Month: April 2026

On May 5, a concert will be held at the “Nikolay Nikoghosyan Cultural Foundation”, an evening of music by Mikael Tariverdiev.

Varsenik Avanyan (mezzo-soprano) and Elena Vardazaryan (piano) will perform.

The composer’s vocal and piano works will be played in the program. The centerpiece of the concert will be the mono-opera “Waiting”, written on the basis of Robert Rozhdestvensky’s poem of the same name (“Woman’s Monologue”).

Elena Vardazaryan will be at the piano during the evening.

We cordially invite you to participate in this exciting and mysterious musical meeting.

Start at 19:00.

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Big businessman Samvel Aleksanyan plans to import meat products worth more than 4.4 million dollars, while claiming state customs privileges. Along with the development of production, the entrepreneur is actively involved in new regional economic processes.

The official application submitted to the government of Armenia mentions plans to import more than one and a half thousand tons of meat raw materials. In particular, we are talking about the import of 350 thousand kilograms of buffalo meat from India, 900 thousand kilograms of pork fat from Italy and 300 thousand kilograms of American-made chicken breast from China. The total amount of investment in the project will be around 4.42 million dollars.

In order to implement it, Samvel Aleksanyan applied for exemption from the payment of the customs duty, the amount of which is estimated at 727.7 thousand dollars.

The imported raw materials are intended for “Meat Food” LLC owned by the businessman, which produces sausages, sausages, meat delicacies, as well as traditional Armenian basturma and sujukh. The company’s products have a serious competitive advantage in the market, as they are consumed mainly in the “Yerevan City” supermarket chain owned by Aleksanyan, where it is given priority. In the justification of the request for privileges, it is mentioned that financial investments will allow to increase the number of employees from 135 to 155, and to increase the average salary from about 711 dollars to 849 dollars.

The expansion of the business takes place against the background of a noticeable transformation of the status of the businessman. Despite being the prime minister Nikol Pashinyan strongly criticized him for alleged corruption and electoral fraud during the years of the Republican Party’s rule, Samvel Aleksanyan was not held accountable, reports Factor.am.

In 2018, he was limited only to the repayment of previously accumulated tax liabilities and today he is one of the key participants in the economic programs of the current authorities. In addition, according to press publications, yesterday Aleksanyan was present at the meeting of Armenian and Azerbaijani businessmen held in Aghveran.

It is also reported that the company “Shisha World” associated with him, which is registered with the documents in the name of his wife’s nephew, was one of the first structures that started importing and selling Azerbaijani gasoline in the territory of Armenia.

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The Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, has strongly condemned the use of administrative resources in order to involve citizens in the events with his participation.

The head of the government has promised to immediately dismiss the organizers of similar gatherings, as well as the bureaucrats who obey illegal instructions.

During the briefing following the government session, the Prime Minister referred to the rumors circulating among the public that people are forcibly taken to official meetings. Pashinyan emphasized the absolute inadmissibility of such a practice and outlined tough measures of response.

According to him, any public official, who will be seen using administrative levers in order to ensure presence at events with the participation of the Prime Minister, will be fired without prior discussion.

Officials who will participate in the event under the pressure of administrative resources will be punished in the same way. At the same time, Pashinyan reminded that every citizen has the legal right to participate in public events at his own will.

The head of the government also added that sanctions in the form of dismissal will also be applied in case of illegal prohibition of participation in events by abuse of official position.

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Responding to journalists’ questions about the destruction of Armenian sanctuaries in Nagorno-Karabakh, the Prime Minister of Armenia cited the hypothetical example of the mosque in Artsvashen. Nikol Pashinyan urged to separate the issues of cultural heritage and property rights.

During the briefing held in the government, the Prime Minister referred to the complex topic of preservation of historical and cultural monuments in the context of the border delimitation process. The debate unfolded over the issue raised about the destruction of Armenian churches in Stepanakert.

In response, the head of the government proposed to model a situation where Artsvashen returns under the control of Armenia, and it turns out that a large mosque was built there in 2016 on the lands of citizens who have ownership certificates.

Pashinyan asked what the state’s response would be in such a case, and whether the entire area can be declared a monument, depriving the people of Artsvashen of the opportunity to return to their homes. The representatives of the media, in their turn, expressed their disagreement with regard to putting a sign of equality between the actions of the Azerbaijani side and the hypothetical situation in Armenia.

The journalists stressed that it refers to the destruction of the Armenian Christian temples built in Stepanakert itself, not the structures of the surrounding regions.

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With the amendments in the Law “On Administrative Territorial Division of the Republic of Armenia”, we propose to form new community associations, to carry out enlargement of communities. Arnak Avetisyan, Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures of the RA, said this at the April 30 session of the NA Standing Committee on Territorial Administration, Local Self-Government, Agriculture and Environmental Protection.

