. Poverty level doubling means that it should decrease from 27% to 13.5% in 2020. But taking into account the 21.7% poverty level registered in 2024 and, in general, the dynamics of the past four years, it is frivolous to expect a sharp turnaround, even with extremely optimistic estimates.

In the case of extreme poverty, the situation is more worrying. Over the past four years, it has decreased by only 0.1 percentage points, from 0.7% in 2020 to 0.6% in 2024. Meanwhile, the government promised in its plan that extreme poverty should be completely eliminated by 2026. In this case, the wording in the government’s report can be considered as an attempt to ignore one’s own statistics. 

Summing up, let’s emphasize once again that the unemployment rate has not been brought to the target announced by the government, poverty has not been halved, and extreme poverty has not disappeared. And no matter how much the report tries to single out positive episodes, the general picture does not change. there are promises left on paper, and there is reality, which stubbornly “does not comply” with official reports. This has become a familiar scenario in the case of the current government. We see the same in other areas, where high percentages of economic growth were presented as evidence of universal prosperity, while the average citizen did not experience this “growth” in his life. Or when the expansion of social programs was presented as an alleviation of poverty, but in reality they often only mitigated the effects, not eliminating the causes.

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Yesterday, Pashinyan met with representatives of the business community and assured that with the peace established with Azerbaijan, Armenia is entering a new period of economic development. Moreover, he continued to address the perspectives of the TRIPP project launch, talking about rail cargo transportation through the territory of Azerbaijan to Armenia.

Are such proposals really forward-looking, or against the background of the latest Russian announcements, a quasi-comforting alternative for businessmen? 168․am was interested in political economist Hrant Mikayelyan.

“How the business community will react to Pashinyan’s false promises, it will be a bit difficult for me to clarify, because of course there are people who look very positively at the prospects of establishing relations with Turkey and Azerbaijan, regardless of all the circumstances.

Here his calculation may partially work, but at the same time, the business community already realizes that Pashinyan’s policy in the direction of Russia will significantly worsen their position, and in addition, in the direction of Turkey, if we get rid of the language of promises and move to real life, then realistic, tangible progress is not observed.

Therefore, I think that this PR move will not have the effect it wants to have. In other words, he will not get additional votes and additional support in that community,” explained Hrant Mikayelyan.

To the question: does Pashinyan’s talk about long-term economic prospects indicate that he is confident in his and his team’s re-election prospects, the political scientist answered that the current behavior of the authorities indicates the opposite.

“I don’t see the confidence that they are convinced of their reproduction. In other words, the actions of the authorities, the propaganda they are conducting, the new chain of arrests, yesterday’s unsuccessful attempt to arrest Gohar Ghumashyan, and the attempts of new repressions show their distrust. Pashinyan’s tasteless statements… all this proves that there is no trust.

The fact that they want to present the situation like that is another matter, but it is not necessary to overestimate the possibility of reproduction,” he added.

Hrant Mikayelyan listed several factors that will be of significant importance in the electoral mosaic in any case, such as where will the electorate of the parties and forces that will not participate in the elections go, or whether Pashinyan may try to resort to some unconventional steps, to introduce a state of emergency, etc., the internal political shades of the European Political Community Summit in Armenia…

“There are many questions here, but Pashinyan knows better than anyone that at the moment his support is lower than the support of the opposition, which is also confirmed by polls. Another thing is that with various manipulations, for example, in the scenario of the Yerevan elections, he can try to win, and it is not excluded,” the specialist summarized.

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The Armenian people, the political elite of Armenia, the intelligentsia, the collective Armenians must defeat the Turkish Trojan horse.

The history of peoples is a history of ups and downs, victories and defeats.

This stage, in the personal history of our people and all of us, these last years are a period of defeat.

This is a very deep question that has many layers.

Details: video

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