2018 Armenian Revolution

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2018 Armenian Revolution (Velvet Revolution)
Protest in Republic Square, Yerevan, 22 April 2018
Date	31 March – 8 May 2018 (2018-03-31 – 2018-05-08)[1] (1 month, 1 week and 1 day)
Location	Armenia Armenian diaspora: Los Angeles, Glendale, California,[2] Moscow,[3] Milan, Marseille,[4] Toronto, Montreal, Sochi, Brussels, Vancouver,[5] Athens, London, Berlin, Buenos Aires, Chicago, São Paulo[6]
Caused by	Re-election of Serzh Sargsyan as the Prime Minister Detention of opposition leaders[7]
Goals	Originally: Resignation of Serzh Sargsyan as PM[8] Later added: Snap elections to the National Assembly[9] Later added: Removal of the Republican Party from power[10][11] Later added: Appointment of Pashiniyan as interim prime minister until snap elections are held[12]
Methods	Demonstrations, sit-ins, student protest, civil disobedience, online activism, boycotts of business, general strike
Resulted in	Protester victory Resignation of Serzh Sargsyan Republican Party decided to not put forward candidate in votes for new Prime Minister on 1 and 8 May[13] Election of Nikol Pashinyan as the Prime Minister[14]
Parties
Political opposition Civil Contract Supported by: Way Out Alliance[15] Sasna Tsrer Pan-Armenian Party[16] Armenian National Congress[17] Free Democrats[18] National Democratic Pole Prosperous Armenia (since 23 April) Armenian Revolutionary Federation (since 28 April) Non-political groups: 12th Peacekeeping Brigade (23 April)[19] Armenian government Armenian police National Security Service Organized crime and oligarchs[20][21][22] Political parties: Republican Party Armenian Revolutionary Federation (until 25 April)
Lead figures
Nikol Pashinyan MP (detained from 22 to 23 April)[23] Serzh Sargsyan (ex-president, resigned Prime Minister) Karen Karapetyan (ex-prime Minister, acting Prime minister)
Number
Yerevan 250,000 (1 May)[24] 200,000 (23 April)[25] 150,000 (2 May)[26] 115,000 (22 April)[27] Gyumri 10,000 (27 April)[28] Glendale, California 5,000[29]
Casualties and losses
40 injured including Nikol Pashinyan[30] 6 policemen injured (on 16 April)[30]

The 2018 Armenian Revolution, most commonly known in Armenia as #MerzhirSerzhin (Armenian: #ՄերժիրՍերժին, meaning "#RejectSerzh"), was a series of anti-government protests in Armenia from April to May 2018 staged by various political and civil groups led by a member of the Armenian parliament — Nikol Pashinyan (head of the Civil Contract party). Protests and marches took place initially in response to Serzh Sargsyan's third consecutive term as the most powerful figure in the government of Armenia, later broadening against the ruling Republican Party, who were in power since 1999. Pashinyan declared it a Velvet Revolution (Թավշյա հեղափոխություն, T'avshya heghap'vokhut'yun).^[31][32]

On April 22, Pashinyan was arrested and held in solitary confinement overnight, then released on April 23, the same day that Sargsyan resigned, saying "I was wrong, while Nikol Pashinyan was right".^[33][34] The event is referred to by some as a peaceful revolution akin to revolutions in other post-Soviet states.^[35][36][37] By the evening of April 25, the Republican Party's coalition partner, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, had withdrawn from the coalition.^[11]

By April 28, all of the opposition parties in Armenia's parliament had announced they would support Pashinyan's candidacy.^[38] A vote was scheduled in the National Assembly for May 1; for Pashinyan to be elected prime minister, which required 53 votes, he would have had to win the votes of at least six members of the Republican Party.^[39] Pashinyan was the only candidate who was put forward for the vote.^[40] However, the Republican Party unanimously voted against Pashinyan – 102 MPs were present, out of which 56 voted against his candidacy and 45 voted for it.^[41][42] One week later, on May 8, the second vote took place. Pashinyan was elected prime minister with 59 votes.^[14][43]

The revolution was seen as an opportunity for Armenia to realign its foreign policy in the European direction. The revolution contradicted Russian policy, as it opposed the notion of the irreplaceability of post-Soviet leaders and posed a threat to authoritarianism in the post-Soviet space. The revolution in Armenia was deemed "European" in nature as it corresponded to European values and principles, both societal and political.^[44] The revolution signaled a significant shift in Armenia's domestic politics, with pro-Russian politicians being ousted from power and a reformist government taking their place. The change brought about a reevaluation of Armenia's relations with Russia. The reformist government sought to distance itself from Russia's aggressive tactics and realign Armenia with the Western values of democracy and human rights.^[45]