{{Short description|Political alliance in Armenia}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2026}} {{Infobox political party | name = Strong Armenia | logo = Logo of the Strong Armenia.svg{{!}}class=skin-invert | logo_size = 220 | colorcode = {{party color|Strong Armenia}} | founded = 8 December 2025 | dissolved = | leader = [[Samvel Karapetyan (businessman)|Samvel Karapetyan]] | headquarters = [[Yerevan]], Armenia | country = Armenia | ideology = Pro-[[Armenian Apostolic Church]] | position = [[Big tent]]<ref>{{cite news|last=Shakarian|first=Pietro A.|title=Rubio in Yerevan: A Neocon in the Land of Nairi|url=https://www.thenation.com/article/world/marco-rubio-armenia-election-pashinyan-iran-caucasus-geopolitics-artsakh/|work=[[The Nation]]|date=28 May 2026|access-date=28 May 2026}}</ref> | native_name = Ուժեղ Հայաստան | seats1 = {{Composition bar|0|107|hex={{party color|Strong Armenia}}}} | seats1_title = [[National Assembly of Armenia|National Assembly]] | colours = | website = {{URL|https://strongarmenia.am/}} }}
'''Strong Armenia''' ({{langx|hy|Ուժեղ Հայաստան|Uzhegh Hayastan}}) is an [[Armenia]]n political party established in 2025 by businessman [[Samvel Karapetyan (businessman)|Samvel Karapetyan]] after the violent [[Expulsion of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians|expulsion]] of all ethnic [[Armenians in Azerbaijan|Armenians]] from their homeland in [[Karabakh]] by Azerbaijan and the moves of the Armenian government [[Armenia–Azerbaijan relations|towards Azerbaijan]] on potential recognition of the loss of [[Republic of Artsakh|Artsakh]] that also involved giving over land in UN-recognized Armenia.<ref name="Artsakh">{{Cite web |title=Strong Armenia party unveils national security program |publisher=Panorama |date=18 March 2026 |url=https://www.panorama.am/en/news/2026/03/18/Strong-Armenia-party/3154471 }}</ref> The party was originally called the '''Pro-Armenian party''' before renaming in January 2026.<ref name="0119AN">{{Cite web |title=Սամվել Կարապետյանի քաղաքական ուժը կկոչվի «Ուժեղ Հայաստան» |trans-title=Samvel Karapetyan's political force will be called "Strong Armenia" |date=19 January 2026 |publisher=Armenia News |url=https://news.am/arm/news/925974.html }}</ref> Karapetyan was elected chairman of the party on 11 February 2026.<ref name="Candidate">{{Cite web |title=Businessman Samvel Karapetyan Named Prime Ministerial Candidate by "Strong Armenia" Party Ahead of June 7 Elections |date=12 February 2026 |publisher=The Armenian Report |url=https://www.thearmenianreport.com/post/businessman-samvel-karapetyan-named-prime-ministerial-candidate-by-strong-armenia-party-ahead-of-j }}</ref>
== Background == {{Main|2024 Armenian protests|Samvel Karapetyan (businessman)|2025 Armenian coup attempt allegations}} From April to June 2024, the [[Armenian Apostolic Church]] (AAC) became directly involved in the nations politics when Primate [[Bagrat Galstanyan]] [[2024 Armenian protests|openly called for regime change]] against [[Prime Minister of Armenia|Prime Minister]] [[Nikol Pashinyan]] seeking to see himself installed in his place with the backing of Patriarch [[Garegin II]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thearmenianreport.com/post/pashinyan-leader-of-tavush-for-the-homeland-is-catholicos-of-all-armenians-and-beneficiary-is-rob|title=Pashinyan: Leader of "Tavush for the Homeland" Is Catholicos of All Armenians and Beneficiary Is Robert Kocharyan|date=7 May 2024|website=The Armenian Report}}</ref><ref name="Al">{{cite web |title=Armenia arrests prominent archbishop over alleged coup plot |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/6/25/armenia-arrests-prominent-archbishop-over-alleged-coup-plot |website=[[Al Jazeera]] |access-date=26 June 2025 |archive-date=26 June 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250626023950/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/6/25/armenia-arrests-prominent-archbishop-over-alleged-coup-plot |url-status=live }}</ref> Galstanyan argued that attempted western alignment was unnatural and that Armenia's place was with the former [[USSR]] states, among the [[CSTO]] and [[Eurasian Economic Union|EEU]].<ref name="Al"/> During the height of the protests, as more and more clergy joined, Pashinyan alleged that Garegin II had broken his oaths of [[chastity]] and sired a [[Legitimacy (family law)|secret child]] out of [[wedlock]] and was therefore not a valid Patriarch.