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Articles by Karine Simonian
Another Armenian Opposition Activist Arrested
Artur Ohanian ran in the June 7 parliamentary elections on the Hayastan ticket and coordinated the opposition bloc’s activities in the northern Armenian city of Vanadzor. He used to hold a senior position in Vanadzor’s municipal administration. Hayastan did not immediately react to his arrest. The Anti-Corruption Committee (ACC) did not publicize any details of the accusations leveled against Ohanian and another local resident also arrested by it.
Armenian Village Official ‘Forced To Quit’ After Claiming Vote Manipulation
This image contains sensitive content which some people may find offensive or disturbing. Images Multimedia Embedded Content Comments Armenian Village Official ‘Forced To Quit’ After Claiming Vote Manipulation Կիսվել Կիսվել Armenia - Gohar Vartanian, a resident of Kirants village. A local government employee in a border village in northern Armenia claims to have been forced to resign after dismissing as misleading the official results of the June 7 parliamentary elections in her community.
EU Mulls More ‘Support’ For Armenia
This image contains sensitive content which some people may find offensive or disturbing. Images Multimedia Embedded Content Comments EU Mulls More ‘Support’ For Armenia Կիսվել Կիսվել Belgium - EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos gestures during a press conference in Brussels on March 17, 2026. The European Union promised on Tuesday to help Armenia cope with growing economic pressure exerted by Russia in response to the Armenian government’s desire to join the EU.
Election Monitors Decry ‘Forced Attendance’ Of Pashinian Rallies
RFE/RL correspondents have routinely witnessed their presence at such rallies held in small towns and villages. A community comprising Aparan, a town 55 kilometers north of Yerevan, and surrounding villages is a case in point. Classes in several local schools were cut short when Pashinian visited the area last week. Scores of their students and teachers attended his rallies there.
Election Monitors Decry ‘Forced Attendance’ Of Pashinian Rallies
This image contains sensitive content which some people may find offensive or disturbing. Images Multimedia Embedded Content Comments Election Monitors Decry ‘Forced Attendance’ Of Pashinian Rallies Կիսվել Կիսվել Armenia - Schoolchildren in Verin Artashat attend a campaign rally by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, May 21, 2026.
More Armenian Opposition Supporters Arrested Ahead of Elections
By Karine Simonian YEREVAN (Azatutyun) — Ten more supporters of billionaire and opposition leader Samvel Karapetyan were arrested over the weekend after confronting members of Armenia’s ruling Civil Contract party in disputed circumstances. The incidents took place in two villages in Armenia’s northern Lori province close to Karapetyan’s hometown of Tashir.
More Armenian Opposition Supporters Arrested Ahead Of Elections
The incidents took place in two villages in Armenia’s northern Lori province close to Karapetian’s hometown of Tashir. Videos posted on social media showed scores of his supporters waving flags and chanting “Samvel Prime Minister!” during a Civil Contract procession led by Defense Minister Suren Papikian.
More Karapetian Supporters Rounded Up Ahead Of Elections
This image contains sensitive content which some people may find offensive or disturbing. Images Multimedia Embedded Content Comments More Karapetian Supporters Rounded Up Ahead Of Elections Կիսվել Կիսվել Armenia - Police officers are seen ahead of a rally staged by Samvel Karapetian's Strong Armenia party in Yerevan, April 11, 2026.
Ruben Vardanyan’s Charity Sued By Armenian Pro-Government Mayor
The reconstruction of a public park in the resort town about 100 kilometers north of Yerevan has been one of the projects financed by the Dilijan Development Foundation (DDF), a charity set up by Vardanyan and his wife over a decade ago. As part of that project, the former municipal administration had granted the DDF long-term leases on the then rundown park and an adjacent football stadium.
Wildfires Approach Armenian Resort Town
They spread to surrounding wooded hills the previous night despite Armenian authorities’ heightened efforts to contain the country’s worst fires in years that broke out at the weekend amid unusually high temperatures. Photographs posted on social media show that massive flames were visible from Dilijan on Tuesday night. The local government urged town residents not to “panic,” saying that hundreds of firefighters, police and civilian volunteers are hard at work.
Armenian Border Crossings Blocked By Protesting Truckers
Citizens of Armenia and other countries who can travel to Russia without a visa were allowed until this year to stay there for a total of up to 180 days per year. Legal amendments that took effect on January 1 reduced that period to 90 days. The change is leaving without work many Armenian truck drivers shipping goods to and from Russia, Armenia’s number one trading partner, via Georgia. They need many days for each of their frequent journeys to the vast country.
