Nikol Pashinyan has turned power into a tool to punish political opponents. After confiscating the HEC owned by Samvel Karapetyan, it was transferred to the businesses of Gagik Tsarukyan.

A few days ago, the prosecutor’s office started a legal process related to the privatization of “Araratcement” and other related properties. Without trial and judgment, Nikol Pashinyan has already made his decision, announced that he will nationalize the factory.

Having not escaped from “Araratcement”, they decided to deprive “Onira Club” of the license to operate the “Shangri La” casino. It is not the first time that Nikol Pashinyan, with the same political motives, takes such a step in relation to this casino. They did it once in 2020.

After Gagik Tsarukyan expressed his disapproval of the government’s policy and announced the need for Nikol Pashinyan to leave, attacks began to gain momentum, not only on his political but also on his economic activities. The Ministry of Finance hastened to deprive the “Onira Club” owned by Gagik Tsarukyan of the license to organize a casino.

At that time, it was negotiated by not paying the state duty.

What happened next is well known. In the court process, it was proved that the decision of the Ministry of Finance on depriving the company of its license is unfounded. It is clear that it had to be like that, because its basis was entirely political.

The decision was reversed, and the consequences remained with the government.

The government had to allocate 4.2 billion drams from the state budget and taxes paid by taxpayers to pay the accumulated fines of the “Shangri La” casino owned by Gagik Tsarukyan.

Due to Nikol Pashinyan’s political ambitions, the state suffered a huge loss, but no one took responsibility for his irresponsible decision.  The state gave 4.2 billion drams from its own pocket to cover unjustified fines.

We still do not say that billions of drams from the casino’s activities did not enter the state budget as a result of the license being revoked.

Let’s remind that the company pays 5-6 billion drams annually to the state budget, providing hundreds of jobs at the same time.

These are huge losses suffered by the state and citizens, just because Nikol Pashinyan’s heart wanted it that way.

After that, again for political purposes, they decided to deprive the “Shangri La” casino of its license. Everyone understands that with this Nikol Pashinyan is trying to punish Gagik Tsarukyan for his political activities, and once again the target was his business.

If last time the license of the casino was revoked by the Ministry of Finance and because of that irresponsible decision they had to pay a fine of 4.2 billion drams at the expense of the state budget, this time they are going to do it at the hands of the State Revenue Committee. On the basis of SRC inspections and the act drawn up, the Minister of Economy signed an order to deprive the company of its license. As if by the company in 2026 There are inconsistencies between the data included in the report on financial flows submitted to the supervisory body for the month of March and the readings of the counters of the gaming machines obtained within the scope of the inspection, they contain distorted and false data.

It is not difficult to understand how it happened that all this was “revealed” just now.

Even if we consider that such violations actually occurred, are they enough to deprive the company of its license? Such inconsistencies usually happen in any company, why don’t they suspend everyone’s activities?

In this case, they did so specifically, because that is what the lowered political directive requires.

On that basis, the Minister of Economy decided to suspend the license of the company. And he announces this with such unconcealed joy, as if they opened a new factory or solved the problems related to the export of Armenian agricultural products.

How much damage will the state budget suffer due to another political decision? Before that, let’s just mention that in the first quarter, Onira Club, which operates the casino, paid almost 1.5 billion drams to the state budget.

On an annual basis, it could reach 5-6 billion drams. After revocation of the license, these funds will no longer come to the budget. Hundreds of people will also lose their jobs and wages. And all because Nikol Pashinyan decided to punish Gagik Tsarukyan for his political activity and participation in the elections.

This is revenge against the leader of the party, a big businessman and his business, the victim of which will be not only Gagik Tsarukyan, but also the country’s business environment, citizens, state budget and economy. What’s more, this is neither the first nor probably the last political reprisal of the authorities against business.

Nikol Pashinyan stops at nothing, using the levers of power to oppress, silence and remove political opponents from the arena. Another thing is that he does not always succeed.

Time will tell whether it will be successful this time in the case of Gagik Tsarukyan or not. But one thing is obvious. All this once again shows that business, even large business, is in danger in Armenia, no one is safe from the attacks and pressures of the political power, the prospect of losing their property.

HAKOB KOCHARYAN

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On February 12, 1988, the Artsakh movement began. The national demand and rallies started in Artsakh, then spread to Armenia as well.

