2013 Armenian protests

2013 Armenian protests
Raffi Hovannisian addressing the crowd at Yerevan's Freedom Square on 22 February 2013. Clash between the protesters and the police on Baghramyan Avenue on 9 April 2013. Protests in front of the Yerevan City Hall on 23 July.
Date	19 February – 23 December 2013 (10 months and 4 days)
Location	Armenia: Yerevan, Gyumri, Vanadzor, and almost every major cities and towns Armenian diaspora: Los Angeles, New York City, Paris, Brussels
Caused by	alleged electoral fraud during the 18 February 2013 presidential election, corruption, monopoly, inflation, unemployment, increase in public transportation fare
Goals	Resignation of President Serzh Sargsyan Improvements in public transport with less cost to the population Not joining the Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia Cancellation of the gas deal with Russia
Methods	demonstrations, sit-ins, hunger strike, student protest, online activism, civil disobedience
Resulted in	Peaceful protests suppressed on 9 April[1] Public transportation fare increase canceled on 25 July due to protests[2][3] Police stopped a violent march on the Presidential Palace on 5 November[4]
Parties
Political opposition Heritage Civil opposition Pre-Parliament Hayazn Various groups Armenian government Armenian police Yerevan Municipality Ruling parties: Republican Party Rule of Law
Lead figures
Raffi Hovannisian Nikol Pashinyan Armen Martirosyan Andrias Ghukasyan Jirair Sefilian Tigran Khzmalyan Paruyr Hayrikyan Shant Harutyunyan Serzh Sargsyan (President) Tigran Sargsyan (PM) Hovik Abrahamyan (Parliament Speaker) Taron Margaryan (Mayor of Yerevan) Vladimir Gasparyan (Police Chief)
Number
9 April: 12,000[5]–"tens of thousands"[6]
Casualties
Detained	20 (5 November)[7] 110+ (2 December)[8]

Various political and civil groups staged anti-government protests in Armenia in 2013. The first series of protests were held following the 2013 presidential election and were led by the former presidential candidate Raffi Hovannisian. Hovannisian, who, according to official results, lost to incumbent Serzh Sargsyan, denounced the results claiming they were rigged. Starting on 19 February, Hovannisian and his supporters held mass rallies in Yerevan's Freedom Square and other cities. On 10 March, Hovannisian started a hunger strike, calling elected President Sargsyan to resign before 9 April, the inauguration day. Hovannisian called "for the solution of this unprecedented pan-national fundamental issue before April 9."^[9] During an interview on 18 March 2013, Sargsyan said he would not visit Hovannisian and described his claims as "arrogant phrases seasoned with obscenities".^[10][11] Sargsyan was inaugurated on 9 April 2013, while Hovannisian and thousands of people gathered in the streets of Yerevan to protest it, clashing with the police forces blocking the way to the Presidential Palace. Hovannisian's movement was dubbed "Barevolution", a portmanteau of barev (բարև, "hello") and revolution, referring to Raffi Hovannisian's habit of walking up to people and greeting them during the election campaign.^[12][13]

Since early May 2013, a number of non-formal opposition groups, such as veterans of the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, have protested against the government of Serzh Sargsyan. The Pre-Parliament civil initiative also held a number of rallies in Yerevan and other cities calling for alternative struggle against the government. Following an announcement on 20 July 2013 of increases in public transportation fares, young activists (mostly students) held various kinds of protests throughout central Yerevan against the decision.^[14] It was described as the first ever act of civil disobedience in independent Armenian history.^[15][16] On 5 November, a small violent protest took place in central Yerevan organized by opposition activist Shant Harutyunyan and calling for an overthrow of the government. A series of rallies were held against Armenia's future membership of Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia, including on 2 December during Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit and on 23 December against the gas deal with Russia.