Another Local Government Official Accused Of Assault
The community comprises the town of Spitak and nearby villages, including Karadzor where the 35-year-old Gagik Eminian lives with his family. Eminian said he visited the local government building to complain to the mayor, Kajayr Nikoghosian, about a lack of water of supply to his home. He said Nikoghosian responded by kicking and punching him. “I barely escaped to my car to avoid being killed,” Eminian told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
Former Armenian Tax Chief Arrested
A court in Yerevan swiftly allowed the Anti-Corruption Committee (ACC) to keep Vartan Harutiunian in pre-trial custody on charges of involvement in illegal entrepreneurial activity and money laundering. Harutiunian headed the SRC from October 2016 until the “velvet revolution” that brought Nikol Pashinian to power in May 2018. He served in the cabinet of then Prime Minister Karen Karapetian (no relation to Samvel).
Four Killed In Gas Explosion In Armenia
Search-and-rescue teams were still working at the scene several hours after the explosion that destroyed a section of the four-story building. According to the Armenian Health Ministry, three of the injured persons were in a serious condition and were transferred to hospitals in Yerevan. The others, among them four children, received necessary treatment in a local hospital.
Pashinian Rails Against Corruption Allegations
Pashinian accused former Presidents Serzh Sarkisian and Robert Kocharian and their political allies of trying to discredit him with false corruption claims. He specifically blamed them for an allegation by an obscure French website that his family bought a villa in France for $3 million.
Pashinian’s, Wife’s Insults ‘Also Educate People’
In a barrage of daily social media posts that began over two weeks ago, Anna Hakobian has used words like “donkey,” “idiot” and “louse” to attack opposition activists, public figures and other citizens critical of her government-backed activities. Hakobian was also quick to join Pashinian last week in lambasting senior clergymen of the Armenian Apostolic Church at odds with his government.
Opposition Members Ousted From Armenian Town Council
The party led by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian lost control of the community comprising the formerly industrial town of Alaverdi and over two dozen other towns and villages as a result of local elections held in September 2022. It fell just short of an overall majority in the 27-member local council empowered to appoint the community head.
Armenian Police Face Fresh Torture Claims
Tigran Ulubabian, a 29-year-old refugee from Nagorno-Karabakh living in the northern city of Vanadzor, was summoned to the local police headquarters and questioned late last week in connection with an armed robbery of an apartment owned or rented by his relatives. Ulubabian said on Monday that police officers tortured, intimidated and verbally abused him in a bid to force him to admit his involvement in the crime.
Pashinian Lambastes Armenian Courts, Law-Enforcement Bodies
Pashinian said relevant reforms announced by him years ago have produced few tangible results. He spoke of unnamed individuals who he said had acted unlawfully and “looked down on others” in the past and “keep doing the same thing.” “Dear representatives of the judicial and security system, my patience has run out,” Pashinian told a weekly session of his cabinet that discussed and approved a fresh “strategy” of police reforms presented by Interior Minister Vahe Ghazarian.
Prominent Businessman Arrested In Corruption Probe
The law-enforcement agency confirmed that its officers detained the businessman, Bagrat Darbinian, and the city’s chief architect, Suren Abovian, after searching their offices. It refused to give any details of the corruption investigation. Also arrested were officials from the Armenian government’s Urban Development Committee. Sources told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service that they and Abovian are suspected of illegally issuing construction permits.
Businesses Affected By Floods To Get Compensation Based On Tax Contributions
Economy Minister Gevorg Papoyan said that the decision was based on a thorough study and consultations with companies and individual entrepreneurs who incurred losses as a result of the May flooding in the area. “The goal is to alleviate the financial burden on affected businesses and assist in restoring their normal activities,” Papoyan told the cabinet. An estimated 150 companies and individuals engaged in economic activities have been affected by the floods.
Dutch Volunteers Spend Summer Vacation In Armenia Helping Build Center For Children With Special Needs
The construction of this center in the village of Vahagni in Armenia’s Lori Province is being funded by an Armenian charity, but the volunteers from the Netherlands are also contributing their efforts. Five dozen volunteers with diverse professional backgrounds -- including teachers, programmers, nurses, social workers, agriculturists, builders -- come from the village of Den Ham in the Netherlands.
Russian Border Guards Leave Yerevan Airport
Russian border guards have for decades been stationed at Zvartnots as well as along Armenia’s borders with Turkey and Iran as part of close Russian-Armenian military ties. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian announced in March that his government has given Moscow until August 1 to remove them from the airport.
Armenian Government Approves Aid Package For Flood Victims
Amid torrential rains, rivers flowing through the Tavush and Lori provinces burst their banks early on May 26, killing four people, flooding towns and villages located along them and severely damaging local infrastructure. It was the country’s worst flooding in decades. The government said that the families of the four victims will receive 1 million drams ($2,600) each.
