2023 Armenian Protests
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On 19 September 2023, a series of protests began in
Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...
following a
military offensive An offensive is a military operation that seeks through an aggressive projection of armed forces to occupy or recapture territory, gain an objective or achieve some larger strategic, operational, or tactical goal. Another term for an offensiv ...
launched by
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...
in
Nagorno-Karabakh Nagorno-Karabakh (, ; ) is a region in Azerbaijan, covering the southeastern stretch of the Lesser Caucasus mountain range. Part of the greater region of Karabakh, it spans the area between Lower Karabakh and Syunik Province, Syunik. Its ter ...
, which resulted in a swift Azerbaijani victory over the ethnic Armenian breakaway republic of Artsakh. The republic had been heavily backed by Armenia until a change in Prime Minister
Nikol Pashinyan Nikol Vovayi Pashinyan (born 1 June 1975) is an Armenian politician who is serving as the 16th and current Prime Minister of Armenia, prime minister of Armenia since 8 May 2018. A journalist by profession, Pashinyan founded his own newspaper in ...
's policy towards the region in recent years. The government of Azerbaijan compelled the separatist authorities in Artsakh to surrender, disband the
Artsakh Defence Army The Artsakh Defence Army () was the defence force of the breakaway Republic of Artsakh. Established in 1992, it united previously disorganized defence units which were formed in the early 1990s. It was disbanded on 20 September 2023 under t ...
and begin negotiations regarding their reintegration within Azerbaijan. In response, protests erupted in Armenia accusing Pashinyan of mismanaging the crisis and abandoning Artsakh, demanding that he step down. Pashinyan has characterized the protests as an attempt to unlawfully remove him from power. The
pro-Western The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to various nations and state (polity), states in Western Europe, Northern America, and Australasia; with some debate as to whether those in Eastern Europe and Latin America also const ...
National Democratic Alliance The National Democratic Alliance (NDA; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Rāṣṭrīya Lokatāntrik Gaṭhabandhan'') is an Indian big tent Political group, multi-party political alliance, led by the country's biggest political party, the Bharatiya Janata Pa ...
blamed the situation on Russia's failure to intervene, while members of the pro-Russian political opposition blamed Pashinyan for the defeat and accused him of betraying Nagorno-Karabakh's residents "in favor of the interests of the West." On 3 October, the
National Assembly of Armenia The National Assembly of Armenia (, ''Hayastani Hanrapetyut'yan Azgayin zhoghov'' or simply Ազգային ժողով, ԱԺ, ''Azgayin Zhoghov'', ''AZh''), also informally referred to as the Parliament of Armenia (խորհրդարան, ''khor ...
voted 60-22 in favor of ratifying the
Rome Statute The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court is the treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC). It was adopted at a diplomatic conference in Rome, Italy on 17 July 1998Michael P. Scharf (August 1998)''Results of the R ...
, which would enable Armenia to join the
International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...
. The measure was signed into law by
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Vahagn Khachaturyan Vahagn Garniki Khachaturyan (, ; born 22 April 1959) is an Armenian economist and politician who has served as the fifth and current president of Armenia since 2022 Armenian presidential election, 2022. He previously served as mayor of Yerevan fr ...
on 14 October.


