In a story for EurasiaNet.org, Marianna Grigoryan’s article entitled, “Armenia: Contemplating Kocharian’s Second Coming,” cites RSC Director Richard Giragosian. The RSC Director commented on speculation in Yerevan that former Armenian President Robert Kocharian ma be “angling to make a political comeback,” explaining that he saw “little possibility for any such change” as “the legacy of the 2008 political violence is probably too big an obstacle to overcome for Kocharian.” He went on to add that “most Armenians hold Kocharian personally and politically responsible” for the violence and bloodshed of March 2008, and “as his public position has seriously faded, so, too, has his role in being a relevant political figure. Rather, what is more likely is his continued attempt to influence politics” from behind the scenes.
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Սոցիալական խնդիրները Հայաստանում արդեն իսկ առաջացնում են դժգոհության ալիք, մնում է սպասել և տեսնել, թե ինչ կլինի: 168.am-ի հետ զրույցում այսպիսի կարծիք հայտնեց Տարածաշրջանային հետազոտությունների կենտրոնի տնօրեն, քաղաքագետ Ռիչարդ Կիրակոսյանը, երբ նրանից հետաքրքրվեցինք` սոցիալական տարբեր հարցերի շուրջ հասարակական որոշակի ըմբոստությունը կարո՞ղ է վերածվել ավելի լայն քաղաքական շարժման:
http://168.am/2014/02/07/327163.html
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As part of a new “web dossier” of essays focusing on Russia, the South Caucasus Regional Office of the Heinrich Boell Foundation published a set of articles by analysts and experts from Moscow, Sukhumi, Tbilisi and Yerevan. The compilation, entitled “The Games are over! Beware of the Peace? Russia and the South Caucasus after the Sochi Olympics,” featured contributions from Ivlian Haindrava, political analyst at the Republican Institute (RI, Tbilisi, Georgia), Sergey Markedonov, independent political analyst (Moscow, Russia), Akhra Smyr, freelance journalist (Sukhum/i, Abkhazia), and RSC Director Richard Giragosian.
Giragosian’s article, “The South Caucasus: The Limits of a Resurgent Russia,” assessed how Russia would use the post-Olympics period to promote its Eurasian Union project and strive to assert more control over the South Caucasus region by exerting pressure with the use of its energy resources.
http://ge.boell.org/web/52-1612.html
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As the second in a new series of new RSC commentaries published on the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s (RFE/RL) Armenian Service website blog, RSC Director Richard Giragosian addressed Armenia’s threat of isolation, noting that “for small, landlocked Armenia, history has not been very kind. Centuries as a prisoner of geography have meant that Armenia has had to survive as an arena for competition among much larger regional powers. And although Armenia has been both victim and victor, it has also faced a challenge of isolation.”
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