Armenian parliament shooting

Armenian parliament shooting
A 2000 postal card depicting the eight victims of the shooting
LocationNational Assembly Building,
Yerevan, Armenia
DateOctober 27, 1999 (1999-10-27)
5:15 pm (UTC+4)
TargetVazgen Sargsyan[1]
WeaponsAKM
Deaths8 (including Sargsyan)
Injured30+[2][3]
PerpetratorsNairi Hunanyan, Karen Hunanyan, Vram Galstyan, Derenik Ejanyan, Eduard Grigoryan[4]
DefendersAfter the occupation of the building:
Minister of Interior (Police)
Defense Ministry (Armed Forces)
MotiveCoup d'état (according to perpetrators)

The 1999 Armenian parliament shooting, commonly known in Armenia as October 27 (Armenian: Հոկտեմբերի 27, romanized: Hoktemberi k'sanyot), was a terrorist [5][6] attack on the Armenian National Assembly in the capital of Yerevan on 27 October 1999 by a group of five armed men led by Nairi Hunanyan that, among others, killed the two de facto decision-makers in the country's political leadership—Prime Minister Vazgen Sargsyan and Parliament Speaker Karen Demirchyan. Their reform-minded coalition had won a majority in a parliamentary election held in May of that year and had practically sidelined President Robert Kocharyan from the political scene.

The shooting led to significant changes in the country's political landscape. It remains a subject of numerous conspiracy theories, mostly involving President Kocharyan, whose tenure thereafter was frequently criticized as authoritarian. Sargsyan and Demirchyan were posthumously honored with National Hero of Armenia titles.[7]

  1. ^ Grigorian, Mark (29 October 1999). "Divining The True Motives Of The Calm Killers Of Vazgen Sarkisian". Institute for War and Peace Reporting. In fact it seemed hard to discern any clear political objective in the attack beyond the immediate wish to kill Sarkisian...
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference PBS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Mulvey BBC was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Jailed for Life was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Coalson, Robert; Tamrazian, Harry (27 October 2009). "Ten Years Later, Deadly Shooting In Armenian Parliament Still Echoes". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. The brazen act of political terrorism ...
  6. ^ Ovanisyan, Lilit (27 October 2011). "Armenian MPs commemorate victims of 1999 terror act committed at National Assembly". Caucasian Knot. Archived from the original on 25 June 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
  7. ^ "National Hero of Armenia". The Office to the President of the Republic of Armenia. Archived from the original on 2015-06-05. Retrieved 2014-10-13.