May 1, 2026
Yesterday, in the context of the restoration of the Gyumri-Kars railway, its economic, geopolitical significance and Armenian and Armenian-Georgian relations. about risks we talked Shiraz Khachatryan, an expert of the “Henaket” analytical center with
Today, one of the Azerbaijani propaganda media is day.az in the editorial also referred to the restoration of the Gyumri-Kars railway and made certain comments.
“Attempts to consider the Kars-Gyumri railway exclusively as a bilateral project between Turkey and Armenia ignore the regional reality. The South Caucasus is a system of interconnected interests, where the actions of one side inevitably affect the others. Azerbaijan is a key player in this system. Its economic, transport and political potential makes it an irreplaceable participant for any major regional project.
Moreover, Baku is the driving force behind the development of transport corridors, including the “Middle Corridor” and projects connecting Europe to Asia. And even trying to ignore this fact is a strategic mistake. It is obvious that the Azerbaijani-Turkish relations remain one of the stable factors of the development of the region, and they should be put or taken into account in the basis of any decision. Without this, any project runs the risk of turning into a stillborn initiative that will not withstand a collision with reality.” it is mentioned in the Azerbaijani analysis and it is reminded that any step by Turkey in the Armenian direction is considered through the prism of Turkish-Azerbaijani alliance relations.
Is this talking about a certain Turkish game, or about differences in some issues in Turkish-Azerbaijani relations? “Henaket” analytical center expert Shiraz Khachatryan we asked to discuss these issues this time.
According to him, there can be a Turkish game here, and taking into account that Turkey is playing its big game in the South Caucasus, this can also suggest the Baku-Ankara contradictions.
“It is possible that Turkey can take various steps to curb Azerbaijan’s whims, including in relations with Armenia. On the other hand, if we take a global look at where Turkey’s logistics routes go, from China through Central Asia to Europe, it is clear that at some point the still “unofficial” relations with Armenia may disappear. But, I repeat, Turkey is able to play with Azerbaijan’s nerves as well, to show that at any time such things are possible, such as a railway passing through the territory of Armenia, etc. In fact, the topic of the Gyumri-Kars railway is multi-layered, and here a separate geopolitical one for Turkey taking into account the ambitions, it is clear that it is also playing a separate game, regardless of the whims of Azerbaijan.
However, one should not ignore Turkey’s priorities at the global level: energy, logistics, extending to Central Asia, they are connected with Azerbaijan in many ways, so it will have to take into account not only the whims of Baku, but also the existing realities, if faced with a dilemma. And when I say that this is a multi-layered issue, I also mean that another step to strengthen Turkey’s position in the South Caucasus is the restoration of the Gyumri-Kars railway, within the framework of which there may also be goals of making Armenia economically dependent,” explained Shiraz Khachatryan.
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RFE/RL – Pre-Election Arrests Of Armenian Oppositionists Continue
- Naira Bulghadarian
Law-enforcement authorities continued to arrest on Wednesday members of billionaire Samvel Karapetian’s opposition movement expected to be the ruling Civil Contract party’s main challenger in Armenia’s upcoming parliamentary elections.
The Anti-Corruption Committee (ACC) detained five more people after raiding an office of Karapetian’s Strong Armenia bloc in Yerevan’s northern Avan district. It accused them of violating a legal ban on vote buying and election-related benevolence but did not elaborate.
It was not clear whether the law-enforcement agency will seek court permission to hold them in pre-trial detention. The suspects were not identified by the ACC or Strong Armenia. The latter did not officially react to the latest arrests as of Wednesday evening.
The recently formed opposition movement has rejected as politically motivated similar charges that have been levelled against dozens of its other members and supporters in recent weeks. Some of them remain under arrest.
They include Artur Avanesian, a senior Strong Armenia figure arrested on Monday on vote-buying charges strongly denied by him. Avanesian, who is a retired senior army officer and a prominent veteran of the wars in Nagorno-Karabakh, went on hunger strike on Wednesday in protest against what another Karapetian ally described as “injustice and political persecutions” in the country.
