Armenia’s Power Struggle: PM, Oligarch Clash Over Church & Energy

A high-stakes political drama is unfolding in Armenia as Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has announced plans to nationalize the country’s main utility, Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA). The move directly targets the company’s owner, Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, who was recently arrested. Pashinyan alleges the tycoon is failing to provide reliable electricity, thereby undermining public faith in the state.

Pashinyan has assured the public that the nationalization process will be launched soon and will comply with Armenian law. Legally, the state can take over ENA if it’s proven that the company provided substandard services and failed to invest sufficiently in its infrastructure. While Karapetyan’s defense team argues that consumer complaints have decreased in recent years, the Prime Minister claims to see not just incompetence but malicious intent from the company’s leadership.

The conflict escalated dramatically on June 18 when Karapetyan was arrested on charges of inciting a coup, for which he faces up to five years in prison. The charges stem from his pledge to defend the influential Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC) “in his own way” against sharp criticism from Pashinyan. Despite a low 15% approval rating and widespread condemnation from various opposition figures, law enforcement has focused its attention solely on Karapetyan.

Pashinyan has not relented in his campaign against the church. Speaking in parliament, he accused Catholicos Garegin II, the head of the AAC, of turning the institution into a “den of thieves” and distributing dioceses among his relatives. The Prime Minister, who describes himself as a devout follower, has publicly called for the Catholicos to resign, stating, “We cannot allow the decay at the epicenter of our national morality to continue.”

From his jail cell, Karapetyan has fired back, accusing Pashinyan’s government of systematically alienating the powerful global Armenian diaspora. Through his lawyers, he claimed that the current administration has minimized the diaspora’s patriotic desire to invest in the homeland and has severed a crucial strategic and lobbying resource for the country. “The diaspora must once again become one of Armenia’s pillars. We will fight!” Karapetyan declared.

His call has resonated with some prominent diaspora figures, including the heads of major Armenian organizations in Russia, the UK, and France, as well as the editor of the California Courier newspaper. Garen Arevian, chairman of the Armenian Community Council of the UK, condemned the “destructive attack on the Armenian Apostolic Church” and called Karapetyan’s arrest a desperate effort by Pashinyan’s government to maintain its power.

However, political analyst Mikael Zolyan suggests that Karapetyan’s appeal to the diaspora may not be a winning strategy. “The diaspora’s influence on Armenia is often greatly overestimated,” Zolyan explained, noting that the community is politically divided and that many in Armenia became disillusioned with its effectiveness following the second Karabakh war. He views the oligarch’s appeal as an attempt to garner attention.

Zolyan believes the confrontation is unlikely to harm Pashinyan’s standing. On the contrary, taking on an oligarch who amassed wealth in the 1990s could prove popular. “Pashinyan has long been criticized for not touching the oligarchs from the old guard, whom many in Armenia consider criminals,” he noted. “Therefore, I wouldn’t expect a rise in Karapetyan’s popularity either.”