CIVILNET

This week’s episode of Insights tracks two stories with major implications: Armenia’s global tech developments and civil society engagement with Azerbaijan. Host Eric Hacopian explains why the Firebird supercomputer project’s approval, a new partnership with Dell, and recent high-level Silicon Valley meetings could mark a turning point for Armenia’s economic and security capacity. He also comments...

📍 Turkey is considering reopening its land border with Armenia within the next six months, Bloomberg reported, citing Armenian-American analyst Richard Giragosian.📍 Billionaire and former lawmaker Gagik Tsarukyan has been charged with violating a court order, allegedly selling off frozen assets.📍 The making of Azerbaijan’s political dynasty: https://youtu.be/OcWbu0HgJJ8?si=vl7BpLbOLIJHx2WL #Civ...

CivilNet traces the rise and consolidation of Azerbaijan’s ruling dynasty, from Heydar Aliyev’s Soviet-era leadership to Ilham Aliyev’s rule today. Through archival footage, expert commentary, and eyewitness accounts, the film explores how power was passed from father to son, how oil wealth and nationalism sustained the regime, and how dissent was gradually silenced. Two decades after Ilham’s firs...

📍 Pope Leo XIV’s visit to the Armenian Patriarchate in Istanbul signaled support for Christian unity while subtly reinforcing efforts toward Turkey–Armenia reconciliation.📍 Numerous regional leaders of the Armenian Apostolic Church, including bishops and archbishops, issued a joint statement calling for the resignation of Catholicos Karekin II.📍 A group of activists held a rally in central Yere...

On November 22, Yerevan hosted the first conference of Armenia’s state administration representatives, an event attended by more than 7,000 state and municipal employees. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan  delivered  a keynote speech packed with political and ideological messages – many of which are expected to form the backbone of the ruling party’s upcoming electoral campaign. Notably, the event wa...

📍 Armenia’s ambassador to the United States held a series of meetings with senior representatives of major U.S. technology companies, just days after Washington approved the export of advanced chips to Yerevan.📍 Meet the visionaries behind Armenia’s AI supercomputer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5j_x4LHLMpA📍 Armenia would prefer to run the country’s main power distributor as a state-owned co...

📍 An unconfirmed document published on the ruling party’s website, attributed to 13 bishops, calls for the removal of Catholicos Karekin II. 📍 Turkey’s National Security Council discussed the Armenia–Azerbaijan normalization process and possibility of bilateral cooperation. 📍 Education Minister Zhanna Andreasyan says the new “Real Armenia Aesthetic Localization and Support” concept aims to stre...

In this episode of the CivilNet podcast, commentator Eric Hacopian surveys the political field ahead of the 2025 Armenian parliamentary elections, which are shaping up to be crowded, uncertain, and highly consequential. He outlines the names currently expected to run and assesses which figures are real contenders versus those who have more visibility than viability. Hacopian also considers the rol...

📍 Catholicos Karekin II convenes an emergency meeting of bishops to address deliberate omissions of his name during Divine Liturgies, warning clergy that continued violations could lead to severe disciplinary action. 📍 Wildfires continue to burn in the Dilijan region despite containment efforts, with hundreds of rescuers, aircraft support, and officials urging caution as hotspots persist near po...

📍 Armenia continues to decline participation in the upcoming CSTO summit, stemming from criticism of the body’s lack of support during Azerbaijan’s 2022 attack on Armenia. 📍 Armenia weighs state or foreign management for its electricity grid after taking control of the Electricity Networks of Armenia amid mounting legal and political tensions. 📍 This Week in Business: https://www.youtube.com/wa...

📍 Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announces that a referendum on a new Constitution will be held after the 2026 parliamentary elections. 📍 Armenian civil society delegates visit Baku, raising detainee and media concerns during dialogue with Azerbaijani officials. 📍 Armenia is preparing to gradually release the non-classified sections of its long-awaited parliamentary report on the 2020...

📍 The U.S. government granted the artificial intelligence startup Firebird permission to export advanced chips for a new $500 million data center in Armenia.📍 Meet the visionaries behind Armenia’s AI supercomputer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5j_x4LHLMpA📍 Armenia’s state regulator stripped the country’s main power distributor, Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA), of its operating license.#Ci...