Background

The
Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO) was an Autonomous oblasts of the Soviet Union, autonomous oblast within the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic that was created on July 7, 1923. Its capital was the city of Stepanakert. The majori ...
was an ethnically Armenian-majority
autonomous oblast An autonomous oblast is an autonomous entity within the state which is on the ''oblast'' (province) level of the overall administrative subdivision. There were autonomous oblasts of the Soviet Union and later some federal subjects of Russia w ...
within the
Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic The Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, also referred to as the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic, Azerbaijan SSR, Azerbaijani SSR, AzSSR, Soviet Azerbaijan or simply Azerbaijan, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent re ...
, itself a constituent republic of the Soviet Union. Karabakh Armenians remained outside of the
Armenian SSR The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic (ArSSR), also known as Soviet Armenia, or simply Armenia, was one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union, located in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Soviet Armenia bordered the Soviet republics ...
and resented incorporation into Soviet Azerbaijan on account of historical enmity between the two peoples and discriminatory policies. In the late 1980s, the
Karabakh movement The Karabakh movement (), also known as the Artsakh movement (), was a national mass movement in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh from 1988 to 1991 that advocated for the transfer of the mainly Armenian-populated Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast ...
developed as a manifestation of the Karabakh Armenians' desire to have their oblast transferred to Soviet Armenian jurisdiction. This culminated in 1991, amidst the ongoing
disintegration of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of t ...
, when the authorities of the Nagorno-Karabakh AO separated from Azerbaijan and declared independence as the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (later the Republic of Artsakh). This bid for independence was initially successful; as both Azerbaijan and Armenia declared independence from the USSR, Karabakh Armenian fighters drove out Azerbaijani forces alongside the army of Armenia during the
First Nagorno-Karabakh War The First Nagorno-Karabakh War was an ethnic conflict, ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan, between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nag ...
. The end of the war in 1994 left the Karabakh republic internationally unrecognized but victorious, with several areas around the Nagorno-Karabakh region proper occupied as well by troops from Karabakh and Armenia. Over the following decades, independent Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh remained outside Azerbaijani control, heavily reliant on and closely integrated with Armenia, and in many ways functioning as a ''de facto'' part of Armenia. The situation drastically changed in 2020 during the
Second Nagorno-Karabakh War The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict in 2020 that took place in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and the Armenian-occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh, surrounding occupied territories. It was a major esca ...
which resulted in an Azerbaijani victory. Azerbaijan retook the occupied districts surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh as well as one third of Nagorno-Karabakh itself. Russian peacekeepers were deployed to Artsakh as part of a ceasefire agreement. In September 2023, despite the ongoing presence of Russian peacekeepers in the region, Azerbaijan launched a renewed offensive against Artsakh, emerging victorious after one day and forcing the government of Artsakh to surrender, disband their army, and agree to reintegration talks. Armenia under the government of Nikol Pashinyan refused to intervene in the situation, having previously recognized Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan in a bid to make peace with Armenia's neighbors and orient the country towards the West. The Armenian government's inaction drew anger from many Armenians and resulted in the subsequent protests.


Protests


19 September

Hundreds of protesters gathered for a rally outside government buildings in the capital
Yerevan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...
denouncing Pashinyan as being soft on Azerbaijan and weak in Nagorno-Karabakh, including what Pashinyan characterized as calls for a ''
coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...
'' and his removal from office. Pashinyan denounced such calls stating that "We must not allow certain people, certain forces to deal a blow to the Armenian state." The protesters were met by a police cordon, and clashed with the police in an attempt to storm the
Government House Government House is the name of many of the official residences of governors-general, governors and lieutenant-governors in the Commonwealth and British Overseas Territories. The name is also used in some other countries. Government Houses in th ...
. The protesters and police exchanged glass bottles and stun grenades and several of the building's windows were smashed. Protesters also surrounded the
Russian embassy This is a list of diplomatic missions of Russia. These missions are subordinate to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Russian Federation has one of the largest networks of embassies and consulates of any country. Russia has significant ...
criticizing Russia's refusal to intervene in the conflict. Among the participants were members-elect of the
Yerevan City Council The Yerevan City Council () is the lawmaking body of the city of Yerevan, the capital and largest city of Armenia. It has 65 members elected by party-list proportional representation system, headed by the Mayor of Yerevan. The council monitors p ...
, elected two days prior during the
2023 Yerevan City Council election Yerevan City Council elections were held on 17 September 2023. The Yerevan City Council comprises 65 members, including the mayor and the first deputy mayor, elected through a proportional electoral system. City Council members are elected for a f ...
. After Russia complained that the security of their embassy was lacking and impacting its operations, Armenian police were sent to form a cordon around the embassy, resulting in a clash between the protesters and police. More than 30 people were reportedly injured.


