CIVILNET

Yerevan faces a major environmental and public health challenge as most garbage containers across the city remain uncovered. During the summer, this issue becomes especially serious, leaving residents to cope with foul smells, pests, and other health risks.#CivilNet #ՍիվիլՆեթ

The newly formed Armenian Documentary Association (ArmDoc) is making its official debut with a week-long international workshop in collaboration with DOCA Documentary Association Georgia, a non-profit organization founded in 2022, dedicated to supporting and promoting the documentary film industry in Georgia. At Yerevan’s Cinema House, CivilNet learns about the mission of ArmDoc from the founders...

Arbitrators ordered Armenia to halt its seizure of the country’s power grid, arguing the nationalization of Electric Networks of Armenia would violate an international investment treaty. Armenia’s justice minister suggested the country may defy the decision. Global ratings agency Fitch affirmed Armenia’s “BB-” sovereign credit rating with a stable outlook. #civilnetbusiness

In this episode of Insights, host Eric Hacopian unpacks the results from the most recent polling by the International Republican Institute. The results of the survey show that 61% of respondents trust no politician and they also highlight shrinking support for Pashinyan after his clash with the church. #CivilNet #ՍիվիլՆեթ #insightswitherichacopian

In this episode of the CivilNet podcast, analyst Tigran Grigoryan shares insights from his recent trip to Washington, D.C., where he met with U.S. policymakers and experts on South Caucasus affairs. He discusses the Trump administration’s proposed settlement between Armenia and Azerbaijan, including a controversial corridor plan through Syunik. Grigoryan also examines U.S. priorities in the region...

Hrair Balian, former director of the Carter Center’s Conflict Resolution Program, analyzes Armenia’s critical juncture as it pursues normalization with Azerbaijan and Turkey. Drawing on decades of experience and his forthcoming book on the failure of the Nagorno-Karabakh peace talks, Balian offers a sober look at the potential of a normalization treaty with Azerbaijan. He addresses public skeptici...

On July 12, demonstrators gathered in Freedom Square in Yerevan to protest the Armenian government’s declining support for displaced Artsakh Armenians. The rally drew roughly hundreds of people and included  both Armenians from Artsakh and others showing solidarity.

Rex Kalamian, assistant coach of the Milwaukee Bucks and head coach of Armenia’s national basketball team, shares how he’s using his NBA experience to build Armenia’s basketball program from the ground up. Kalamian offers insights into his recruiting process and what he’s learned working with some of the biggest names in the game. He also reflects on what representing Armenia means to him as the g...

Dr. Karena Avedissian, political scientist and researcher, shares insights from her recent visit to the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, also known as Rojava, where she met with Islamized Armenians, descendants of Genocide survivors who were forcibly assimilated during and after 1915. She explains how this hidden diaspora is now reemerging and reclaiming its Armenian identity thr...

In this episode of Insights, host Eric Hacopian covers the geopolitical shock of Israel’s attack on Iran, and what the unfolding war means for Armenia. Hacopian outlines the key developments, including the purported use of Azerbaijani territory for Israeli drone strikes, the likely goals behind the attacks, and the potential for a wider regional conflict. He also examines how Iran’s instability co...

"We have complicated this simple life." The flow of Iranian citizens to Armenia continues. Uncertainty, loved ones left on the other side of the border, and an emptying Tehran: this is how Iranians who have crossed the Agarak checkpoint describe the situation. Some, despite obstacles, are going in the other direction- returning to Iran to be with their relatives.#CivilNet #ՍիվիլՆեթ

In this episode of the CivilNet podcast, Sergei Melkonian, a Middle East specialist and a research fellow at the Yerevan-based think tank APRI Armenia, sheds light on the fast-moving conflict between Iran and Israel and what it means for Armenia. Recorded on day five of the crisis, the conversation explores what Melkonian warns could be a worst-case scenario, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin N...