The deputy minister noted that it is proposed to form an enlarged Stepanavan community of Lori marz, including Stepanavan, Gyulagarak and Lori Berd communities with 20 settlements.

In Syunik marz, it is proposed to unite Goris, Tatev and Tegh communities, forming the enlarged Goris community with 28 settlements. In the Vayots Dzor region, it is planned to unite Yeghegnadzor, Areni and Yeghegis communities with their 32 settlements and form a new Yeghegnadzor enlarged community.

Arnak Avetisyan noted that 9 communities, 80 settlements will be involved in the proposed projects, as a result of which 3 new communities will be formed.

As a result of this stage of enlargement, there will be 64 communities in Armenia. Yerevan, Gyumri and 5 communities inhabited by national minorities will remain unenlarged.

The deputy minister informed that the project was discussed in the communities, discussions were organized with the participation of community leaders and councils of elders.

The reporter noted that it is proposed to make an addition to the law “On Local Self-Government”, which refers to the issue of scheduling elections. “We are making the addition in order to be able to appoint appropriate elections to the councils of the communities before the termination of their powers by the governors,” Arnak Avetisyan informed. Elections are scheduled to be held in those communities in the fall of 2026.

The commission gave a positive conclusion to the discussed question.

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“Let’s simulate such a situation… we see that a mosque has been built in Artsvashen… what should we do?” This is how Nikol Pashinyan responded to the question regarding the destruction of Armenian churches in Stepanakert.

A serious narrative gap is formed in this speech of Pashinyan.

The hypothetical example presented regarding Artswashen cannot be compared with the reality formed in Stepanakert and Artsakh in general. There we are talking about the systematic destruction of cultural heritage. Demolition, modification of churches or changing their identity under the name of “renovation” are considered cultural vandalism from the point of view of international law.

International norms are unambiguous. regardless of the legal regime of ownership, the state is obliged to preserve the existing religious and cultural values ​​in the territory under its control. This means that even within the scope of the given example, the mosque cannot be subject to destruction.

However, it is precisely this hypothetical structure that unintentionally creates the impression of false symmetry, as if the situations are equivalent. Meanwhile, they are not equivalent.

Identifying Arsvashen and Nagorno Karabakh is not only historically groundless, but also politically dangerous. Even during the Soviet period, Nagorno-Karabakh had an institutional feature with an autonomous status, while Artsvashen was an ordinary enclave. Ignoring this difference weakens Armenia’s arguments on international platforms.

In general, these “comparisons” of Pashinyan are false and unscientific.

The processes taking place in Stepanakert and other settlements of Artsakh have no equivalence with the hypothetical example of Artsvashen. They are policies aimed at the systematic elimination of historical memory and identity.

Pashinyan’s statement is highly vulnerable because it creates a false equality between the hypothetical and the actual.

Political scientist Suren Surenyants

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The Mother See of St. Etchmiadzin strongly condemns the statement of the Department of Muslims of the Caucasus, which attempts to justify the destruction of the Armenian spiritual and cultural heritage of Artsakh by the Azerbaijani authorities, in particular, the destruction of the foundation of the St. Astvatsadsin Church of Stepanakert. The Mother See issued a statement about this.

In particular, it is said in the statement. “The desecration, usurpation or destruction of holy places cannot be justified by any political, administrative or false legal formulation. Calling the churches built during the period of Artsakh independence “illegal constructions” is unacceptable, and destroying the sanctuaries on that basis, razing them to the ground, is a clear violation of the international principles of protection of religious and cultural heritage and cultural abuse.

The accusation of the Department of Muslims of the Caucasus against the Armenian Church regarding the obstruction of the establishment of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan is clearly unfounded and false. Peace is hindered by the falsification of the historical truth, the violation of the rights of forcibly displaced Artsakh Armenians, the usurpation of Artsakh’s Armenian heritage and the consistent erasure of the Armenian trace.

Mother See Holy Etchmiadzin calls on international religious and human rights organizations, all responsible structures for the protection of cultural heritage to take active steps to stop Azerbaijan’s planned policy of destruction of Armenian culture.

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Nikol took the owners of Armenian businesses represented on the Russian market to a meeting with the Azerbaijanis, so that when they were pushed out of the Russian market, they could enter the Azerbaijani market as compensation for the business losses of supporting Nikol…

I think it is not difficult to understand who and what circles they can be.

In fact, Nikolenko currently creates institutional ties in almost all components of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations, except under the pre-election false peace agenda.

Political scientist Alen Ghevondyan

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2020-2023 after severe upheavals, Armenia is experiencing a profound transformation of both its foreign policy direction and internal state narratives. Official Yerevan is increasingly moving away from traditional national concepts in favor of a new, often painful “peace agenda” for society.