There was only one demand: the reunification of Artsakh and Armenia. Azerbaijan responded to the fair and peaceful demand of the Armenians in a typical way. Massacres and massacres took place against Armenians living in Artsakh, as well as in large settlements of Soviet Azerbaijan. Armenians were forced to leave their homes and settlements. Naturally, these events were in the center of attention of the superpowers of the world at that time.

In the complex geopolitical situation, the superpowers tried to keep their political finger on the pulse of events. In 1988, the US Central Intelligence Agency was also studying the events taking place in Armenia and Artsakh, trying to make assessments and present the analysis of all this to the US leadership.

Among the declassified documents of the US Central Intelligence Agency, we find a report from June 1988, the author of which is William Webster, the director of the US Central Intelligence Agency at that time.

He reports to the US Vice President George Bush about the history of the Artsakh issue. Below is the full declassified document.

“In 1988 June 16, Vice President

Attached is a brief historical reference on the origins of the enmity between Soviet Armenians and Azerbaijanis. I understand that you discussed this matter with the PDB reporter this morning, and I think it will be of interest to you.

Sincerely, William H. Webster

The history of Armenian-Azerbaijani enmity

The enmity between the peoples of Soviet Armenia and Azerbaijan is mainly based on religious and ethnic differences. Armenians are Christians, and Azerbaijanis are Shia Muslims of Turkic origin. Over the centuries, these differences have caused sharp territorial disputes, especially over Nagorno Karabakh.

Historically, Armenian and Azerbaijani lands were the subject of struggle between Ottoman Turkey and Persia. In the early 19th century, the Russian Empire spread into the Caucasus, taking both peoples under its control and sometimes turning them against each other.

The almost complete deportation of the Armenian population by Turkey in 1915, during which, according to estimates, about one and a half million people died, significantly deepened the hatred of the Armenians towards the Turkish peoples, including the Azerbaijanis.

At the same time, many Armenians began to view the Russians as protectors, or at least as the lesser evil. After the collapse of the Tsarist Empire in 1917, Armenia and Azerbaijan existed as independent republics for two years. However, their mutual enmity made it easier for the Red Army to establish Soviet power in the Caucasus in 1920, and both republics were incorporated into the Soviet Union.

After the establishment of the power of the Bolsheviks, Karabakh was handed over to the control of Azerbaijan. However, Armenians considered it their legal territory, both because of the ethnic composition of the population, which was overwhelmingly Armenian, and because of its special significance in their national history.

Initially, Moscow attributed Karabakh to Armenia, but after Turkey’s dissatisfaction and fear of the existence of a large Armenian state near its borders, the Soviet leadership in 1923 again handed Karabakh, which was renamed Nagorno Karabakh, to Azerbaijan. Since then, Armenians have regularly demanded the return of Nagorno Karabakh.

According to Abel Aghanbekyan, Gorbachev’s economic advisor, who was half-Armenian, this issue has been constantly raised in Armenian party meetings and public gatherings for decades.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Armenian dissidents spread declarations demanding the return of the region to Armenia. The intransigent position of the Azerbaijanis is partly due to the belief that the Russians are biased against the Armenians because of the religious commonality and the greater representation of Armenians in Moscow’s political elite.

In addition, Azerbaijanis consider themselves victims of demographic processes, which increase the number of unemployed Azerbaijani youth and worsen living conditions.

These deep grievances indirectly exacerbate Armenian-Azerbaijani contradictions and increase the possibility of violence against Armenians living in Azerbaijan.” (See here.):

It is interesting that this document was drawn up at the very beginning of the 1988 Artsakh movement.

The document was presented to the US Vice President as a very short historical reference and an overview of what the Artsakh issue and Armenian-Azerbaijani, as well as Armenian-Turkish problems are.

This document shows how the US Central Intelligence Agency assessed the issue of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict at that time. This document also highlights how the US felt about the issue at the time.

Z. I hesitated

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Dmitry Medvedev, the vice-chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, the chairman of the “United Russia” party, stated that the West treats Armenia as an instrument of the fight against Russia and is interested in the “cleansing” of the political field in Armenia.

Medvedev stated that the West’s interference in Armenia’s electoral processes has become unprecedented, and the RA state apparatus has actually moved into the regime of “manual management”.

