Tag: Hovhannes Nazaretyan

Freedom House's Nations in Transit 2024 report downgraded Armenia's democracy score. It also highlighted the spread of autocracy in the region, emphasizing that Western democracies have been inconsistent and hesitant in defending international norms, enabling autocracies to evade accountability.

Azerbaijan has been demanding Armenia withdraw from four villages in the Tavush region. There is much confusion around what these villages are and what a potential withdrawal could mean for Armenia. Hovhannes Nazaretyan explains.

Built in 1902 as a bank, and later functioning as a hospital, 54 Aram Street now stands neglected, its historic significance marred by decay. Despite recent approval for restoration, its fate remains uncertain and its owner, a former Minister of Health, isn’t divulging much information.

The latest survey by the International Republican Institute, conducted in December 2023, reveals the consolidation of public distrust in Russia, strong support for the Government’s pivot toward the West, and a growing sophistication in the Armenian public’s understanding of its complex security concerns.

Landlocked Armenia, surrounded on two sides by unrelenting foes, has limited access to the outside world. Railways could potentially help alleviate this isolation by providing reliable outside connections for trade and passenger traffic.

Armenia’s statistics agency recently released its annual report on a number of socio-economic metrics covering sectors from trade to tourism to employment and inflation. Hovhannes Nazaretyan presents some of the more interesting findings reflecting the state of the country.

In collaboration with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), Armenian journalists uncover that several UK properties owned by the sister of Armenia's ex-President Armen Sarkissian are held through opaque offshore companies. This revelation raises concerns about transparency and potential legal implications.

The issue of tiny but strategically placed Soviet-era enclaves in Armenia and Azerbaijan has come to the forefront of peace talks in recent months. Hovhannes Nazaretyan maps it out.

As the geopolitical landscape in the South Caucasus remains precarious, potential changes in EU and U.S. leadership can pose additional challenges for Armenia. Amid these uncertainties, Armenia's diplomatic efforts become increasingly important and serve as a test of its resilience.

In the first of a series of articles about privatized and abandoned historic buildings in Armenia’s capital, Hovhannes Nazaretyan looks at the privatization process and current condition of the former Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Yerevan’s Republic Square.

Armenia has voted on a variety of conflicts and issues at the UN, including at the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council. An analysis of its voting patterns reveals some overlooked aspects of Armenia’s foreign policy and its evolution.

Armenia’s Statistical Committee recently published its annual report on a variety of socio-economic metrics. Driven by the effects of the Russo-Ukrainian war, Armenia saw robust economic growth, dramatic upturn in international trade, IT, and banking.

Why has the UN Security Council failed to react in a meaningful way to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict? Hovhannes Nazaretyan looks at some of the possible reasons.

Over a year after Russian troops were deployed to Artsakh, here’s what we know about the Russian presence there, with the historical background for Moscow’s drive for boots on the ground in Artsakh.

Armenian cultural, religious and historical monuments and sites currently under Azerbaijani control in the aftermath of the 2020 Artsakh War are under immediate threat of vandalism and destruction.

Lucrative economic ties with Azerbaijan have influenced the United Kingdom, Italy and Hungary, among others, in their stance during and after the 2020 Artsakh War.

When Armenia declared independence in 1991, there was still a large contingent of Soviet troops in the country. Russian military presence, however, stretches back to the early 19th century and now, after the 2020 Artsakh War, is expanding.

For nearly three decades, Armenia and Azerbaijan have been buying large quantities of weapons from a number of countries. Hovhannes Nazaretyan presents a comprehensive list of weapons acquired by both countries since independence.

Armenia’s air defense systems were largely ineffective against the onslaught of combat and reconnaissance UAVs used by the Azerbaijani military. The single most important UAV used in the 2020 Artsakh War was the Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2.

From widespread collectivization of farms during the Soviet era to privatization after independence in 1991, the state of agriculture in the three countries of the South Caucasus.

The Caucasus Barometer survey conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic gripped the country, reveals that the overall mood of the Armenian public was optimistic.

Armenia’s parliament recently passed the “Law on the Confiscation of Illegally-Acquired Assets.” It is portrayed as a major anti-corruption measure and according to authorities is aimed at former and current officials.

From those who survived the Armenian Genocide to those who moved to Soviet Armenia during the Great Repatriation of the 1940s, Western Armenians contributed to Yerevan’s incredible rise as a major city, turning it into the heart and soul of the Armenian nation.

Three decades after the catastrophic Spitak Earthquake, Hovhannes Nazaretyan takes a look back at how that tragedy was covered by one of America’s most prestigious newspapers.

A prominent Armenian Bolshevik activist and head of the Baku Commune Stepan Shahumyan’s ghost now wanders through his native Caucasus. Armenians have largely forgotten his century-old verbal attacks on nationalism and insistence on internationalist fraternity of peoples, yet his statues remain and streets, villages and towns are named after him in Armenia and Artsakh.

A tucked away city within a city, the district of Kond in Yerevan has a rich history and a promising future only if authorities undertake a large-scale restoration. What are the stories of Kond and what does the future hold for one of the oldest quarters in the country’s capital?

The Amulsar gold mine, owned and operated by Lydian Armenia, is one of the most controversial projects in recent years in Armenia. Over the past weekend, activists from Yerevan and elsewhere traveled to the province of Vayots Dzor to raise awareness about the potential danger the mine poses to the environment.