<ref name="eclj">{{cite web |last1=van den Bossche |first1=Thibault |title=Pashinyan vs. the Church: Armenia on the Brink of Fracture |url=https://eclj.org/geopolitics/coe/pashinyan-vs-the-church-armenia-on-the-brink-of-fracture |website=eclj.org |access-date=16 April 2026}}</ref> In response, Garegin's spokesmen Father Zareh Ashuryan called Pashinyan [[circumcised]] and in violation of his baptismal vows, and Pashinyan responded by offering to show Garegin that he wasn't circumcised in person.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Barseghyan |first1=Arshaluys |title=Armenian PM Pashinyan offers to show his penis to head of Church |url=https://oc-media.org/pashinyan-offers-to-show-his-penis-to-head-of-armenian-church/ |website=[[OC Media]] |date=24 June 2025 |access-date=3 July 2025 |archive-date=30 June 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250630072821/https://oc-media.org/pashinyan-offers-to-show-his-penis-to-head-of-armenian-church/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Despite the exchange earning the ire of [[social conservatism|social conservatives]] in society, the protests fizzled out and failed in its objective of pressuring Pashinyan to either resign or call a fresh election with Galstanyan stating he would transform his support base into a "new concept."<ref>https://iravaban.net/482882.html "Tavush for the Motherland" movement, about gathering with a new concept</ref><ref name="Al"/>
[[Samvel Karapetyan (businessman)|Samvel Karapetyan]] is an Armenian-born [[Russian oligarchs|Russian oligarch]] and [[billionaire]] that amassed a fortune in the Russian gas industry and real estate who, in 2018, was named by the [[US Treasury Department]] in the [[Vladimir Putin|Putin]] list, consisting of 114 senior political figures and 96 oligarchs, all of whom rose to prominence under Putin's leadership.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/30/politics/full-us-list-of-russian-oligarchs-with-putin-ties-intl/index.html|title=Full list of Russian oligarchs released by US|author=Sheena McKenzie, Nicole Gaouette and Donna Borak|website=CNN|date=30 January 2018 |access-date=2019-09-05}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://arka.am/en/news/politics/samvel_karapetyan_and_danil_khachaturov_in_us_black_books/|title=Samvel Karapetyan and Danil Khachaturov in US black books|website=arka.am|access-date=2019-09-05}}</ref> In April 2021, the [[Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan]] opened a criminal case against Karapetyan for allegedly illegally transporting weapons to [[Nagorno-Karabakh]], which Karapetyan denied.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-06-18|title=Tashir group of companies says Azerbaijani accusations against Samvel Karapetyan are outrageous|url=http://arka.am/en/news/politics/tashir_group_of_companies_says_azerbaijani_accusations_against_samvel_karapetyan_are_outrageous/|access-date=2021-09-26|website=arka.am}}</ref>
On June 25, 2025, both Karapetyan and Galstanyan were arrested for calling for a [[coup d'état]] and [[2025 Armenian coup attempt allegations|plotting a coup d'état respectively]].<ref name="Al" /> The [[National Security Service (Armenia)|National Security Service]] (NSS) alleged that Galstanyan was later notified that he legally cannot hold public office in Armenia due to his dual [[Passport of Canada|Canadian]] citizenship.<ref name="Al" /> He then began to coordinate a group of supporters to protest against the government giving up territory to Azerbaijan in a [[Armenia–Azerbaijan peace agreement|peace agreement]], and also called for toppling the government.<ref> {{cite web | url=https://armenianweekly.com/2024/05/08/tavush-for-the-homeland-movement-calls-for-an-end-to-the-unilateral-surrender-of-armenian-territories-to-azerbaijan/ | title="Tavush for the Homeland" movement calls for an end to the unilateral surrender of Armenian territories to Azerbaijan | date=8 May 2024 | access-date=28 June 2025 | archive-date=3 June 2025 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250603143017/https://armenianweekly.com/2024/05/08/tavush-for-the-homeland-movement-calls-for-an-end-to-the-unilateral-surrender-of-armenian-territories-to-azerbaijan/ | url-status=live }}</ref> By the time of the arrests, this group had numbered ~1,000 individuals, mainly former soldiers and police officers.<ref name="Al"/> These followers were divided into strike groups assigned to a specific task, such as blocking roads or shutting down the internet.<ref name="Al" /> For his role, Karapetyan was arrested for publicly voicing support of the alleged coup shortly after Galstanyan was arrested.<ref name="Al" />