He noted that actions against political opponents have become the “calling card” of the RA government, which, according to him, border on legal arbitrariness and are accompanied by confiscation of business assets. According to Medvedev, the pressures against the opposition, the extensive use of administrative resources and the intervention of the West characterized the last elections. He stated:
“Moscow will assess the real intentions of the Armenian authorities not by statements, but by actions. Russia expects that the “Civil Pact” party will take into account the opinion of the majority of voters.

In particular, he stated:

“The intervention of the West in the electoral processes of Armenia has become unprecedented, and the state apparatus of Armenia has actually moved to the regime of “manual management”.

Reprisals against political opponents have become a characteristic feature of the current government of Armenia. The motion to deprive politician Gagik Tsarukyan of his immunity is a new stage of pressure against the opposition.

The rupture of relations between Yerevan and Moscow will have serious consequences for the citizens of Armenia, and the EU is not interested in it at all.

Yerevan’s political ambitions prevailed over national interests.

Actions against political opponents have become the “calling card” of the RA government, bordering on legal arbitrariness and accompanied by confiscation of business assets.

The repression against the opposition, the extensive use of administrative resources and the intervention of the West characterized the last elections.

The rupture of relations between Yerevan and Moscow will have serious consequences for the citizens of Armenia, and the EU is not interested in it at all.

Moscow will assess the real intentions of the Armenian authorities not by statements, but by actions. Russia expects that the “Civil Pact” party will take into account the opinion of the majority of voters,” he said.

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During the pre-election campaign, at the beginning of June, Nikol Pashinyan, speaking about Artsvashen, said that one of the options to solve the issue of Artsvashen is exchange. Nikol Pashinyan did not elaborate on what the exchange was with.

“One of the options to solve the problem of silver can be the exchange.

For the Armenian side, this topic is no longer a matter of tension. The principle is as follows. Do Armenia and Azerbaijan want to hurt each other with the border delimitation process, or do they want to solve the issues so that our children and their children no longer have these topics?” had said Nikol Pashinyan.

Chairman of the Democratic Party of Armenia Aram Sargsyan in other words, if Nikol Pashinyan’s goal is to exchange Artsvashen with Tigranashen, then he should understand that these two are not equal territories.

“Artsvashen is an Armenian territory and we have tens-hundreds of such territories in Azerbaijan, because Armenians lived in the territory of Azerbaijan when the Azerbaijan state did not exist, and our right to live in those territories was undeniable from a historical and legal point of view.

We have constantly reminded about Tigranashen after 2020, I don’t know who thought of naming it Kyarki. I want to remind you that this last name does not exist in any official map or document.”  168.amAram Sargsyan said in a conversation with

According to him, during the Soviet years, the authorities of Armenia allowed Azerbaijani shepherds to come and practice shepherding in the Tigranashen area. Gradually, the number of Azerbaijani shepherds increased, they brought their families and multiplied.

Our interlocutor is sure that the Azerbaijanis took this step consciously, under the supervision of the authorities of Azerbaijan and Turkey. This was part of the big plan of those two countries.

“They deliberately did it in order to choose an opportune moment and block the Armenians’ road to Syunik and use that road as a “corridor” to unite the Turkish-speaking states. For some reason, today it seems to some people that this is from the genre of fantasy, but I am saying what the Turks do not hide, and Bakhcheli’s latest statement that the “Zangezur Corridor” will finally give them the opportunity to implement the idea of ​​”Turan” once again confirms the goals of the Turkish-Azerbaijani tandem.

We clearly see how Nakhichevan is turning into a military training ground day by day. Therefore, Nikol Pashinyan will commit the greatest crime if he suddenly agrees to exchange Tigranashen,” added Aram Sargsyan.

Continuing, he emphasized that it should be fixed once and for all that Tigranashen is the legal territory of Armenia, which, it is no secret, has strategic importance for Armenia, and if it is handed over to Azerbaijani control, it will be isolation of Syunik and state treason.

“For the Turkish-Azerbaijani tandem, Tigranshen is the blessed way to unite Turkish-speaking countries.

This issue should become one of the main issues for our society today and take a step, defend our territories, so that no such action is taken by the government,” Aram Sargsyan emphasized.