📍 The government of Armenia is partnering with the artificial intelligence startup Firebird and chipmaker NVIDIA to launch a $500 million AI data center and supercomputer.📍 A look inside Armenia’s Russian “gold rush”: https://www.civilnet.am/en/news/956651/Credits: Ruptly#CivilNet #ՍիվիլՆեթ #civilnetbusiness

Yerevan hosted the world-renowned Russian ballet companies for its third annual international ballet festival. The highly anticipated week-long event drew over 100,000 people to watch a myriad of pieces, even including a special tribute to Armenia’s cultural heritage with a performance of Aram Khachaturian’s Sabre Dance. #CivilNet #ՍիվիլՆեթ

Eleanor Monbiot, OBE, Regional Director for the Middle East and Eastern Europe at World Vision, discusses the humanitarian organization’s evolving role in Armenia as it transitions to a locally led, self-funded model. She highlights World Vision’s decades of work with vulnerable children and families in fragile contexts, including recent support for over 16,000 displaced people from Nagorno-Karaba...

Civilnet sits down with Aren Deyirmenjian, the Armenia Representative of the Armenian Missionary Association of America (AMAA), to discuss their groundbreaking educational initiative. From a unique tuition-free private school in Yerevan to an ambitious community-centric cluster model school launching in the border region of Vardenis, AMAA is creating empowering spaces for vulnerable children and t...

Tim Jemal, president of the non-partisan advocacy organization Global ARM, shares how his organization is reshaping U.S. policy toward Armenia through strategic lobbying and bipartisan outreach. He discusses reversing the anti-Armenian narratives promoted by Azerbaijan's big dollar lobbyists and engaging with the Trump administration on strengthening US-Armenia ties, which in turn will enhance...

📍 The Zangezur mine, one of Armenia’s largest and most profitable companies, is seeking $12 million in damages from former employees who led a strike earlier this year in protest of what they called low wages and harmful working conditions.📍 Only 6% of the estimated 900,000 Armenians who are expected to submit mandatory income declarations have done so thus far, the latest sign that public oppos...

In this episode of Insights , host Eric Hacopian focuses on Armenia’s conscription reforms, and asks if it’s the correct approach to solving the military’s many issues. Hacopian breaks down the key changes to the draft law, including new payment tiers to reduce service time and harsher penalties for those who dodge it. He also addresses the lack of trust between the military and the people it prot...

📍 Armenia will lift visa requirements for citizens of Bahrain, Oman, and Saudi Arabia in a bid to boost tourism and attract more foreign investments.📍 Armenian officials confirmed they are in talks with Georgian counterparts over moves by Tbilisi to block Armenian brandy and wine exports to Russia.📍 Armenia’s gross domestic product expanded by 5.2% year-on-year in the first quarter, the country...

In this episode of the CivilNet podcast, political analyst Eric Hacopian covers some of the major developments in Armenia this week. He addresses speculation around Yerevan’s potential inclusion in the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords and explores how the Trump administration may use the platform to reshape the South Caucasus. Hacopian also examines renewed efforts by Russia to reassert influence in...

Author Birgit Kofler joins CivilNet to explore the history and legacy of Operation Nemesis - the covert mission to assassinate the orchestrators of the Armenian Genocide. Drawing from her book _I Have Killed, But I Am Not a Murderer_ , Kofler considers the legal and moral questions surrounding the operation, as well as the broader consequences of genocide denial and impunity. Reflecting on Nemesis...

Dr. Taner Akçam, a renowned Turkish historian and the inaugural director of the Armenian Genocide Research Program of the Promise Armenian Institute at UCLA, joins CivilNet to discuss the need to shift from genocide recognition to restitution in the fight for justice. Following the formal recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the U.S., Akçam argues that the next phase must focus on reparations -...

In this episode of Insights, host Eric Hacopian covers three key developments shaping Armenia's regional and domestic landscape. He begins with the cancelled summit between Israeli and Turkish officials in Baku, examining the deeper strategic divide over the future of Syria, and how it could create opportunities for Armenia. Hacopian also argues why Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s decision to...

Global health advocate Pat Garcia-Gonzalez, CEO of The Max Foundation, sits down with CivilNet to reflect on two decades of work in Armenia, highlighting the country’s significant progress in cancer care alongside the critical gaps that persist. She explains how with better education for patient advocacy, reduced stigma, and expanded government health coverage for diagnostics and medication, Armen...