The ACC claims that Avanesian illegally promised “a number of citizens” jobs and other benefits if they vote for Karapetian’s bloc. The law-enforcement agency publicized on Monday the audio of his wiretapped phone call with another Karabakh-born man said to be his friend and former colleague.
Avanesian can be heard saying that the situation in Armenia will improve in case of an opposition victory in the June 7 elections and stressing the importance of attending a pre-election event. When asked by the man whether he will be hired by the Armenian military if Strong Armenia comes to power, Avanesian answered in the affirmative.
Aram Vartevanian, one of Karapetian’s lawyers and Strong Armenia’s top election candidates, insisted that the promise did not constitute a vote bribe. He argued that the two men are close friends with similar political views.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and his Civil Contract party themselves are accused by the Armenian opposition of trying to buy votes in a bid to hold on to power. Opposition leaders say Pashinian promised citizens jobs and other material aid during his recent pre-election visits to various parts of the country.
No Civil Contract party member is known to have been prosecuted on corresponding charges. Nor has the ACC taken action against a charity run by Pashinian’s wife, Anna Hakobian, and accused by civic groups of illegally engaging in benevolent activities.
Armenian law bans such activities politicians running for office, members of their parties and their close relatives. Three Western-funded Armenian NGOs making up the election-monitoring Independent Observer coalition took Hakobian to court last week, accusing her My Step charity of violating the ban. Hakobian angrily denied any wrongdoing and threatened to demand criminal proceedings against them.
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Armenia, Turkey discussing reconstruction, commissioning of transborder railwa
Armenia, Turkey discussing reconstruction, commissioning of transborder railway – Armenian Foreign Ministry
YEREVAN. April 28 (Interfax) – Armenian and Turkish representatives have held a meeting of the working group on the resumption of bilateral rail service, the Armenian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“Based on the agreements reached within the Armenia-Turkey normalization process, the meeting of the Armenia-Turkey joint working group on rehabilitation and operationalization of the Gyumri-Kars railway was held in Kars on April 28, 2026,” the statement said.
The sides stressed the importance of commissioning the Gyumri-Kars railway as soon as possible in the context of expanding transport infrastructure in the region, it said.
Meanwhile, the U.S. embassy to Armenia has described the working group meeting as “historic progress toward a peaceful and prosperous South Caucasus.”
“Restoring this critical link between Armenia and Turkey is an important step in unlocking regional connectivity and solidifying regional stability. The August 8 Washington summit hosted by President Trump set the stage for such momentous developments. U.S. embassy in Yerevan welcomes these concrete steps toward reopening economic and people-to-people links between Armenia and Turkey,” the embassy said.
There are no diplomatic relations between Ankara and Yerevan, and the bilateral border has been closed since 1993 at Ankara’s initiative. Special representatives of Yerevan and Ankara have been holding negotiations since 2022 in order to reopen the border and to normalize relations. Flights between the two countries are available.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, U.S. President Donald Trump and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a declaration in August 2025, saying that Yerevan will be working together with Washington and certain third countries on the framework of the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) project on Armenian territory. The project envisages the construction of road, rail and oil-and-gas infrastructure. The TRIPP will connect the main part of Azerbaijan to the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic via Armenia along a 42-kilometer road, and then farther on to Turkey.
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Armenian participation in G7 Environment Ministers’ Meeting highlights growing
Armenian authorities have described Minister of Environment Hambardzum Matevosyan’s participation in the G7 Environment Ministers’ Meeting in Paris as an “important milestone” in terms of deepening the country’s engagement in international environmental matters.
The meeting took place in Paris from 23 to 24 April as part of the French G7 presidency.
In a statement, the Ministry of Environment said that Armenia’s presence in this format not only testifies to the growing trust in the country but also highlights Armenia’s increased role in the global environmental agenda.
“The G7 brings together key actors in global political and economic processes, and our participation in this platform provided an opportunity to present Armenia’s priorities and contribute to shaping international discussions around them. Our country’s participation was also of particular importance because Armenia is the upcoming host country of COP17, the 17th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. This circumstance places a high responsibility on us to actively engage in international processes, strengthen partnership ties, and develop coordinated approaches aimed at biodiversity conservation and addressing climate challenges,” the ministry’s statement said.
