The Farmer and the Blogger: How Hooliganism Charges Silence Dissent in Armenia

In a recent incident in Yerevan, a pro-Pashinyan blogger confronted a farmer. The blogger approached the farmer and other fishermen to blame their lost markets on Robert Kocharyan. The farmers, having lost access to European markets due to government policies and sanctions, were understandably distressed. When the blogger pressed his narrative that Kocharyan was responsible, the farmer responded bluntly, calling the blogger a propagandist for the traitor-referring to those who oversaw the loss of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh). The blogger’s response was swift and threatening: you will be arrested when I leave this place.

And indeed, that is exactly what happened. Police arrived later that day and arrested the farmer on charges of hooliganism. Hovik emphasizes the absurdity and the Stalinist character of this system: actual murders occur on Yerevan streets with perpetrators walking free on bail, yet a farmer who voices criticism of government policy gets jailed for a vague offense. The definition of hooliganism in Armenian law-inciting disturbances-is so elastic that the regime interprets it however serves its interests on any given day.

This incident encapsulates the broader repression under the Pashinyan regime. Free speech exists only for those who support the government narrative. Critics, opposition figures, business owners whose livelihoods are destroyed by policy, and ordinary citizens who dare to challenge official talking points face arrest, detention, and judicial persecution. The farmer’s offense was not violence or genuine disturbance; it was refusing to accept propaganda and defending his own interests. Yet the state’s response was immediate, demonstrating that dissent-even mild, localized dissent-will be crushed through the weaponization of vague legal charges. This creates a climate of fear that silences legitimate criticism and prevents ordinary Armenians from advocating for themselves.