20 September

The crowd in Republic Square began to number in the thousands with increasing calls for the removal of Pashinyan and for Armenia to intervene militarily, as it did during the
First Nagorno-Karabakh War The First Nagorno-Karabakh War was an ethnic conflict, ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan, between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nag ...
. The police started detaining protesters, stating that the rally was illegal. Some protesters called for the rejection of the
Alma-Ata Protocol The Alma-Ata Protocols were the founding declarations and principles of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The leaders of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus had agreed to the Belovezha Accords on 8 December 1991, declaring the Soviet Union ...
, and Armenia's withdrawal from the
Collective Security Treaty Organization The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO, ) is an Intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental military alliance in Eurasia consisting of six post-Soviet states: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan. Th ...
(CSTO), which Pashinyan rejected, stating that such demands were "calls to abandon Armenia's independence."


21 September

84 people were detained during protests.


22 September

Two unidentified assailants threw some bags of red paint at the gates of the Russian embassy in Yerevan. They were promptly removed by the Armenian Police. Levon Kocharyan, son of former Armenian President
Robert Kocharyan Robert Sedraki Kocharyan ( ; born 31 August 1954) is an Armenian politician. He served as the President of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic from 1994 to 1997 and Prime Minister of Nagorno-Karabakh from 1992 to 1994. He served as the second Presiden ...
, was arrested after reportedly getting into a fistfight with four police officers while participating in protests.


24 September

The National Security Service announced it had thwarted a coup attempt by the Khachakirner militia, which had attempted to launch their own offensive into the
Lachin corridor __NOTOC__ The Lachin corridor was a mountain road in Azerbaijan that linked Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. Being the only road between these two territories, it was considered a humanitarian corridor or "lifeline" to the Armenian population of ...
, and had threatened to "take matters into their own hands" if the Armenian government did not launch a military operation against Azerbaijan.


25 September

The Interior Ministry said more than 140 people had been arrested in Yerevan. Armenian special forces began detaining demonstrators who blocked roads in Yerevan.


Aftermath

On 3 October, the
National Assembly of Armenia The National Assembly of Armenia (, ''Hayastani Hanrapetyut'yan Azgayin zhoghov'' or simply Ազգային ժողով, ԱԺ, ''Azgayin Zhoghov'', ''AZh''), also informally referred to as the Parliament of Armenia (խորհրդարան, ''khor ...
voted 60-22 in favor of ratifying the
Rome Statute The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court is the treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC). It was adopted at a diplomatic conference in Rome, Italy on 17 July 1998Michael P. Scharf (August 1998)''Results of the R ...
, which would enable Armenia to join the
International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...
. Although the government claimed that the move to create additional guarantees for Armenia in response to Azerbaijani aggression, it was also seen as a sign of worsening relations with Russia, whose president,
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...
, is wanted by the court on charges of war crimes in the invasion of Ukraine. The measure was signed into law by President
Vahagn Khachaturyan Vahagn Garniki Khachaturyan (, ; born 22 April 1959) is an Armenian economist and politician who has served as the fifth and current president of Armenia since 2022 Armenian presidential election, 2022. He previously served as mayor of Yerevan fr ...
on 14 October.


See also

*
2024 Armenian protests The 2024 Armenian protests, most commonly known in Armenia as Tavush for the Homeland (), were a series of street demonstrations taking place throughout Armenia due to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan leading an effort to demarcate the Armenia–Az ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Armenian protests, 2023 2023 protests 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh
Protests A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration, or remonstrance) is a public act of objection, disapproval or dissent against political advantage. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooperation in which numerous people cooperate ...
Aftermath of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War
2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...
Anti-Russian sentiment Armenia–Russia relations Nikol Pashinyan