The opposition held a flash mob in the National Assembly yesterday, posting the flags of Artsakh. In response, the Civil Contract held its flash mob, nailing the pillar of insult to the opposition with fiery speeches, based on the famous song “Well, you were stealing.” It is an everyday, ordinary political struggle, which, of course, cannot address the roots of the problem. In favor of the opposition, it can be said that Nikol Pashinyan was the commander-in-chief of the armed forces during the 2020 war and the loss of most of Artsakh, and no rhetorical trick can change that fact.
The truth in the views of the government, perhaps, is that the state, as it is known, is a public contract, and when that contract was violated for a long time, in 1995-2018, that is, the government “wrapped” itself around the necks of the citizens, it is difficult to expect that state institutions can work effectively. This, in my opinion, is the root of the problem and not the corruption of the past or the childishness or dilettantism of those present.
To make it clearer, I will try to explain it in allegory, which is connected with the most urgent topic today – the Russian-Ukrainian war. In that war, the Russian army faced a serious problem: it did not succeed in capturing Kyiv in three days as planned. The war has become heavy and long-lasting. Fresh human reserves and new military equipment are needed to continue the hostilities. In terms of weapons, Russia has reserves, what we conventionally call “weapons of the ‘80s”, which, by the way, according to experts, is not bad in principle.
Of course, it would be ideal for Russia to produce new tanks or infantry fighting vehicles every day or every other day and send them immediately to the front. But the military industry of that country does not have such power. On the other hand, using the “weapons of the ‘80s” is also very problematic. Imagine that you purchased a car in 1980 that you parked in a garage after driving it for 10 years (in a best-case scenario, but it’s also possible that you parked it under the rain and sun) and didn’t touch it. Will you be able to drive that car without spending a lot of money on repairs?
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I think the allegory is clear. Prior to independence, we had well-functioning state institutions. After independence, not so successful attempts were made to create something new on them. Within three decades, they were obsolete and useless. Renovation is expensive and pointless. Creating new ones is, of course, more costly, given that we have not taken much care of it all this time, and especially in the last four years. It is necessary to change something at the moment, but it will cost us dearly. Is our society ready to pay that price?
Aram Abrahamyan
