Decades of experience show that school principals are among the most vulnerable civil servants in Armenia. Not socially—they are, more or less, materially well-off—but professionally. A governor or mayor can remove them from their posts at any time and appoint someone more loyal. “Commission,” “elections”—these are mere formalities.
School principals have thus traditionally served as a resource for the authorities, especially during elections. They rely on their loyal teachers and parents (the so-called “parents’ committee”) to carry out their informal mandates—when the governor “counts” on them to secure a certain number of votes, just as the governor is being “counted on” from above. After the revolution, this administrative resource was actively used in the Yerevan and, especially, Gyumri Council of Elders elections. Whether or not it proved decisive is another matter. But it is safe to predict that in the 2026 elections, school principals will once again be “put to work.”
So, if they are instructed to take up a revolutionary hammer—in the Prime Minister’s own terminology, a “greased hammer”—and attempt to demolish the Mother Cathedral of Etchmiadzin with the cry of “end the velvet,” these so-called educators may not hesitate for a second.
And yet, there is a crucial difference. While it is morally unacceptable and legally condemnable for public employees to serve the government during elections, an attack on the Mother See goes far beyond such everyday violations. If such an act takes place, it will be remembered not for days or years, but for decades—centuries—as one of the darkest, most shameful chapters in our history. It will mark us with a lasting stigma—on us, our children, and our grandchildren.
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People do not understand what they are getting into.
Aram ABRAHAMYAN
