On May 8, 2018, the elections of the Prime Minister of Armenia were held. Following the results of the second round of voting, this post was taken by Nikol Pashinyan, head of the country's opposition movement. At the same time, the votes were divided almost equally, with an advantage of 17%. This was preceded by the resignation of the current prime minister and the dissolution of the National Assembly (Parliament) of the state. Such actions were initiated by the "Exodus" ("Elk") political union, headed by the National Assembly deputy from the Armenian National Congress (AKN) Pashinyan. Today, the "velvet revolution" that took place in the state is considered the first successful peaceful transformation of this type.
Nikol Vovaevich Pashinyan was born in Ijevan, a provincial town in the country. His childhood and youth are little known to the general public. He graduated from high school, was educated at Yerevan State University, at the Journalism Department of the Faculty of Philology. According to some media reports, he did not finish his studies at the university, since he was already actively involved in opposition political activities.
Carier start
Pashinyan began working as a correspondent in parallel with his studies at the university. By 1998, Nichol had learned enough in journalistic practice to establish his own publication and take the post of editor in chief. The newspaper "Oragir" became for him not only a source of income, but also a means of continuing opposition activities. Already in 1999, this was the reason for its official closure. During this period, Nicola became a defendant in a number of criminal cases in which he was charged with insults and slander. It is silent whether Pashinyan was serving his sentence for 1 year in prison.
The accumulated experience and ambition a year later brought Nicola into the chair of the editor-in-chief of the Haykakan Zhamanak (Armenian Time) publication. The newspaper is popular, respected and has a wide readership. She allowed the journalist to systematically criticize the activities of President Robert Kocharian and the official authorities of Armenia, gaining political weight for herself.
Political career
As a result, in the 2007 elections to the National Assembly, the famous journalist was nominated as a candidate from the Impeachment political bloc. The failure of the opposition alliance, which failed to overcome the one percent barrier, Pashinyan uses for his own political PR. He declares the election results fraudulent and sets up a “sit-in” - a high-profile personal protest on Freedom Square in the capital.
The first presidential election in the republic in 2008 led to the victory of Serzh Sargsyan. The work at the headquarters of candidate Ter-Petrosyan and the unrest that followed after his loss forced Nicola to leave the country under threat of being arrested.
But he considered the decision to return home with confession more successful. This gave the journalist the opportunity to publish in his newspaper the Prison Diary written in jail, which further increased his political rating.
The inclusion of the Impeachment bloc in the ANC, which united the opposition forces, opened up new prospects for Pashinyan as a candidate for the National Assembly, which he took advantage of in 2009. Staying behind bars, where Pashinyan did not find a common language with his cellmates and ended up in solitary confinement, prevented the politician’s plans, but did not lead him astray. The 2011 amnesty again opened the way to political Olympus for Pashinyan. And in 2011, he finally becomes a deputy of the National Assembly.
And a year later he creates the political union "Civil Agreement". Converted soon to Elk, it was ultimately the last step on the way Pashinyan in the prime minister's chair.
