The second presidential term of Serzh Sargsyan, who has ruled Armenia with an iron fist since 2008, expired on April 9.
Then he decided to deceive his people and extend his rule despite term limits. He first promised he would not stay in power but then changed the Constitution to turn Armenia into a parliamentary republic, making the position of prime minister the most powerful one, and became prime minister on April 17.
The same thing happened in 2008, when Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s second presidential term expired, and he became prime minister while installing his slavish puppet Dmitry Medvedev as president and usurping power.
Sargsyan’s shenanigans sparked a revolution. Up to 200,000 protesters peacefully took to the streets and forced Sargsyan to resign on April 23.
Now, the opposition demands the appointment of its leader Nikol Pashinyan as interim prime minister, the complete removal of Sargsyan’s Republican Party from power and early parliamentary elections. On May 2, hundreds of thousands of protesters blocked roads and an airport in Armenia, bringing the whole country to a standstill.
Armenia’s parliament first refused to appoint Pashinyan as prime minister on May 1 but on the next day the ruling party backed down and said it would support him on May 8.
It is not clear if post-revolutionary Armenia will drift closer to the West’s orbit. Historically, Armenia has been a Russian satellite because it relied on the Kremlin in its conflict with Azerbaijan over the Karabakh region.
But the Armenian Revolution, which parallels Ukraine’s 2004 Orange Revolution and 2014 EuroMaidan Revolution, is a lesson for all post-Soviet autocrats and kleptocrats. When enough people find the will and courage to resist tyranny and corruption, nothing can stop them.
Civic apathy is the only thing that keeps autocrats in power.
