Simonyan vs Sukiasyan Purse string vs careerist

A few days ago, both pro-governmental Internet resources in Armenia and opposition and diaspora-sponsored websites wrote about the intra-power "clan struggle" in Nikol Pashinyan's government. Thus, according to the sources, the "Soros wing" went to war against the clan of Khachatur Sukiasyan with the formidable nickname Grzo. Sukiasyan, considered one of Pashinyan's closest associates, is the only oligarch who has increased his fortune during the reign of the incumbent prime minister, who promised the people back on the streets of Yerevan in 2018 to eradicate the oligarchic system in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the new rules of the game have not affected Grzo, who was the purse strings of the Civil Contract party, of which he is a member, and on his own list sits in the Armenian parliament.

"Pashinyan is one of the most strong-willed and intelligent political figures in our 30-year history," Sukiasyan said in one of his interviews. But a “black cat” recently ran between Armenia's richest man and the prime minister with 5 years of experience. The thing is that the members of Nikol Pashinyan's team, trained by Western institutions, including Alen Simonyan, Ararat Mirzoyan and Arayik Harutyunyan (not to be confused with the terrorist who is awaiting trial in a Baku pre-trial detention center), were tasked by their direct supervisors to "find out" Grzo's people, which in Armenia are considered to be the Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan (who is also considered by some people as a "Kremlin spy") and the Minister of High Technologies Robert Khachatryan. Websites close to the first clan reported that in fact "they are not guilty of anything! The Sukiasyan's people failed everything themselves!", writing about deplorable results in economic policy, delays in high-tech projects and social tensions across the country.

There were a great number of reasons for the conflict within the ruling elite, but recent events show that the problem is much deeper than the public thinks. In early December, a remarkable incident took place in the Armenian parliament. Oligarch deputy Sukiasyan "put Alen Simonyan in his place", who dared to make a remark to his ex-patron. Khachatur Sukiasyan's reaction came as a surprise to the Speaker of the Parliament. A video footage shows how Simonyan was shocked by Grzo's remark, and the dialogue between the rich young careerist and Armenia's first oligarch turned out to be "heartbreaking". Sukiasyan's personal attitude towards Simonyan also adds fuel to the fire. The former considers the young speaker an "upstart" and "star-struck chief" and at the first opportunity reminds him of the times when Simonyan used to carry folders and briefcases for Sukiasyan.

At the same time, we should not forget that Alen Simonyan's position is not the best at the moment. The odious speaker, among other things, proved that he spits at ordinary citizens and does not always follow his statements, which sometimes exposes "both his own and strangers". Therefore, Sukiasyan is not averse to getting rid of the representative of the "Soros clan" in order to promote his protégé to such an important post.

On the other hand, Simonyan proved his loyalty to Pashinyan by voicing the theses that Pashinyan cannot say out loud. Alen Simonyan's pronounced Russophobia also plays into the hands of the prime minister. Therefore, Pashinyan sees no alternative to his loyal associate.

Nevertheless, whichever version of the aforementioned is the main one, the events of recent weeks show an impending split within the Civil Contract party. The struggle between the two pro-Western clans means that Pashinyan is confident enough in his strength and the ruling elite does not view the opposition as a serious threat, otherwise we would have seen consolidation within the Civil Contract party. Nevertheless, the "downed pilots" Sargsyan-Kocharyan, supported by some countries, may take advantage of the situation to gain "points" for the upcoming parliamentary elections in 2026. And maybe even for the early elections. In 2024...