A New Player on Armenia’s Political Stage

By KRIKOR KHODANIAN

Imprisoned billionaire businessman Samvel Karapetyan has officially declared his intention to enter Armenia’s political scene and possibly take part in the upcoming elections.n“I deeply respect the political forces and figures who have fought against Nikol Pashinyan’s anti-national government up until now. But we have our own vision for building a better future for Armenia. We will go our own way, with a new team, while not excluding cooperation with like-minded partners,” Karapetyan stated in his announcement.

Karapetyan was recently arrested following a statement in which he said: “If the politicians fail, then we will intervene in our own way against the campaign targeting the Church.” Law enforcement authorities viewed this remark as a threat against the state, especially as it coincided with leaked audio recordings of Bagrat Galstanyan, leader of the “Sacred Struggle” movement, where he spoke of forcibly overthrowing the government—and mentioned Karapetyan as a wealthy supporter of the movement.

Karapetyan also wields significant economic influence in Armenia, the most prominent being his ownership of the “Electric Networks of Armenia.” Recently, the National Assembly approved a government proposal to nationalize the company. Frequent power outages in recent months contributed to this decision. There were also concerns that these outages—particularly before elections—could be used as a tool to stoke public dissatisfaction with the government.

Having accumulated most of his wealth in Russia and being a Russian citizen, Karapetyan’s official entry into politics has fueled suspicions that he was deployed by the Kremlin with the aim of removing Nikol Pashinyan from power. This plan is being compared to the Georgian case, where another Russia-based billionaire, Bidzina Ivanishvili, rose to power through elections and gradually steered Georgia away from the West and closer to Russia.

There are already growing concerns in political circles and among the public that, if successful, Karapetyan could become a Kremlin puppet. Otherwise, he risks being stripped of his assets, as has happened with many other Russian oligarchs who refused to comply with Kremlin demands.

Karapetyan does not hide his support for deepening ties with Russia, even advocating for Armenia to join the Russia-Belarus Union State.

As for democracy, closer alignment with Europe, access to modern Western weapons, efforts against economic monopolies and corruption—all of these aspirations would be reversed, and Armenia would effectively become a Russian province.

In our opinion, Samvel Karapetyan is likely to face the same fate as other protest movements that have taken to the streets to pursue regime change. Armenian citizens are not ready to return to the pre–Velvet Revolution era, no matter their dissatisfaction with the current administration.

Karapetyan’s emergence should concern not just the authorities, but even more so the current opposition led by Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan, many of whose members may want to align with this wealthier new political figure.

However, Karapetyan also faces a key legal obstacle: being a dual citizen, he is not eligible to become Armenia’s prime minister. And without a central figurehead, it is unlikely that any other name could emerge as a serious rival to Nikol Pashinyan.

“MASSIS”

Note: Translated with the assistance of chatGBT