According to the press release, during the meetings, Minister Matevosyan reaffirmed Armenia’s readiness to act as an initiator and a reliable partner, and presented Armenia’s priorities in the context of ensuring the effective implementation of the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and strengthening interaction among multilateral processes.
The partnerships formed and the agreements reached within the framework of this meeting will make a significant contribution both to the successful organization of COP17 and to ensuring the long-term impact of its outcomes, the ministry said.
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Evidence and administrative actions are still being carried out. CC to Shushi
April 27, 2026
On April 18 168.amsent a written request to the RA Investigative Committee including questions related to the 44-day war.
Andranik Kocharyan, Chairman of the Standing Committee on Defense and Security Affairs of the National Assembly, has stated on various occasions that the 44-day report will include thesethe answers to the questions about the weapons, which, in fact, happened.
168.am–Gegham Manukyan, deputy of the “Hayastan” faction, in a conversation with reported that the 44-day report refers to the acquisition of weapons and changes in acquisition plans, followed by an assessment of the consequences.
We also touched on this topic in September of last year in our “Subjective aspect of the Investigative Commission report. With the inscription “Following the facts”. in the article.
Moreover, we reported that Andranik Kocharyan’s several-page letter-analysis related to the Su-30s, which he presented to Pashinyan, and which was also mentioned in the investigative commission during Pashinyan’s interrogation, was also attached to the report.
But Andranik Kocharyan also stated on one occasion that there were wrong acquisitions of weapons, and he sent a huge package of information collected by the Investigative Commission to the Prosecutor General of RA, specifically referring to the “Osa-AK” anti-aircraft missile complexes.
168.amfrom the General Prosecutor’s Office had said that there is a criminal proceeding, but they did not give any other details.
And recently, Andranik Kocharyan noted that based on the report, the relevant bodies have actions to take, which they will still achieve.
Accordingly, through our survey, we tried to find out from the RA Investigative Committee first whether they received the 44-day report, whether criminal proceedings were initiated on the basis of the report or the materials provided by the Investigative Committee, including those related to whether the weapons were suitable or not.
In its response letter sent to us on April 27, the RA Investigative Committee informed that they did not receive a report or a conclusion of the investigative commission regarding the 44-day military operations of 2020.
We also sent the following questions in writing to the Chairman of the RA Investigative Committee, Artur Poghosyan.
– Is there currently a criminal case related to the episode of the well-known army counterattack operation on October 7, 2020, or is this episode of the war no longer or has it not become a subject of investigation after the termination of the criminal prosecution against the former commander of the Armed Forces Jalal Harutyunyan on the basis of acquittal? Did Nikol Pashinyan, former Director of the National Security Service and former Chairman of the Central Committee Argishti Kyaramyan, former Secretary of the Artsakh Council of Ministers Samvel Babayan, former Head of the General Staff Onik Gasparyan and other persons present at the discussion of that operation ever testify in connection with this war operation or episode?
– There were actions to take back Shushi in 2020. After November 7, has this circumstance become the subject of investigation, and within the scope of what case?
“In the main military investigative department of the Armenian Investigative Committee, extensive evidentiary and other procedural actions were carried out and continue to be carried out in the criminal proceedings initiated regarding the circumstances of the 44-day military operations of 2020, including a large number of witnesses were interrogated, appropriate expert opinions were appointed and received, as a result of which a number of criminal proceedings were sent to court with an indictment,” the Investigative Committee stated in response to our questions, adding that the basis adopting part 2 of Article 186 of the RA Criminal Procedure Code and According to the provisions of Article 8, Part 1, Clause 3 of the RA Law “On Freedom of Information”, it is not possible to provide information regarding the other questions, because they contain preliminary examination data that is not subject to publication.
In this context, let’s add that in 2025 the same Investigative Committee us had informed.
“The preliminary investigation of the criminal proceedings initiated in the case of the military counterattack carried out on October 7, 2020 continues.”
