June-July 2015

In a series of analyses focusing on Armenia’s “summer of discontent” that was manifested through weeks of protests, RSC Director Richard Giragosian offered four different views of the activism in Armenia.  These included two articles for al Jazeera, “Armenians have lost faith in Russia” on 5 July, a commentary for the “New Eastern Europe” publication entitled, “Power and Protests: Armenian activism,” on 29 June, and “Armenia: approaching the precipice,” published on 26 June as a European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) Commentary.

In an article for the “Investor.ge” magazine, RSC Director Richard Giragosian offered an assessment of the impact of the January 2015 move by Armenia to join the Eurasian Customs Union, with a focus on “how much the deal will benefit Armenia - and if Yerevan still has a chance to build strong relations with the EU.” 

In an article entitled, “Armenian electricity tariffs hiked again, sparking social unrest,” that was published on 19 June by the “Business New Europe” (BNE) publication, RSC Director Richard Giragosian was cited as noting that “ordinary consumers have been hit hard, exacerbating the situation for the population of a country where one-third of the Armenian population lives in official poverty.”  He added that “this latest increase will only further escalate mounting socioeconomic tension,” before concluding that “Armenia will certainly face a long, hot summer, although driven less by the weather and more by mounting dissent and discontent.” 

www.bne.eu/content/story/armenian-electricity-tariffs-hiked-again-sparking-social-unrest

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In a book entitled, “Unrewarding Crossroads? The Black Sea amidst the European Union and Russia,” published by the Sofia Platform, RSC Director Richard Giragosian contributed a chapter assessing the set of challenges and opportunities facing Armenia.  The book, a project of the Sofia Platform financed by the German Marshall Fund’s Black Sea Trust for Regional Cooperation and the Robert Bosch Stiftung, was edited by Anahit Shirinyan and Louisa Slavkova.

In a follow-up to earlier RSC staff comments on the current status of the Nagorno Karabakh peace process, RSC Senior Analyst David Shahnazaryan added his assessment, focusing on how Azerbaijani attacks on the mediators themselves has triggered a serious shift in diplomacy.