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On the elections, Nikol Pashinyan spent so many resources and money to “buy” voters’ votes at the expense of the state budget that he put the budget under attack. Not only the budget of this year, but also of the following years is under attack.

The increase of pensions alone requires additional spending of more than 200 million dollars annually from the budget. Almost that much more is needed to continue health insurance. Not only the system, but also the budget was not ready to bear the burden of health insurance. But on the eve of the elections, according to Nikol Pashinyan, they invested hastily and put an additional heavy burden on the budget.

We are not even talking about burdening the budget with various other programs and subsidies.

All of these require huge sums of money in order to ensure their continuity in the future. They cannot cancel the increased pension or the invested health insurance just before the elections, citing lack of money. It will be a death blow for any government.

In order to avoid that blow, before the ink of the election was dry, they went on the attack. At the very first session of the government following the elections, they decided to increase the excise tax. They are preparing to carry out widespread stamping of goods as soon as possible.

“From January 1, 2027, the stamp marking should be maximally extended.

In other words, we should label what can be labeled. We should label what cannot be stamped, because there is no such thing that cannot be stamped,” Nikol Pashinyan gave this instruction to the SRC at the government meeting.

Stamping seems to be a very innocent and justified step. But we have already seen in the past what consequences it has on the prices of goods. Prices go up immediately after stamping. The example of dairy products is still fresh, when the prices increased by up to 7-8 percent after the branding.

From January 1, when they are preparing to stamp all possible and impossible products, a widespread increase in their prices is expected, and the citizens will bear the burden of this increase.

Micro-business is also targeted by the government. They do not intend to save even micro-business, which solves the problem of existence for many families.

At the last session of the government, Nikol Pashinyan presented an ultimatum to micro-businesses. He announced that if a micro-enterprise fails to issue a tax receipt 3 times within 1 year, that enterprise will be deprived of the right to work in both the micro-business and turnover tax systems for 5 years and will have to enter the VAT field, not hiding that this will mean actual closure and cessation of activity for them.

“We need to double the threshold for micro-business, and we need to introduce a regulation that if an enterprise is found to have failed to release tax returns 3 times in 1 year, it will be deprived of working in both the field of micro-business and turnover tax for 5 years. I understand that this may mean a de facto closure for some, but then let them issue HDM coupons, it cannot be otherwise.

From January 1, this regulation should also come into force,” Nikol Pashinyan gives advice to small businesses.

At first glance, such statements about increasing tax discipline and showing turnover seem justified and well-founded. The business must register its turnovers, come out of the shadows. But it is not always like that. And it has its deep reasons. However, instead of understanding those reasons and providing solutions, the government is going to put the micro-business under the administrative baton, fine it 3 times and transfer it to the universal tax system, where the tax burden is many times heavier.

In that system, micro-business is doomed to stop operating. Not only because the tax burden is much heavier, but also because the associated costs will increase. If the micro-business in the field of turnover tax can independently carry out its accounting and somehow ensure its existence, in the field of VAT, it will have to pay a considerable sum to use the services of an accountant. And micro-business or many entities operating in that field cannot afford such luxury.

In the end, it is necessary to understand that it is not a good condition when a micro-business avoids showing its turnover. The tax burden is so heavy, the costs are so high that without a shadow it becomes simply impossible to continue the activity. People are forced to take risks, enter the shadows, in order to ensure their existence.

When they increased the tax burden on micro-businesses, doubled the turnover tax, then it was necessary to think about this. But in such cases, they only think about bringing money to the budget, no matter what happens later. They are doing the same now. They unnecessarily burdened the budget and are preparing to destroy the economy and citizens in order to cover up the consequences of what they have done.

Before putting the micro-business under the tax baton, one should first think about easing the latter’s tax burden. Only raising the turnover threshold does not solve the problem in this case. It is necessary to lower the tax burden so that the micro-business can get out of the financial burden. Otherwise, what they intend to do will become a serious threat to micro-business. Not only because it may end up in a much tougher tax field. The existence of micro-business will suffer even if it continues to operate under stricter administrative conditions, even remaining in the field of micro-business or turnover tax. It will bankrupt and drive many people out.

It is necessary to realize that micro-business is a social business, and it should be approached as a social business, and not as a bag of money for the budget.

HAKOB KOCHARYAN

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