The “Armenian Velvet Revolution”, the book by Stepan Grigoryan, Political Analyst, Head of Analytical Center on Globalization and Regional Cooperation (Armenia), was translated from Armenian into English. The book discusses the political situation in Armenia in recent years and presents a chronology and analysis of the political processes in the country from March 31, 2018, when opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan and his allies started a march from Vardanants, the central square in Gyumri, to Yerevan, until May 8, 2018, when the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia (NARA) elected Nikol Pashinyan Prime Minister of the country in an extraordinary session.
The English version of the “Armenian Velvet Revolution” will be presented to the public on December 13, 2018 and will be available in the Armenian bookstores as well as on Amazon. Published by Armenian “Edit Print” Publishing House, the book has already been presented to the audience via Armenian and Russian variants and gained interest in RA and outside of the country. The book has already been presented within the framework of the Moscow International Book Fair 2018 (MIBF) – the major book forum in Russia and over the CIS.
The book consists of two parts. The first part includes seven chapters on the author’s analysis of the main events that happened in Armenia from March 31, 2018, to May 8, 2018. The context surrounding developments in Armenia in recent years and their impact on the revolution in the country are considered. The five chapters of the second part present a chronology of the main actions of the opposition and the government. They are of great importance and must be kept for the future generations of citizens. Many actions of public officials and the opposition are discussed and analyzed by the author. It should also be mentioned that various photos shot during the days of the Velvet Revolution has been purchased by the “Edit Print” Publishing House and are used in the book.
“Thanks to the Velvet Revolution, Armenians began smiling. They began greeting and hugging each other after so many years of suffocation and fear. The Armenian people are a kind and hard-working people. And nobody can underestimate them ever again. The fact that Nikol Pashinyan achieved power in Armenia despite the harsh and authoritarian regime established in the country by Serzh Sargsyan and the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) is truly astounding’’,-Stepan Grigoryan noted, adding- “Yet, today the people of Armenia have political power and a leader, Nikol Pashinyan, who has inspired hope that everything will improve in the country. And the actions of this Nikol Pashinyan and his supporters led to the collapse of the authoritarian regime in the country. There appeared the Citizen who believed that his every step laid the groundwork for the construction of a strong civil society’’.