Protests Resume in Armenian Border Village
By Karine Simonian, Astghik Bedevian, Shoghik Galstian KIRANTS, Armenia (Azatutyun.am) — Residents of Kirants again blocked a local highway on Thursday, May 16, after the Armenian government resumed preparations for ceding part of the border village in Armenia’s northern Tavush province to Azerbaijan. It is one of four disputed border areas which Yerevan has controversially agreed to give up as part of what it calls a demarcation of local sections of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.
Arrests In Yerevan As Armenian PM Praises Border Deal With Azerbaijan
No media source currently available The URL has been copied to your clipboard The code has been copied to your clipboard. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has praised a border demarcation deal with neighboring Azerbaijan at a cabinet meeting in Yerevan as protesters outside called for his resignation.
Protests Resume In Armenian Border Village
It is one of four disputed border areas which Yerevan has controversially agreed to give up as part of what it calls a demarcation of local sections of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. Unlike several other Tavush villages affected by the territorial concession, Kirants would lose not only agricultural land but also some of its houses and a key bridge connecting it to the rest of the country. This is why it has been the epicenter of protests in Tavush against the planned land handover.
Armenian Border Protesters March to Yerevan from Tavush
By Karine Simonian YEREVAN (Azatutyun) — An outspoken archbishop and his supporters began marching on Saturday, May 4, to Yerevan from a border village in the northern Tavush province that has been the epicenter of two-week protests against the Armenian government’s territorial concessions to Azerbaijan.
Border Demarcation ‘Frozen’ In Restive Armenian Village
The village of Kirants was the epicenter of the protests sparked by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s decision to cede several border areas adjacent to this and three other Tavush communities. A map released by the Armenian government on April 19 suggested that Kirants would lose not only much of its agricultural land but also some of its houses and a key bridge connecting it to the rest of the country. The government’s plans have met with strongest opposition there.
One Dead, Eight Wounded In Russian Shelling Of Ukrainian Regions
Russian shelling killed one civilian and wounded eight in several Ukrainian regions, officials reported early on May 7. One man was killed in Petrivka in the Donetsk region, local administration head Vadym Filashkin said on Telegram, adding that four people were wounded in Kostyantynivka. Kharkiv Governor Oleh Synyehubov said three people -- including a 16-year-old girl -- were wounded when a guided aerial bomb struck the village of Borova in the Izyum district.
American Soldier Arrested In Russia, Accused Of Stealing -- U.S. Officials
A U.S. soldier has been arrested in Russia and accused of stealing, two U.S. officials said on May 6. The soldier, who is not being identified, was stationed in South Korea and was in the process of returning home to the United States. Instead, he traveled to Russia. According to the officials, the soldier was arrested late last week in Vladivostok, a Pacific port city, and remains in custody.
Moscow Summons British Envoy Over Cameron's 'Hostile' Remarks On Attacks Inside Russia
Russia says it warned Britain that if British weapons are used by Kyiv to strike inside its territory, Moscow was entitled to retaliate by striking back at British military targets both inside and outside Ukraine. The Russian ministry said it summoned British Ambassador Nigel Casey on May 6 over what it called "hostile" remarks by Foreign Secretary David Cameron, who said Ukraine "has the right" to launch attacks inside Russia with British-made weapons.
Iranian Teachers Call Out Government Over Lack Of Reforms
Teachers across Iran have rallied in support of reforms in the education sector and an end to what they describe as discriminatory and oppressive treatment by authorities. The Iranian Teachers' Union's Coordination Council reported that security forces detained four participants during the protests in Tehran, with one teacher, Mehdi Farahi Shandiz, still being held in custody.
Magyar, Nagy Tell Supporters Change Impossible To Stop In Hungary
Peter Magyar, a rising challenger to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's right-wing government, told supporters in Debrecen that changes are coming to the country that current leaders will be unable to prevent. "Change can be stopped for a few days, a few weeks, but no one in historyhas ever stopped it and neither can they," Magyar said on May 4.
Armenian Border Protesters March To Yerevan
An outspoken archbishop and his supporters began marching on Saturday to Yerevan from a border village in the northern Tavush province that has been the epicenter of two-week protests against the Armenian government’s territorial concessions to Azerbaijan.
Armenia Starts Land Handover To Azerbaijan
“On the basis of geodetic measurements at the border of the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan, the first border post was installed within the framework of coordinate adjustment works. The work of expert groups of the two countries is continuing,” the government said in a statement issued late in the afternoon.
Armenian Border Residents Protest As Yerevan, Baku Agree On Delimitation
The U.S. House of Representatives is to vote on April 20 on a much-delayed $95.3 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and other U.S. allies after Democrats and Republicans finally joined together behind the legislation following months of Republican opposition over continued U.S. support for Ukraine against Russia's invasion.
