On May 8, 2018, the elections of the Prime Minister of Armenia took place. Following the results of the second round of voting, this post was taken by Nikol Pashinyan, the head of the country's opposition movement. At the same time, the votes were divided almost equally, with a margin of 17%. This was preceded by the resignation of the current prime minister and the dissolution of the National Assembly (parliament) of the state. Such actions were initiated by the political association "Exodus" ("Elk"), headed by the NA deputy from the Armenian National Congress (AKN) Pashinyan. Today, the "velvet revolution" that took place in the state is considered the first successful peaceful transformation of this type.
Nikol Vovaevich Pashinyan was born in Ijevan, a provincial town in the country. His childhood and adolescence is little known to the general public. He graduated from high school, was educated at the Yerevan State University, at the journalism department of the Faculty of Philology. According to some media reports, he did not finish his studies at the university, because even then he was actively involved in opposition political activities.
Carier start
Pashinyan began working as a correspondent in parallel with his studies at the university. By 1998, Nichol had become adept enough in journalistic practice to establish his own publication and take the post of editor-in-chief in it. The newspaper "Oragir" became for him not only a source of income, but also a means of continuing opposition activities. Already in 1999, this became the reason for its official closure. During this period, Nikola becomes a defendant in a number of criminal cases, in which he is charged with insults and slander. It is silent whether Pashinyan was serving his sentence of 1 year in prison.
A year later, the accumulated experience and ambition brought Nikola to the chair of the editor-in-chief of the print publication “Haykakan Zhamanak” (“Armenian Time”). The newspaper enjoys popularity, authority and wide readership. She allowed the journalist to systematically criticize the activities of President Robert Kocharian and the official authorities of Armenia, gaining political weight for himself.
Political career
As a result, in the 2007 elections to the National Assembly, the famous journalist was nominated as a candidate from the "Impeachment" political block. The failure of the opposition alliance, which failed to overcome the one percent barrier, Pashinyan uses for his own political PR. He declares the election results to be falsified and organizes a "sit-in" - a loud personal protest on the capital's Freedom Square.
The first presidential elections in the republic in 2008 led to the victory of Serzh Sargsyan. Work in the headquarters of candidate Ter-Petrosyan and the riots that followed after his defeat forced Nikol to leave the country under threat of being arrested.
But he considered it more successful to return to his homeland to confess. This gave the journalist the opportunity to publish in his newspaper the "Prison Diary" written in the pre-trial detention center, which further increased his political rating.
The inclusion of the Impeachment bloc in the ANC that united opposition forces during this period opened up new prospects for Pashinyan as a candidate for the National Assembly, which he used in 2009. Being behind bars, where Pashinyan did not find a common language with his cellmates and ended up in a punishment cell, prevented the politician's plans, but did not lead him astray. The 2011 amnesty reopened the path to political Olympus for Pashinyan. And in 2011 he finally becomes a deputy of the National Assembly.
And a year later he created the "Civil Contract" political association. Transformed soon into "Elk", ultimately it was it that became the last step on Pashinyan's path to the prime minister's chair.
Personal life
Pashinyan's private life does not separate from his political life, since both his wife Anna Hakobyan and the eldest son support his views in every possible way and contribute to all undertakings with their own participation. The two youngest daughters are still too young to help their father in political activities.