And what about 2020? to the actions that took place in the direction of Shushi after November 7, then in 2024 the Central Committee to the issue related to them had answerednoting:
“All directions of military operations during the 44-day war, including the events that took place in the direction of Shushi after November 7, 2020, are the subject of investigation in the framework of the criminal proceedings carried out in the Department of Investigation of Particularly Important Military Cases of the RA Investigative Committee’s Military Investigative Main Department regarding the cases of inaction of the authorities, showing negligent attitude towards service, refusing to perform certain duties of military service, and apparently other crimes against the order of military service.”
At the same time, the RA Investigative Committee reported that at that time the chairman of the RA Investigative Committee, Argishti Kyaramyan, “was not interrogated within the framework of the criminal proceedings against the military order, as well as other crimes related to the military operations under the conditions of martial law declared during the 44-day aggressive war of 2020.”
In his turn, Nikol Pashinyan stated at a meeting with journalists that in the context of the 44-day war was questioned.
It should be noted that, as of now, one case of Pashinyan’s questioning regarding the 44-day period is known. Still 3 years ago, according to the press publications, he as a witness was questioned During the 44-day war, a group of high-ranking Armenian officials committed a crime of abusing their official powers within the framework of the criminal proceedings.
Let’s add that The relatives of the victims submitted a demand to interrogate Pashinyan, who at that time were protesting in front of the government, general prosecutor’s office building.
Whether it should be assumed from the secrecy of the Investigative Committee that there are other criminal proceedings in the framework of which Pashinyan was questioned or may be questioned, time will tell.
For example, it is interesting: in what capacity did Pashinyan participate and approve the well-known counterattack operation, or in what capacity will he take Shushi back with a counterattack? ordered as Prime Minister or Commander-in-Chief?
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CNEWA has been saving Christians for 100 years
As the Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA) marks 100 years of humanitarian service this year, its national teams continue working in partnership with Eastern churches and local charities in the Middle East, Ethiopia, India, Ukraine and Armenia to bring the light of love, hope and healing to communities ravaged by war, genocide, natural disasters and economic hardship.
Actively engaged with their partners on the ground in these countries, CNEWA began its mission with the direct rescue of survivors of one of the most brutal episodes in the world’s history — the death marches, forced displacement and massacre of over three million Christians, including Armenians, Assyrians, Syriacs and Greeks, that followed the collapse of the Ottoman empire at the end of the First World War.
On April 24, Armenians around the world commemorate this genocide in which so many of their ancestors perished. Historians note that Pope Pius XI founded CNEWA in 1926 to provide a sustainable lifeline to its survivors.
“By the time, CNEWA was officially established by Pope Pius XI (as an amalgamation of several Catholic charities working in support of Eastern churches at the time), the survivors, mostly women and children, were scattered across the Middle East in countries such as Lebanon and Syria, facing starvation, disease and the trauma associated with the loss of their homeland,” Armenuhi Mkhoyan, communications officer at Caritas Armenia, a CNEWA partner, told The Catholic Register.
“The organization’s early work was a race against time to save the remnants of these ancient Christian civilizations.”
It was a time of geopolitical turmoil, when the leaders of powerful nations turned a blind eye to the plight of these Christian minorities in the former Ottoman empire — in sharp contrast to the leaders of the Catholic Church. Under the leadership of Pope Benedict XV and later Pope Pius XI, the Vatican was one of the few international powers that took active steps to stop the genocide and later to protect its survivors.
Pope Benedict wrote a personal handwritten letter to the Sultan of Turkey, appealing to him to stop the deportations and massacres, and later raised his voice against the “annihilation” of Armenians. In the 1920s, Pope Benedict and Pope Pius gave refuge to Armenian orphans in Italy.
A defining moment that activated the genesis of CNEWA was when Pope Pius provided refuge to Armenian orphans at his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, a peaceful town 25 kms to the southeast of Rome. At Castel Gandolfo, a house traditionally reserved for papal rest and reflection became a sanctuary for approximately 400 Armenian refugee girls who had survived the horrors of the genocide.
Mkhoyan said the Pope ensured they were provided not only with the necessities of food, clothing and medical care, but also specialized education and a sense of family.
“Historical accounts describe the pope visiting the children frequently and treating them with fatherly affection that restored a sense of dignity to their shattered lives,” she said.
