In 2018, Serzh Sargsyan Used the People to Stage the “Velvet” Revolution

07.05.2025

Politician Ara Vardanyan spoke about the so-called “velvet revolution” in an interview with TV5:

“The people should not be blamed for what happened in 2018. In situations like this, the public is used merely for ‘crowd shots’—a nice backdrop to show that the people are present. The real decisions are made behind closed doors and over the phone. I believe there was pressure from certain countries—though I can't say exactly which ones—but I am sure it wasn’t Russia. There’s a reason Serzh Sargsyan has said in various interviews that he lost to more powerful forces. Perhaps one day he will speak more openly about what really happened in 2018. But what I can say for certain is that this was not the result of genuine public demand. He handed over power to avoid the risk of a real revolution. What happened in Armenia was staged, and the people were used in that process. That’s precisely why Nikol Pashinyan has spent the past seven years trying to prove that seizing power through street protests with public support is practically impossible. ”

Regarding the initiative by Serzh Sargsyan’s supporters to impeach Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Ara Vardanyan believes that they are not genuinely fighting for power. Instead, he says, their real goal is to position themselves as the main opposition to Pashinyan in 2026—while simultaneously working to discredit Robert Kocharyan.