On April 23 under pressure of the street crowd, Armenian Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan resigned, giving way to the opposition leader and the head of the Yerevan Maydan Nikol Pashinyan.
According to tradition, it is necessary to sum up the results of a hundred days of work of the new government. What has changed in Armenia since the Maidan?
The development of Armenia’s post-marital life is being monitored not only in Russia, but also in other Middle Eastern and foreign countries. A special predilection for the events in Armenia is given by the Ukrainian media controlled by the Maidana power in Ukraine. Apparently, the Ukrainian media intend to judge authoritatively about the successes in Armenia, after Ukraine has its own “revolution of dignity”.
Ukrainian experts and ministers of the Maidan noted that there have been no significant changes in three months in Armenia. And the “velvet revolution” itself, according to the Ukrainian experts, looks “light” without arson, mass riots, deadly battle with riot police and vandalism in Yerevan.
However, many observers note that in Armenia there is a fight against corruption. Was it easier to breathe? It seems not, as there is a disappointment that there has been no improvement in the welfare of the people from the change of Sargsyan to Pashinyan. Yerevan residents admit that the government of the current prime minister “consists of honest people who have no idea what politics and public administration are”.
Armenians sincerely hope that this young, not experienced government will begin to attract the old, honest and professional power.
Ukrainian experts drew attention to the main disappointment – the absence of a sharp geo-rotation of Armenia. Armenia today does not seek a sharp review of relations with Russia and withdrawal from the Customs Union and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).
Ukrainian experts and Maidan supporters continue to embarrass themselves by the fact that the new government in Armenia is going through a “transition period” and is preparing for the parliamentary elections, which are likely to be held in the fall of 2018 or in the spring of 2019. In part, they are right, Pashinyan needs to hold early parliamentary elections to clear his entourage from Sargsyan’s henchmen.
As for the fight against corruption, this is the only resource by which Pashinyan will be able to retain the sympathy of the people for some time. But everything is comes to an end and Pashinyan will soon lose his attention and popularity. Pashinyan is supported today by prominent businessmen of Armenia. However, it should be remembered that the fire of the “Maidan revolutions” burns only with regular financing.
Businessmen after a while will demand a return for their services, perhaps even with intrest. The time will come and Pashinyan will have to pay the bills.
Three months after Pashinyan’s accession to the post of Armenian Prime Minister, there is an increase in the number of people dissatisfied with the current government, for which the people took to the streets and blocked the movement of all transport, blocking the streets, railroad tracks and entrances to state institutions.
All the offended and their relatives demand immediately “to restore justice,” but Pashinyan can not cope with this, but three months have passed.
Despite growing dissatisfaction with the current prime minister, the number of supporters of Pashinyan is still impressive. Who are these people? Many followers of Pashinyan say that their movement is egalitarian. They say, a simple working people spoke against Sargsyan.
It should be noted that these very “simple hard workers” actively avoid journalists and bloggers on the streets of Yerevan. Here is what the hipsters of Yerevan say today: “As long as there is a conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, Sargsyan’s resignation will not affect the cooperation with Russia. But Russia should abandon military cooperation with Azerbaijan or give Armenia more weapons. “
It is noteworthy that none of the allies of the Russian Federation, with the exception of Armenia, possesses Iskander missile systems. The presence of these complexes greatly increased the defense capacity of Armenia, and since the republic did not have the means to purchase the PTRC, Russia generously granted a soft loan to an ally in the person of Armenia.
Hipsters of Yerevan say that Russia “must sacrifice geopolitical interests for the sake of Armenia.”
It should be noted that Russian Armenians who left the republic after the collapse of the Soviet Union admit that they love Armenia, but Russia is also home to them. They (Russian Armenians) feel Yerevan’s readiness for change, but at the same time there is a feeling that their homeland is on the verge of a crisis similar to that of Ukraine.
In general, we can conclude that the unity of the sympathizers of the current prime minister does not exist! One gets the feeling that people in Armenia shared two moods: “a foreigner will help us” and “Russia will help us”.
For three months nothing good happened in Armenia. The victory of the street today is unbalanced. The culmination of the “velvet revolution” will come after the early parliamentary elections.