“Though this event preceded the formal incorporation of CNEWA in 1926, it is widely regarded as the spiritual and moral blueprint for the organization’s founding. It demonstrated that when the world chose to look away for reasons of political expediency, the pope chose to open his home to these orphans, ensuring that the light of the Armenian spirit would not be extinguished.”
Today, CNEWA continues to serve its mission in Armenia, as defined by its founder. Caritas Armenia, in collaboration with CNEWA, implements several projects designed to support children and youth, which Mkhoyan said are particularly impactful.
Among these are:
• The Little Prince Social Centre for Children that supports 75 children and their families who find themselves in difficult life situations. By facilitating social integration, it aims to help children live in a family environment and prevent their placement in residential institutions.
• Warm winter clothing for children in the Shirak region. This is a high-altitude region of Armenia, with long, bitterly cold winters and temperatures sometimes plunging to well below freezing.
• Higher education access program for students from low-income and vulnerable families.
Ukraine is another country where CNEWA is actively serving people suffering from an ongoing war that’s taking a massive toll on its people. Since the full-scale Russian invasion of Feb. 24, 2022, day-to-day life in Ukraine is dominated by the reality of war, with constant power cuts, the uncertainty of when the next missile attack will sow more death and destruction and increasing economic hardship due to displacement and lost livelihoods.
“Ukraine is no longer in news headlines, but people there are still living with war from day to day,” Anastasia Hrynuik, who runs the Ukraine program from CNEWA’s Ottawa office, said.
In partnership with Caritas Ukraine, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and the Ukrainian Catholic University, CNEWA is delivering programs that help veterans, the disabled, children and displaced families, she said.
“The humanitarian needs there are the same as when the war first broke out,” she said. “CNEWA’s programs provide for immediate needs such as food and shelter, for the displaced, but also run long-term programs. The Orphan Care Centre in Lviv takes care of hundreds of orphans deprived of parental care.”
In addition to Armenia and Ukraine, CNEWA runs humanitarian programs in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Palestine, Ethiopia, Eritrea and India.
“CNEWA will be hosting some events to mark our 100th anniversary, but we have not yet finalized the details,” said Adriana Bara, national director of CNEWA Canada. “Stay tuned for updates.”
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PM Pashinyan: June 7 elections a key chance to kick out ‘criminal-oligarchic’
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has claimed that former President Serzh Sargsyan, despite claims of skipping the upcoming elections, is actively backing the Strong Armenia party in an effort to restore the old political coalition, effectively running for office behind the scenes.
Earlier in April, former President Serzh Sargsyan – whom Pashinyan-led demonstrations removed from office in 2018 – said his Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) had decided to opt out of the 2026 parliamentary elections, scheduled for June 7, in order to avoid “dividing the opposition arena” even further.
Speaking at a press briefing on April 23, Pashinyan described the claim that Sargsyan is not running as a “fake narrative.”
He indicated that the Strong Armenia party, a newly formed political force led by business tycoon Samvel Karapetyan and running for parliament this year, has Sargsyan’s endorsement, with several high-ranking Republicans attending Strong Armenia rallies.
“In the previous elections, Serzh Sargsyan participated with the ‘I Have Honor’ alliance, and in these elections, he is participating with ‘Strong Armenia.’ First, he has publicly expressed his support for that force; second, the entire known group has been attending their rallies, and in today’s electoral process, they seek revenge and aim to restore the 2006 coalition — ARF-Dashnaktsutyun, Prosperous Armenia, and the Republican Party of Armenia. There is no other story behind this. Before 2018, it seemed that there were liberals in the political field, I don’t know, with different views. So, what has now become clear? It has become clear that, for example, [former President] Levon Ter-Petrosyan is a pure ARF member. Moreover, the most unsuccessful ARF member. The rest was a performance, it was a game,” Pashinyan said, referring to ex-President Ter-Petrosyan’s public endorsement of Strong Armenia despite his own party, the ANC, formally running for office.
Pashinyan described the upcoming parliamentary elections as a “unique opportunity” to “oust” the representatives of the former governments from the political arena.
“I believe that these elections are a unique opportunity for us to simply oust criminal-oligarchic former officials from the political arena. I see that opportunity, I see it in my interactions with people,” Pashinyan said.
