The ongoing developments in Armenia are a continuation of a program launched in 2018, aimed at the gradual dismantling of all institutional structures that could serve as a counterbalance to the authorities. This opinion was expressed by Karen Bekaryan, Chairman of the Board of the “Hayatsk” Analytical Center.
According to him, since 2018 — and especially after the 2020 war — the government has been systematically weakening those structures that could resist, form public opposition, or become a focal point for civic consolidation.
He recalled that the political field has been devastated, the opposition has been weakened, and civic movements have faced serious repression. Citing the “Sacred Movement” and its active participants, Bekaryan noted that today many citizens who stood up for national values and sovereignty are being persecuted and held in custody.
The political analyst believes that the authorities’ actions are aimed at neutralizing all potential centers capable of influencing public opinion. In this context, he said, the church also draws special attention:
“In their perception, the church has the potential to create unexpected developments. Although it has not always acted with the desired level of activity, the authorities are trying to preemptively neutralize this potential,” he stated.
According to Bekaryan, the issue goes beyond domestic politics — it is also linked to the limits of governmental independence and external dependence:
“We have no real understanding of how sovereign the current government truly is, or to what extent it operates under the pressure of the Turkish-Azerbaijani tandem. This creates a new and dangerous trajectory — the consistent destruction of all components of our identity, our national and moral foundations,” he said.
In his view, this process aims to transform Armenia into a society stripped of its identity — a purely consumerist society that loses its cultural, spiritual, and state character:
“For them, it doesn’t matter where that consumer lives. If it leads to mass emigration and depopulation, that would even be a desirable outcome,” Bekaryan emphasized.
The political analyst added that the authorities are also maintaining a constant atmosphere of “revolutionary showmanship” to divert public attention:
“A continuous show is being staged. Its purpose is to distract attention from real processes — both inside the country and around it,” he said.
According to Bekaryan, this mechanism has been used since 2018 to preserve the illusion of ongoing “revolutionarism”: first it was an “economic revolution,” then a “judicial one,” and now new stages are being created under the banner of “ongoing reforms.”
“Each time the previous attempt fails, a new ‘revolutionary line’ is invented. This is how national values, ideological principles, and institutional taboos are destroyed,” he concluded.