Where is the fine line between forced diplomatic pragmatism and the actual adoption of the political theses of Baku and Ankara? What will the lack of clear “red lines” by the Armenian authorities lead to, and how will the radical change in rhetoric affect the country’s sovereignty and internal political stability? On these and other acute issues VERELQThe editors of the political scientist talked Davit Harutyunov with.

In the interview, the expert analyzes in detail the hidden motives of the current authorities, warns about the risks of concessions and makes predictions about the future of Armenian statehood under unprecedented external pressure.

Photo: Davit Harutyunov, source: Yerevan Today

VERELQ. How do you assess the current transformation of Armenia’s official rhetoric regarding peace and the Karabakh problem in general? In your opinion, where is the line between the pragmatic search for a diplomatic compromise and the actual borrowing of the political theses of Baku and Ankara?

Davit Harutyunov. In one way or another, the revision of approaches to the interpretation of the Karabakh problem, a number of events in the recent history of Armenia, was inevitable after the events of the last five years. Moreover, the driving forces of such revision are the pressure exerted by Turkey and Azerbaijan, as well as the factors of the intra-Armenian agenda. Maintaining the previously existing rhetoric and approaches would largely mean the continuation of the conflict, for which Armenia does not have real conditions and opportunities. At the same time, the authorities of Armenia are clearly not trying to find, even at the cost of a possible freezing of relations, the border that will limit the concessions on this topic. The absence of such “red lines” is fraught with the continuation and expansion of the demands of Azerbaijan and Turkey and their further interference in the Armenian internal agenda.

VERELQ. Many people notice that the rapprochement of Yerevan’s positions with the narratives of neighboring countries causes an ambiguous reaction inside Armenia. In your opinion, how will this factor affect domestic political stability and social cohesion in the near future?

Davit Harutyunov. There are a number of factors that strengthen the negative impact of the said review within Armenia and discredit that process where it is even objectively inevitable. First of all, the conjunctural nature of this trajectory of the Armenian authorities is obvious, that is, it is not about their consistent and clear strategy, but situational actions carried out under external pressure. Then, through changes in the official narratives, an attempt is made to “whitewash” and justify a number of mistakes made by the authorities in the past. And finally, this process itself is carried out without contact with society and is closely integrated with internal political processes, often subordinated to them, which also creates tension. I think that theoretically there was a possibility of a more subtle implementation of these concessions, which would combine the satisfaction of certain demands of Baku with a more cautious attitude towards certain layers of the Armenian society, as well as the start of a real, non-conjunctural public discussion in the country about the events of the recent past.

VERELQ. If the current political direction of the current government receives a mandate of confidence in the elections, what long-term changes can be expected to traditional Armenian national concepts in the context of the advancing peace agenda?

Davit Harutyunov. It is clear that the current trajectory will continue in one way or another. At the same time, it is difficult to predict its specific manifestations, because the main factor here is external demands, and the previous experience shows that Baku and Ankara can change and expand their demands, especially in the absence of Yerevan’s attempts to draw “red lines” in this matter. At the same time, the possibility of weakening the positions of the authorities due to the peculiarities of their social policy can play a certain limiting role in this matter.

VERELQ. In the conditions of the formation of a new state foreign policy line, the question of freedom of debate arises. According to your forecasts, how will the relations of the authorities with the opposition and that part of the civil society, which conceptually do not share this path, be built?

Davit Harutyunov. The answer to this question will strongly depend on the results of the elections. In case of a convincing victory of the current authorities, the course of pressure on the opposition will most likely continue. At the same time, the assessments about the possibility of complete suppression of dissent also seem doubtful, that is, rather we will be dealing with the development of the authoritarian system formed under the previous authorities of Armenia and modified by the current prime minister. And the weak results of the ruling party in the elections may lead to a weakening of the pressure on the opposition. At the same time, it should be noted that the motives of maintaining power are a decisive factor in the actions of the authorities against the opposition, and the issue of new ideological approaches remains secondary for now.

VERELQ. From the point of view of realpolitik. How effective is adapting the terminology of neighboring countries to prevent escalation? At least, that’s how many see the situation. How will such a strategy affect Armenia’s foreign political subjectivity in the long term?

Davit Harutyunov. The package of certain concessions and the reduction of Armenia’s subjectivity were inevitable in 2020-23. after a series of defeats. The “peace for concessions” strategy also has the right to exist. At the same time, the actions of the Armenian authorities raise questions precisely from the point of view of the lack of a strategic aspect in them. The limits of these concessions are unclear, and it also seems that the authorities’ course is generally based on trust in the good will and pursuit of peace of the other side rather than on real factors. Naturally, all this raises concerns about the stability of the security situation and the possibility of further limiting Armenia’s sovereignty.

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