Pashinyan has repeatedly described Strong Armenia, the Armenia Alliance led by former President Robert Kocharyan (which includes ARF), and the Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) led by businessman Gagik Tsarukyan, as a “tripartite war party” that risks plunging the country into war, while he has argued that his Civil Contract party is a party of peace. The opposition forces have rejected the accusations.
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Armenia is preparing for a significant expansion of the international aviation network
Armenia is preparing for a significant expansion of the international route network. One of the main events is the launch of Yerevan-London-Yerevan direct air traffic, as well as the opening of new flights to Kazakhstan and European countries, which promises a new increase in passenger traffic.
Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure during the Government session held on April 23 Davit Khudatyan presented the strategic development plans of the civil aviation sector. The previous year has already recorded impressive dynamics. 47-48 airlines made flights from Armenia to about 70 destinations.
Due to this, the passenger flow of “Zvartnots” International Airport exceeded five million, and the route network was supplemented with ten new destinations.
This trend will gain momentum this year. Long-term negotiations with Kazakh partners have been successful. At once, several air carriers announced direct flights to Kazakhstan, tickets for which are already on sale. In parallel, the European vector is being activated. new airlines are expected to enter and increase the frequency of flights to Brussels and the Netherlands. However, the main news of the sector is the start of Yerevan-London-Yerevan direct air traffic.
Along with the increase in the workload of the capital’s airport, the authorities plan to use the possibilities of Gyumri’s “Shirak” airport to a greater extent. The modernization of infrastructures, in particular, the operation of new sections of the “North-South” road, greatly contributes to this.
According to the minister’s assessment, thanks to the improvement of logistics, getting from Yerevan to Gyumri airport in some hours is faster than the trip to “Zvartnots”. This creates additional grounds and prospects for negotiating with new airlines and decentralizing the country’s air traffic.
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RFE/RL – Armenian Bank Accused Of Illegally Funding Pashinian’s Election Campa
- Shoghik Galstian
A coalition of Armenian vote-monitoring groups claimed on Thursday that a commercial bank owned by government-linked businessmen is sponsoring pre-election concerts for the ruling Civil Contract party in breach of Armenia’s campaign funding rules.
Fast Bank financed the first such open-air concert in Gyumri on April 19 as part of what organizers call the Voice of Peace Music Festival. It featured live performances by professional musicians as well as Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s self-styled pop band.
The stage in Gyumri’s central square was decorated with banners bearing slogans similar to Civil Contract’s motto for the June 7 parliamentary elections. Pashinian and his political allies wore baseball caps with the ruling party’s campaign logo emblazoned on them.
They have urged supporters to attend the next concert that will take place in Yerevan’s Republic Square on Saturday. They said it will be dedicated to Armenia’s Citizen Day marking the anniversary of the 2018 “velvet revolution” that brought Pashinian to power. However, a company organizing the concerts, Domino Production, denied on Thursday any connection between the upcoming show, also sponsored by Fast Bank, and the public holiday.
“We regard the April 19 concert in Gyumri and the April 25 concert planned in Yerevan as Civil Contract’s campaign event in a certain sense,” said Daniel Ioannisian, the coordinator of the Independent Observer coalition.
Ioannisian insisted that the Fast Bank funding for the concerts amounts to election campaign donations to Pashinian’s party. He said it violates an Armenian law that bans businesses or any other legal entities from financing political parties.
Armenians are allowed to do that only in their individual capacity. The maximum amount of annual donations made by a single person is capped at 10 million drams ($26,000). A violation of these requirements is a crime punishable by heavy fines and up to two months in prison.
Fast Bank did not comment on its financing of the concerts. The bank is owned by businessman Vigen Badalian and his brother Vahe. They are widely regarded as figures close to Pashinian’s political team. Vigen Badalian is a friend of parliament speaker Alen Simonian.
Civil Contract was already accused by two Armenian media outlets in 2024 of illegally financing its election campaigns. In separate journalistic investigations, they suggested that the ruling party resorted to financial machinations to circumvent the legal cap on political donations. Pashinian denied any wrongdoing.
