“Reject Serge” to “Nikol the Traitor” Three Years Later: What We Have After the Revolution

“Reject Serge”, to “Nikol the Traitor” three years later. It has been three years since the resignation of Serge Sargsyan from the position of Prime Minister. Perhaps three years ago, it would have been hard to imagine that there would again be protests in Armenia demanding the resignation of Nikol Pashinyan at this very time. So what do we have three years after the Velvet Revolution and Sargsyan’s resignation?

Let’s start with the positive steps taken by this government. Salary increases: the minimum salary for teachers has been set at least 108,000 drams for one position. As of January 1, 2020, the wages of around 950 employees of the Yerevan ambulance service increased by 10%, and generally, from January 1, 2020, the minimum wage rose from 55,000 to 68,000 drams, resulting in an average 20% increase in the salaries of about 130,000 workers.

In 2019, 350 km of quality roads were built and renovated, and an additional 110 km were renovated through subsidy programs, totaling around 460 km of roads constructed. This government has also attempted to encourage birthrates by increasing the amount allocated for childbirth. Specifically, the one-time allowance for the birth of the first and second child has become 300,000 drams, and childcare benefits have been doubled. These are some of the positive steps attributed to the government’s efforts.

However, against this backdrop, there have also been serious failures: a retreat from democracy, aggressive attacks on the law enforcement system—particularly the judiciary—and the removal of professionals from the public sector, among others. Yet, given the losses we have experienced as a country, the aforementioned positive steps hold little significance. Today, we face a loss of 75% of Artsakh, nearly 4,000 casualties, missing persons, and injured, a threat to the security of Armenia, a lack of external allies or their deficiency, and an atmosphere of hatred within the country, a division of black and white.

Of course, this is a very brief overview of the outcomes of this government’s three years in office, but the losses are immeasurable compared to the gains.

More details can be found in today’s edition of the newspaper.