== History == On 8 December 2025, this party was founded by Russian-Armenian businessman [[Samvel Karapetyan (businessman)|Samvel Karapetyan]] under the name "Pro-Armenian" party, which later changed to "Strong Armenia" on 16 January 2026.<ref name="0119AN"/>
On 19 January 2026, spokesperson Marianna Ghahramanyan announced that the party's organization is in its final stages, and that the party is expected to develop its agenda and vision in the near future.<ref name="0119AN"/>
On 11 February 2026, the party held a congress to elect a new president and council, with [[Samvel Karapetyan (businessman)|Samvel Karapetyan]] unanimously elected as party chairman.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Samvel Karapetyan elected chairman of Strong Armenia party |date=11 February 2026 |publisher=Panorama |url=https://www.panorama.am/en/news/2026/02/11/Samvel-Karapetyan-party/3151782 }}</ref> The following day, the party held a presentation at the [[Karen Demirchyan Complex]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Երևանում ընթանում է Սամվել Կարապետյանի «Ուժեղ Հայաստան» կուսակցության պաշտոնական շնորհանդեսը |trans-title=The official presentation of Samvel Karapetyan's "Strong Armenia" party is taking place in Yerevan |publisher=Armenia News |url=https://news.am/arm/news/930140.html }}</ref> During the presentation, the party announced its candidates for the [[2026 Armenian parliamentary election|2026 parliamentary election]], where Karapetyan was announced as the party's candidate for [[prime minister of Armenia|prime minister]], and that Narek Karapetyan will lead the [[party list]].<ref name="Candidate"/>
On 14 April 2026, the Anti-Corruption Committee arrested two party members and accused them of pre-election bribery by paying Armenian residents "under the guise of charity".<ref>{{Cite web |title= Armenia investigates two of Karapetyan's affiliates for pre-election bribery |publisher=OC Media |date=15 April 2026 |url=https://oc-media.org/armenia-investigates-two-of-karapetyans-affiliates-for-pre-election-bribery/ }}</ref> Then on 16 April, another 14 party members were also arrested on similar charges.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Armenia detains pro-Russian opposition figures ahead of June elections |publisher=Reuters |date=16 April 2026 |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/armenia-detains-pro-russian-opposition-figures-ahead-june-elections-2026-04-16/ }}</ref>
== Platform == The party's platform will focus on the protecting businesses from being targeted for their political views, most notably against party leader [[Samvel Karapetyan (businessman)|Samvel Karapetyan]]. The party is critical of the "poor leadership" that led to the defeat of [[Republic of Artsakh|Artsakh]] in the [[Second Nagorno-Karabakh War|2020 Karabakh war]], and supports more investment in national defense.<ref name="Artsakh" />
The party calls for ensuring the protection of Armenia's independence without submitting to economic and cultural coercion from [[Turkey]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Մենք առաջարկում ենք հինգ քայլ դեպի ուժեղ Հայաստան. «Մեր ձևով» շարժման համակարգող |trans-title=We propose five steps towards a strong Armenia. Coordinator of the "Our Way" movement |publisher=Armenia News |date=20 January 2026 |url=https://news.am/arm/news/926239.html }}</ref> The party also supports [[Armenia–Russia relations|closer ties with Russia]] to avoid turning Armenia into "an arena of geopolitical confrontation".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Moscow’s Last Stand in the South Caucasus: Russia’s Campaign to Derail Armenia’s Elections and the U.S.-Brokered Peace |publisher=Yorktown Institute |date=13 April 2026 |url=https://yorktowninstitute.org/moscows-last-stand-in-the-south-caucasus-russias-campaign-to-derail-armenias-elections-and-the-u-s-brokered-peace/ }}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{Armenian political parties}}
[[Category:2025 establishments in Armenia]] [[Category:Christian political parties]] [[Category:Political parties established in 2025]] [[Category:Political parties in Armenia]] [[Category:Russophilic parties in Armenia]]