Yerevan

Last updated: June 11, 2026

Yerevan is Armenia’s capital and largest city, with a population of approximately 1.1 million in the metropolitan area. Founded in 782 BCE, it is one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities. Located in the Ararat Valley roughly 44 kilometers west of the Azerbaijan border, Yerevan is home to Republic Square, the Armenian National Museum, Etchmiadzin Cathedral, and numerous universities, theaters, and cultural institutions. The city serves as Armenia’s economic engine, housing the country’s major businesses, media outlets, and educational centers. Key government institutions—the National Assembly (parliament), presidential residence, and government ministries—are located in central Yerevan, making it the seat of state power and the venue where major policy decisions affecting Armenia’s relationship with Azerbaijan , Russia , the United States , Iran , and Turkey are formulated and announced.

Yerevan’s Republic Square remains a symbolic center of Armenian national life, and the surrounding neighborhoods host universities, cultural institutions, and media outlets that shape public discourse on war, peace, and Armenia’s geopolitical alignment.

Yerevan has been the epicenter of Armenia’s major political upheavals since independence in 1991. The so-called Velvet Revolution in 2018 centered on mass protests in Yerevan’s streets against Robert Kocharyan and resulted in Nikol Pashinyan ascending to power. Since then, the city has witnessed successive cycles of protest and state crackdown: street demonstrations against the 2020 ceasefire agreement following the 44-Day War , opposition rallies during Pashinyan’s tenure, and most recently, state pressure on the Armenian Church and arrests of opposition figures ahead of the June 7, 2026 parliamentary elections. Yerevan’s geography and political institutions make it the arena where Armenia’s foreign policy commitments, including negotiations over the Armenia-Azerbaijan Peace Process , commitments to TRIPP (Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity), and Armenia’s shifting relationship with CSTO membership are debated, contested, and implemented.

The city’s role in Armenia’s current geopolitical predicament is direct and unavoidable. Yerevan’s proximity to the Azerbaijani border and its status as Armenia’s sole major urban center mean that security threats, blockade pressure, and territorial demands all converge on decisions made within the capital’s government buildings. During the Iran War beginning in early 2026, Yerevan became a site of intense diplomatic activity as foreign officials visited to signal American intentions regarding the TRIPP corridor, regional alignment, and Armenia’s relationship with Washington. The city’s parliament elected in June 2026 will determine whether Armenia continues Pashinyan’s course of concessions to Azerbaijan and the West, or whether opposition forces can halt further territorial or sovereignty losses. As such, developments in Yerevan invariably reflect and shape the choices available to Armenia as a state caught between Russia , an increasingly assertive Azerbaijan, a destabilized Iran, and a United States pursuing its own strategic interests in the South Caucasus.

Groong episodes that include this tag

Below are all Groong episodes tagged with Yerevan.

Save Our Monuments | A Year After the War in Artsakh | AM/AZ Case at the ICJ | Ep #97 - Nov 3, 2021 [EP97]

Posted on Wednesday, Nov 3, 2021 | Category: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Genocide, Artsakh, Georgia, Turkey, Nagorno Karabakh

Guest(s):

Save Armenian Monuments A Conversation with Virginia Davies and Heghnar Watenpaugh

Topics:

One year after the War in Artsakh, the State of Armenian Monuments in Lands turned over to Azerbaijan
What is Save Armenian Monuments?
The Significance of Pilgrimage and Holy Sites
Armenia and Azerbaijan at the International Court of Justice: Is Intentional Cultural Destruction a form of Racial Discrimination?
What Next Steps?

Guests:

Virginia Davies TW/@vdaviesnyc
Heghnar Watenpaugh TW/@HeghnarW

Host:

Simon Maghakyan TW/@simonforco

Episode 97 |

Georgian Runoffs | Turkish Drones in Donbas | Iran-Turkey | G20 Palooza | Ep #96 - Oct 31, 2021 [EP96]

Posted on Monday, Nov 1, 2021 | Category: Russia, Iran, Armenia, Ukraine, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, China, Artsakh, Israel, Economy, Geopolitics, Human Rights, India, Nagorno Karabakh, NATO | Series: wir

ANN/Groong Week in Review - October 31, 2021

Topics:

Georgiaâs Runoff Elections
Turkish Drones in Donbas
Iran-Turkey Tensions
The G20 Palooza

Guests:

Pietro Shakarian

Guest(s):

Pietro Shakarian

Hosts:

Hovik Manucharyan TW/@HovikYerevan
Asbed Bedrossian TW/@qubriq

Episode 96 | Recorded: October 31, 2021 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20211031.html

Georgian Runoffs | Turkish Drones in Donbas | Iran-Turkey | G20 Palooza | Ep #96 - Oct 31, 2021 [EP96]

Posted on Monday, Nov 1, 2021 | Category: Russia, Iran, Armenia, Ukraine, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, China, Artsakh, Israel, Economy, Geopolitics, Human Rights, India, Nagorno Karabakh, NATO

ANN/Groong Week in Review - October 31, 2021

Topics:

Georgiaâs Runoff Elections
Turkish Drones in Donbas
Iran-Turkey Tensions
The G20 Palooza

Guests:

Pietro Shakarian

Guest(s):

Pietro Shakarian

Hosts:

Hovik Manucharyan TW/@HovikYerevan
Asbed Bedrossian TW/@qubriq

Episode 96 | Recorded: October 31, 2021 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20211031.html

Armenia's Borders in Maps - A Conversation with Rouben Galichian | Ep 95 - Oct 29, 2021 [EP95]

Posted on Friday, Oct 29, 2021 | Category: Armenia, Artsakh, Azerbaijan, History, Maps, Nagorno Karabakh, Iran, Russia, Georgia, Turkey, Genocide, NATO, Syria | Series: cog, video

Armenia’s Borders in Maps - A Conversation with Rouben Galichian | Ep 95 - Oct 29, 2021

Guest:

Rouben Galichian

Topics:

Following the 44-day War in Artsakh, Azerbaijan’s president demands Armenia sign a “Peace Treaty” involving full border recognition.
Historical and contemporary mapping of Armenian borders
Early cartography and 20th-century developments
Enclaves, the Goris-Kapan Highway, and Sev Lake
Armenia-Iran border considerations

Episode 95 | Recorded: October 29, 2021

Armenia's Borders in Maps - A Conversation with Rouben Galichian | Ep 95 - Oct 29, 2021 [EP95]

Posted on Friday, Oct 29, 2021 | Category: Armenia, Artsakh, Azerbaijan, History, Maps, Nagorno Karabakh, Iran, Russia, Georgia, Turkey, Genocide, NATO, Syria

Armenia’s Borders in Maps - A Conversation with Rouben Galichian | Ep 95 - Oct 29, 2021

Guest:

Rouben Galichian

Topics:

Following the 44-day War in Artsakh, Azerbaijan’s president demands Armenia sign a “Peace Treaty” involving full border recognition.
Historical and contemporary mapping of Armenian borders
Early cartography and 20th-century developments
Enclaves, the Goris-Kapan Highway, and Sev Lake
Armenia-Iran border considerations

Episode 95 | Recorded: October 29, 2021