Serzh Sargsyan: From commander-in-chief to political nobody Monologue of the all-Armenian “Cheburashka”

A former turner at the Yerevan Electrotechnical Plant, former First Secretary of the Stepanakert City Committee of the Komsomol of Azerbaijan, head of the Propaganda and Agitation Department of the Stepanakert City Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan, former “defence minister” of the self-proclaimed “NKR”, former Minister of Defence of Armenia, and, finally, former President of Armenia — all of this describes Serzh Sargsyan, ironically nicknamed “Cheburashka” in Armenia.

Today, there’s no other way to describe him than as a political loser. The only title he still holds is that of chairman of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA).

It was in this capacity that he delivered a speech at a meeting marking the 35th anniversary of the RPA’s founding. It was the speech of a man who has become irrelevant — harbouring deep resentment towards Armenian society and clinging to unattainable dreams born of inflated ambition.

"Today, the time has come not only to ask ourselves why we chose the Republican Party in the past, but also what we are prepared for in the present and future of Armenia. The answer to this question will determine whether the 40th or 50th anniversary of our party’s founding will be celebrated in a sovereign Armenian state, or whether it will remain only in memory, on the pages of history, along with our state," stated Sargsyan.

But time has already answered all these questions. Seven years ago, an event occurred that marked the beginning of his political downfall.

On April 14, 2018, the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF Dashnaktsutyun) nominated the then-incumbent President Serzh Sargsyan for the post of Prime Minister. The goal was obvious — an attempt by Sargsyan to cling to power, this time from the prime minister’s chair rather than the president’s.

How did it all end? Protests erupted across Armenia. What followed was the “revolution,” under slogans like “Take a Step, Reject Serzh” (including the hashtag #RejectSerzh), “Lay Down Your Weapon, Reject Serzh!”, “Police Officer, Join Us!”, and “Against Serzh — Give a Sign.”

The movement against Sargsyan became a nationwide uprising. All calls for dialogue — both from Serzh Sargsyan himself and then-Defence Minister Vigen Sargsyan — fell on deaf ears. It turned out they had no real authority, not even over the Armenian army. The commander-in-chief proved powerless to stop Armenian servicemen from joining the “revolution.”

The result? Serzh Sargsyan was overthrown. By the afternoon of April 23, 2018, he had resigned from office.

"Nikol Pashinyan was right. I was wrong. There are several possible solutions to the current situation, but I will not pursue any of them. This is not for me. I am stepping down from the leadership of our country," said the man, trying to save face after receiving a resounding kick from the Armenian people.

Following his resignation, Sargsyan disappeared from the public eye for quite some time. He attempted to re-emerge in June 2021 during Armenia’s snap parliamentary elections — held shortly after the country’s defeat in the 44-day war. Hysteria and discontent with the ruling authorities were at their peak within Armenian society. This is what all the former leaders of Armenia, including Serzh Sargsyan, tried to capitalise on. They sought a political comeback by riding the wave of anger directed at Nikol Pashinyan. But even that didn’t work.

The Civil Contract party received nearly 53% of the vote — a decisive blow to the hopes of the old political guard.

And for Serzh Sargsyan personally, the slap in the face from Armenian society was especially loud and clear.

The "I Have Honour" coalition, led by Artur Vanetsyan and comprising the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) and the Homeland Party, barely scraped past the five-percent threshold. Only 66,000 people voted for the alliance — despite the RPA boasting a claimed membership of 180,000! This is the true measure of Serzh Sargsyan’s “authority” in Armenian society: lower than rock bottom. What we are witnessing is a political zero desperately trying to become a political figure again.

Thus, in response to the question raised by Sargsyan about the future of the RPA, one can confidently predict: the party will continue to exist in Armenia, but only in a decorative capacity — as nothing more than political window dressing.

All the speeches of Armenia’s “Cheburashka” are of interest only to a narrow circle of individuals whom he fabulously enriched during his time in power. And yet, justice demands that Serzh Sargsyan deliver his speeches elsewhere — in a different setting, and in a different capacity.

Just yesterday, during the ongoing trial concerning the criminal cases against former leaders of the Karabakh junta, new evidence emerged further implicating him in numerous heinous crimes against Azerbaijan. The testimony of witness Artur Abramyan — previously interrogated as part of a criminal case initiated by the Prosecutor General’s Office of the USSR — confirmed that Serzh Sargsyan, through prior coordination, was involved in arming Armenian illegal armed groups operating in the Karabakh region.

Earlier, Davit Ishkhanyan, the so-called “parliament speaker” of the criminal regime, stated during questioning by the prosecution that the "army" of the self-proclaimed entity was controlled by a so-called "self-defence committee", which was headed by none other than Serzh Sargsyan and Samvel Babayan.

That is why Serzh Sargsyan would fit quite naturally into the courtroom in Baku — seated alongside Arkadi Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan, and Arayik Harutyunyan, answering for his actions before the law. For now, he should count himself lucky to still breathe the intoxicating air of freedom — while desperately trying to justify his obvious political failure.