Armenian PM Touts Border Deal With Azerbaijan Amid Protests
His remarks on Saturday came as dozens of residents of border communities in Tavush potentially affected by the announced delimitation and demarcation process went out to protest the deal, blocking an interstate road passing through the area.
Residents Of Border Villages Protest As Armenia, Azerbaijan Agree On Delimitation
RFE/RL’s Armenian Service has learned that people in the villages of Kirants and Baghanis, in particular, blocked traffic at sections of the road linking their villages to the towns of Ijevan and Noyemberian, respectively.
Pashinian Again Meets Border Villagers On Land Transfer To Azerbaijan
Կիսվել Pashinian Again Meets Border Villagers On Land Transfer To Azerbaijan Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian on Wednesday held more meetings with concerned residents of two villages in Armenia’s northeastern Tavush province adjacent to border areas which he seems intent on handing over to Azerbaijan.
Armenian Border Villagers Oppose Land Handover to Azerbaijan
By Karine Simonian YEREVAN (Azatutyun) — Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan appears to be facing mounting backlash from residents of villages in Armenia’s northern Tavush province adjacent to contested border areas which he wants to hand over to Azerbaijan. Pashinyan signaled plans to unilaterally make such concessions before visiting on Monday, March 18, two of those villages, Voskepar and Kirants.
Armenian Border Villagers Oppose Land Handover To Azerbaijan
Pashinian signaled plans to unilaterally make such concessions before visiting on Monday two of those villages, Voskepar and Kirants. He insisted there that the areas, which used to be occupied by four Azerbaijani villages seized by Armenian forces in 1991-1992, are not part of Armenia’s internationally recognized territory. He admitted that Azerbaijan would not reciprocate his concessions by liberating larger swathes of Tavush territory occupied by it at the time.
Pashinyan Meets Border Villagers On Land Transfer to Azerbaijan
According to some of the villagers, Pashinyan failed to dispel all of their concerns despite assuring them that his administration has not yet made a final decision on the matter and will consult with them again. “We said we have land holdings over there,” one Kirants farmer told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. “He said ‘it’s part of our territory.’ But if [Azerbaijani] troops are deployed there, how will we go about cultivating our land?
Pashinian Warns Of War To Defend Land Concessions To Azerbaijan
Pashinian visited on Monday two of those villages in Armenia’s northern Tavush province, Voskepar and Kirants, that are adjacent to four deserted settlements occupied by the Armenian army in 1991-1992. He signaled last week his readiness to accept Baku’s demands for an unconditional Armenian withdrawal from those contested areas.
Locals Fear Being Cut Off Amid Armenian-Azerbaijani Peace Talks
The URL has been copied to your clipboard The code has been copied to your clipboard. Locals in Armenia's Tavush Province fear they will be cut off from key roads amid peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan following the armed conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Azerbaijan is demanding that Armenia cede four villages.
Pashinian Meets Border Villagers On Land Transfer To Azerbaijan
Pashinian signaled last week his readiness to accept Baku’s demands for Armenian withdrawal from four villages which were controlled by Azerbaijan in Soviet times and occupied by the Armenian army in 1991-1992. He did not make their handover conditional on the liberation of any Armenian territory occupied by Azerbaijani forces in the early 1990s and 2021-2022.
The Week's Best: 10 Stories And Videos You Shouldn't Miss
We know you're busy and probably don't have the time to read all of our coverage each and every day. That's why we've put together The Week's Best. Here are some of the highlights produced in English by RFE/RL's vast team of correspondents, multimedia editors, and visual journalists over the past seven days. On February 1, Kosovo enacted a ban on the use of foreign currency in the country, complicating daily life for many ethnic Serbs who receive pensions and other payments in Serbian dinars.
Armenian Officials Sacked Over Substandard Construction Work
Pashinian inspected several schools and other facilities refurbished in local rural communities during the trip designed to showcase the government’s nationwide infrastructure projects. He was left fuming after noticing many flaws in their design and construction overseen by the Armenian government’s Urban Development Committee and the provincial administration.
Ruling Party Completes ‘Power Grab’ In Armenian Town
The party led by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian lost control of the community comprising the formerly industrial town of Alaverdi and over two dozen other towns and villages as a result of local elections held in September 2022. It fell just short of an overall majority in the 27-member local council empowered to appoint the community head.
Pashinian’s Party Seeks To Oust Another Opposition Mayor
Civil Contract lost control of the community comprising the formerly industrial town of Alaverdi and over two dozen villages as a result of local elections held in September 2022. It fell short of an overall majority in the local council empowered to appoint the community head. The opposition Aprelu Yerkir party secured such a majority and installed its member Arkadi Tamazian as mayor after teaming up with former President Levon Ter-Petrosian’s Armenian National Congress (HAK) party.
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