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Pashinyan says new constitution will help eradicate outlawed ‘criminal subcult
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said that the adoption of a new constitution is needed, among other things, for effectively tackling the “criminal subculture.”
In a video message presenting the Civil Contract party’s election program, he said that an effective fight against the criminal subculture is a vital necessity for the future development of Armenia.
Criminal subculture—the so-called hierarchy-based code of conduct among criminals, originally believed to have emerged in the notorious Soviet prisons and linked to the self-styled “thieves in law,” and later spread into society as a mostly denounced street-code mentality—has been outlawed in Armenia amid anti-mafia efforts. Some criminal subculture-related hazing incidents have reportedly taken place in the military.
Pashinyan emphasized that the destructive influence of the criminal subculture in the country has not been sufficiently recognized and that, in its essence, it is an “anti-social, anti-state, and anti-human subculture.”
“Combating it should first of all be carried out through educational and civilizational tools, but the law enforcement system must also increasingly focus on improving the effectiveness of practical efforts against this problem,” Pashinyan noted.
The Prime Minister stressed that the criminal subculture is the cause of many of today’s problems. “Including when we think about many undesirable phenomena in the country, we see that these phenomena are directly linked to the criminal subculture, including certain distortions in relations within the army and certain distortions in public relations among young people. Of course, we understand that the establishment of the state and state institutions is of great importance and essential for solving this problem. Here too, the adoption of a new Constitution is very important, because, in essence, the ideological basis of the criminal subculture is resistance to the state, the state order, and legality. Many do not notice this nuance. In the criminal subculture, stealing is considered normal at all levels. For the criminal subculture, stealing from a person, from the state, or from a friend is considered normal. Whereas the legal order—the Constitution—on the contrary, says that stealing is not allowed and must lead to accountability,” Pashinyan said.
The Prime Minister then talked about what he described as a ‘historical gap’ in today’s reality.
“That historical gap is about the following. The historical experience of our last centuries tells us that others have set the rules of how we live for us. And we have not yet overcome this historical memory and impression. Why? Because we have not recorded—and it has not happened—that in the Republic of Armenia the people are the source of the creation of the legal order. Our historical memory tells us the following: the Persian Empire imposed certain rules of living on us. Then the Ottoman Empire imposed certain rules of living on us, then the Russian Empire imposed certain rules of living on us, then the Soviet Empire imposed certain rules of living on us. In the case of the Republic of Armenia, something different happened. A group of people gathered and wrote the text of the Constitution, then organized a referendum, where as a result of the referendum the Constitution did not receive the necessary number of votes from the people, but it was still declared adopted. It turned out that again others set the rules of living for us. And it is also in this political situation that it becomes impossible in Armenia to eliminate or remove the criminal subculture, or at least bring it to a level where it is not noticeable. Why? Because the legal order established by others has not received legitimacy from the people, and those “others” in this case are from the Armenian reality itself. Therefore, resistance to that legal order takes on a certain acceptance in our society and reality in the form of a criminal subculture. Resistance to the legal order is perceived as a sign of strength, just as, for example, it was perceived in the Ottoman Empire—at a subconscious level. These are very serious problems. And in many cases we do not see the direct connection between our state and public problems and the criminal subculture, but I think it is time for us to confront this issue,” said the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia.
Pashinyan emphasized that the criminal subculture is mainly attractive to young men as the main target group. “For me, in Armenia, one phenomenon is obvious: in all spheres of public life, girls and women are visibly becoming more competitive. Of course, I am very glad that the role of women in Armenia is increasing, and that women’s competitiveness in education and all other fields is increasing, but the issue here is that the competitive position of boys is being undermined primarily by the criminal subculture, when certain obstacles and barriers are created, including under its influence, between education and boys, and between the legal order and boys. This is a very serious problem that we must confront and overcome. And here too, I see the solutions at the subconscious and socio-psychological level in the adoption of a new Constitution,” the Prime Minister concluded.
Pashinyan has spoken about the need to adopt a new constitution for many years, since his early years in office. He argues that the current constitution—with its most recent amendments made in 2015—lacks any “organic link” with the people, since the legitimacy of the referendums is questioned.
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