// Armenian Velvet Revolution //

According to most Armenians I have met, the political situation has always felt corrupt and the people have little to no say on the vision they have for the country no matter what the outcome of elections are. Many politicians and average working people hint at the possibility of elections being manipulated by the leading Republican Party of Armenia in order to retain its power. Armenia’s 4th president Armen Sarkissian assumed the presidency on April 9th 2018 from the previous president Serzh Sargsyan during a critical time in Armenian political history. Sargsyan was chosen by the Republican Party to assume Prime Minister, therefore giving him similar power as he had once had, however six days after taking office he resigned after large-scale protests.

Sargsyan had a controversial presidency which coincided with the Great Recession and during his first term as president the poverty rate doubled to 32.4% by 2012. Sargsyan also had many controversial approaches to foreign policy in regards to Turkey, and the ongoing situation in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Velvet Revolution was declared by Nikol Pashinyan the opposition leader and leading member of the Armenian National Congress, and the political group called Civil Contract. Pashinyan stated “The women of Armenia – our mothers, sisters and daughters – are the driving force behind this movement and have a crucial role to play in building the new Armenia.”

After 11 days of consecutive protests and civil unrest that continued to grow each day one of the demands was met, Sargsyan reigned from his new position as Prime Minister. Sargsyan stated on April 23rd “Nikol Pashinyan was right, I was wrong. The situation has several solutions, but I will not take any of them... I am leaving office of the country's leader, of prime minister.”

April 23rd 2018 will be a day that goes down in Armenian history, the people clearly won.

On May 8th 2018 opposition leader and former journalist Nikol Pashinyan was elected Prime Minister of Armenia. The previous day he was joined by rockstar of the band System of a Down, Serj Tankian, adding more euphoria and a new spark to the tail end of the Revolution. The euphoria still lingered in the streets and I believe a new phase for the future of Armenia had begun. There were still people showing their support wearing t-shirts with Pashinyans portrait printed on them and the iconic “Duxov” hat written in Armenian script that translates as “Be strong.”

Around 15:00 Pashinyan won the backing of 59 lawmakers and 42 voting against him, everyone began to celebrate like a repeat of April 23rd when Sargsyan stepped down. Strangers were dancing together in the streets, popping bottles of champagne, and cooking Khorovats for others.

May 8th was truly another monumental date that will go down in Armenian history. The revolution did not stop there and I was told there is still much progress that needs to be made especially within various sectors of the economy. Even though this will not be an easy task to accomplish all of the goals that the people hope to achieve, the peoples’ determination and call for action will continue to drive the movement and hope of progress forward, something that has not been seen in decades.

Hardly ever do you see a protest that brings everyone together to protest against a single issue that affects the entire country equally. The protests in Armenia were not only peaceful but also done in a manner that involved the entire community and brought people together on one issue that affects the entire country. On April 23rd the day of victory for the people was like a war victory, something comparable to VE Day during WWII.