By Tigran Grigoryan and Tatev Ghazaryan On November 13, at 7 a.m., masked officers of Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS) raided the homes of opposition bloggers and activists Narek Samsonyan and Vazgen Saghatelian,  arresting  both men. Later the same day, they were charged with hooliganism and placed in two months’ pre-trial detention. Law enforcement also seized the equipment used for the...

📍 Turkey reaffirmed that normalizing relations with Armenia will only happen after an Armenia–Azerbaijan peace treaty is signed, keeping the process firmly tied to regional geopolitics. 📍 The United States approved Firebird’s export of advanced Nvidia chips to Armenia for a $500-million AI supercomputing center. 📍 The country’s regulators have placed the Electric Networks of Armenia utility und...

In this episode of Insights, host Eric Hacopian breaks down the EU’s new visa liberalization plan for Armenia and what it could mean for the country’s political future. He explains the reforms Brussels is demanding, why this process matters now, and how it fits into Armenia’s broader geopolitical shift. Hacopian also reviews the Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s recent statements on debt, defense s...

📍 Police search homes and charge five members of opposition alliance with vote-buying following Vagharshapat municipal election.📍 Armenian court extends billionaire Samvel Karapetyan’s pre-trial detention by two months amid legal and business disputes. 📍 Armenian and Azerbaijani parliamentarians meet in Istanbul to discuss normalization process and parliamentary cooperation.#CivilNet #ՍիվիլՆեթ...

Vagharshapat, Armenia’s fourth largest city, held municipal elections on November 16th. The ruling party Civil Contract kept its position in the district with 48% of the votes followed by Victory Alliance with 32%. Ahead of the election day, electoral observers reported violations of financial transparency rules. The Armenia Project intern Martina Sanna joined the Civilnet team to report on the da...

📍 Ruling Civil Contract party candidate wins Vagharshapat municipal election. 📍 A U.S. State Department official is in Yerevan to discuss Armenia-US mutual interests including the “Trump Road.” 📍 Armenia’s Regulatory Commission revoked the operating license for Electric Networks of Armenia, owned by billionaire Samvel Karapetyan. #CivilNet #ՍիվիլՆեթ #dailyarmenia

📍 Construction of a major new transit route across southern Armenia is set to begin in the second half of next year, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced.📍 Armenia could revoke the operating license of the country’s main power company, marking the latest escalation in the government’s efforts to seize the utility.#CivilNet #ՍիվիլՆեթ #civilnetbusiness

In recent months, developments in Armenia’s domestic political life have increasingly reflected a serious democratic backslide. The country’s law enforcement and judicial systems have been instrumentalized to serve the ruling party’s internal political interests. Selective justice, the use of disproportionate legal measures, and illegal wiretapping to persecute political opponents have become comm...

📍 Death cases in Armenian penitentiaries have sharply risen this year, reaching 20 so far, including eight suicides, compared to just 12 cases in 2024.📍 Armenia should impose a permanent ban on the export of used catalytic converters and tighten vehicle emissions standards to combat growing air pollution, according to a report by the International Energy Agency and the European Union.📍 Saudi Ar...

📍 In a rare comment regarding Armenia, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that Ankara is proceeding with the normalization of relations with Yerevan.📍 Armenia is going to terminate the electricity distribution license of the Electric Networks of Armenia, a company owned by Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan. This is the latest development in the saga over the power grid seiz...

In this week’s Insights, Eric Hacopian analyses Prime Minister Pashinyan’s remarks at the Paris Peace Forum on Armenia–Turkey relations and possible EU membership. He also discusses the arrest and release of prominent defense attorney Aleksandr Kochubayev, and reflects on the sainthood of Archbishop Maloyan at the Vatican — questioning what these events reveal about Armenia’s politics.#CivilNet #Ս...

📍 For the first time since the breakup of the Soviet Union, a freight train from Russia has arrived in Armenia, traveling through Azerbaijani and Georgian territory. 📍 Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan responded to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s recent revisionist statement about the naming of Lake Sevan.#CivilNet #ՍիվիլՆեթ #dailyarmenia

📍 Ruben Vardanyan, a jailed Armenian billionaire and former head of the Nagorno-Karabakh cabinet, has refused the services of a lawyer appointed by Azerbaijani authorities during his trial in Baku.📍 The European Union has presented Armenia with a visa liberalization action plan, a roadmap of reforms the country must implement to secure visa-free travel for its citizens to EU member states.📍 A s...