Samvel Karapetyan's Rise: A Third Way for Armenia?
A year ago, Samvel Karapetyan was unknown in Armenian politics. Now he's the main opposition force-and he represents something the society is demanding: a third way.
Dr. Markedonov examines the meteoric rise of Samvel Karapetyan and Strong Armenia as a significant break from Armenian political tradition. A year before the June 2026 elections, Karapetyan was virtually unknown in formal politics despite his business prominence and philanthropic work. His rapid ascent to become the main opposition force signals something broader: Armenian society’s exhaustion with the existing political binary paradigm between Pashinyan’s revolutionary rhetoric and the old Karabakh war generation represented by figures like Robert Kocharyan and Gagik Tsarukyan.
Markedonov emphasizes that Karapetyan represents a fundamentally different political profile. Unlike the opposition figures Pashinyan labels pro-Russian, Karapetyan is a businessman with networks across multiple international contexts. He appeals to Armenians seeking a “third way”-neither Pashinyan’s “New Armenia” nor the historical Armenia of the pre-2018 political class. The analyst notes the irony of Pashinyan’s narrative: after eight years in power, claiming he still represents revolutionary newness rings hollow. Pashinyan’s legitimacy was supposed to rest on opposition to the old regime; his loss of 8 parliamentary seats (from 72 to 64) and failure to secure a constitutional majority demonstrates that this narrative has worn thin.
What Karapetyan’s emergence reveals is society’s fracturing along new lines. The referendum question on constitutional changes-demanded by Azerbaijan and backed by some segments of Armenian society-becomes a proxy for deeper tensions about Armenia’s identity and future. Karapetyan’s CSTO withdrawal comments suggest the opposition is staking out genuinely different positions rather than simply offering continuity with pre-2018 politics. For observers of Armenian politics, Karapetyan’s rise indicates that the post-Velvet Revolution era is transitioning into a new phase where business pragmatism and nationalist consolidation may compete with revolutionary rhetoric for legitimacy.
Transcript
Sergey: for one year Samvel Karapetyan was no name Sergey: prior to last year he was a well-known entrepreneur with a Russian passport and so on Sergey: but in Armenian political life he hadn't played any role Sergey: but for less than one year he established organization. Asbed: Can I mention one thing, Professor? Asbed: Samvel Karapetyan was well known for philanthropic reasons and also the businesses Asbed: that he had in Armenia. Asbed: So the name was definitely well known, Asbed: although, like you said, in politics he was not a presence. Sergey: Let me clarify. Sergey: Yes, it was well known by whom? Sergey: maybe teachers of universities, Sergey: businessmen, Sergey: politicians not to rank-and-file Anna, Ashot in Vanadzor or Artashat, Sergey: I'm not sure Sergey: not a political presence and in political life he was absent Sergey: and it reflects the request of the society for the third way Sergey: third version political project yeah third power by the way because legitimacy Sergey: of Pashinyan since the first day of Velvet Revolution was assured by the arrival