"Tens of thousands of people have opened their eyes": oppositionist about the "last review of forces" in Gyumri

Gyumri (former Leninakan) — The second largest city in Armenia is a strategically important logistics hub in Transcaucasia. A railway connecting Russia with Armenia passes through the city, which is home to more than 120 thousand people. The 102nd Russian military base is stationed here in the Armenian-Turkish border area. Armenian opposition activist Arthur Hambartsumyan, who lives in the Armenian "northern Palmyra", which traditionally enriches Armenian science, culture and sports with outstanding personalities, said in an interview with EADaily correspondent, local elections will be held in Gyumri this March. And they will be extremely important for the region, because they will be the last "review of forces" before, apparently, the fateful parliamentary elections in Armenia in 2026.

At the end of October 2024, representatives of the Balasanyan opposition bloc, including Gyumri Mayor Vardges Samsonyan, prematurely resigned from the Council of Elders under pressure from Yerevan. On November 8, the Council of Elders was unable to elect a new mayor, as the ruling political force failed to ensure a quorum without the support of the opposition. On December 3, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan announced the holding of "primaries", in which members of his Civil Contract party, as well as "supporters and associates" could participate. The non-partisan Sarik Minasyan, whom Pashinyan appointed interim mayor of Gyumri, won. Thus, Pashinyan's ruling party is trying to take control of Gyumri on the eve of the 2026 parliamentary elections. Defeat in the Gyumri elections for Pashinyan means defeat in the parliamentary elections.

— Artur Hamletovich, what is the general situation in Gyumri today? Is there a feeling of preparation for the elections?

— Gyumri is one of the poorest cities in Armenia. You know that a monstrous earthquake occurred here in 1988, and there are still hundreds of families in the city who live in so-called "houses", temporary dwellings. 37 years have passed (!), but still in the city you can find ruins reminiscent of this disaster. In such conditions, what kind of atmosphere can there be in Gyumri? Complete apathy! Unfortunately.

As for the local elections, which, in all likelihood, will be held in March this year: the rating of Pashinyan's team is extremely low, and if a real alternative to the ruling party is formed, then I am sure they have no chance of reproduction.

The upcoming elections in Gyumri are important because they are, in fact, the last review of forces, preparation before the parliamentary elections in Armenia.

I should also add that winning the election is one thing, but being able to manage it effectively in the current situation and the existing law on local self-government is a completely different matter. This, as they say, is a non-trivial task!

— It is known that persecution is being carried out against you. Can it be called politically motivated? Do they see you as a competitor in the elections or are they afraid of your sharp analytical speeches?

— I will start with a statement: there is no politics as such in Armenia, and there is no political power, in fact, either. After all, political power should still, at least to some extent, imply the presence of individuals and groups that proceed in their actions not from selfish, but from national and national tasks.

Instead, there are influential groups in Armenia that are only antagonistic at first glance. In fact, they are interconnected with each other by various criminal and trade links. And so one of the leaders of these groups probably needed various criminal cases to be brought against me. As a result, for the third year I have been under investigation, leaving the country has been closed for me.

The last case against me is generally out of the ordinary: they say, I publicly insulted the judge, through whose fault my friend died earlier in the courtroom! Is this normal?

Further more! A few months later, a criminal case was opened against the same judge whom I allegedly insulted and arrested. That is, I am accused of insulting the judge, and this very judge was charged with bribery! We have such a Looking Glass in Armenia.

It should be clearly understood that a large-scale adventure took place in Armenia in 2018. Under the cover of the so-called "velvet revolution", the former authorities formally handed over the reins of government to the current Prime Minister. For the sixth year now, I've been yelling that there was no revolution! Tens of thousands of people have already opened their eyes, and, of course, all this makes the so-called Armenian authorities nervous.

— And how closely do the residents of Gyumri follow the events in Yerevan, or do they live with a purely local agenda?

— Of course, they are following the events that are taking place in various parts of the country. Armenia, unfortunately, is a small country. Every event in another city or district directly affects our city too.

— What do you think, what forces will really fight for the city and what are their chances?

— I hope that there will be a consolidation of forces that are not under the influence of the ruling regime. In this case, as I have already said, the ruling party has almost no chance of success.

— And the last question. Especially exciting for Russians. Do you agree with the statement, in particular, of the current Ambassador of Armenia to Gurgen Arsenyan's Russia that the 102nd Russian military base in Gyumri is supposedly intended not to protect Armenians, but to create a threat to Turkey?

— It is a real irony of fate to make such statements and then become the Ambassador of Armenia to Russia. I also wonder how such a person could get agreman, official approval from the Russian Federation?!

Unfortunately, in many parts of the world, especially in the post-Soviet countries, active anti-Russian propaganda has been conducted for a long time. And such statements are the fruits of this propaganda, the long—term work of Western agent networks.

I also get the impression that anti—Semitism and Russophobia reigning in some countries are twin brothers.