Opinion: oligarch Samvel Karapetyan’s party ‘Strong Armenia’ will represent Russian interests
Samvel Karapetyan’s party enters Armenia’s elections
A party linked to Russian dollar billionaire Samvel Karapetyan will take part in Armenia’s parliamentary elections scheduled for June 2026. After Armenian authorities arrested the businessman on charges of calling for the seizure of power, his supporters created a movement in his defence. They named it “In Our Own Way”.
Karapetyan used the phrase when he spoke about worsening relations between the authorities and the church. He said: “If Armenia’s political forces fail to deal with this situation, we will have to intervene in the campaign against the church in our own way.” Members of the movement have since registered a political party called “Strong Armenia”.
The party will officially announce its candidate for prime minister on 12 February at its founding congress. Unconfirmed reports suggest the nominee will be the businessman’s 35-year-old nephew, Narek Karapetyan. He has coordinated the activities of the “In Our Own Way” movement since its creation.
Political analyst Robert Ghevondyan says “Strong Armenia” expects support from Russia, pro-Russian Armenian politicians and voters.
He believes the Karapetyan-backed party will become “the main institutional opposition in the new parliament”. He argues that it will clearly represent Russian interests. In this sense, he says, it will assume the role played between 2021 and 2026 by the “Armenia” parliamentary bloc, led by former president Robert Kocharyan.
“Perhaps it already makes sense to bring the party’s name into line with its ideology and change it in the state register to ‘Strong Russian Armenia’. At least that would be more honest,” the analyst says.
Armenian-Russian businessman Samvel Karapetyan, who lived in Russia and is now under arrest in Armenia, announced plans to create a political force in July 2025. Members of the ruling Civil Contract party responded by saying the emergence of a “new force” did not alarm them. However, they said they were “concerned that a Russian citizen is trying to interfere in Armenia’s domestic political life”.
At an early stage, Karapetyan did not rule out cooperation with “like-minded allies”. The parliamentary faction I Have Honour, led by former president Serzh Sargsyan, described Samvel Karapetyan as a political ally. The Armenia bloc, led by former president Robert Kocharyan, welcomed his intention to enter politics.
A day earlier, Kocharyan spoke about the formation of large pre-election alliances. He did not name any potential coalition partners. He said that if such a bloc emerges, its single candidate will be the person who secures the highest level of support in opinion polls.
Meanwhile, the coordinator of the “In Our Own Way” movement, Narek Karapetyan, has already made his position clear. He said the movement opposes the idea of any former Armenian leader returning to head the country. Figures in the new political party argue that “society needs a new leader in order to unite”.
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‘The main problem is the economy’
The coordinator of the “In Our Own Way” movement, Narek Karapetyan, has presented his vision for a new political force and outlined how Armenia should develop.
“Today, for the first time in Armenia’s history, we need economic leaders, because the main problem facing our country is the economy,” he said.
Karapetyan is an economist. In public speeches and interviews, he usually tries to avoid domestic and foreign policy issues.
However, journalists pressed him to comment on Armenia’s relationship with the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). Armenia’s current authorities have frozen the country’s membership in the bloc. They took this step after allies failed to meet their security commitments when Azerbaijani forces entered Armenia’s sovereign territory.
Karapetyan said that if “Strong Armenia” comes to power, the party will enter negotiations. He said the party would seek to ensure that “member states put pressure on Azerbaijan to withdraw its troops from Armenia’s occupied territories”.
He also said the party will not cooperate with teams linked to former presidents during the election campaign, but offered no comment on possible cooperation after the vote. At the same time, he said the party is ready to work with professionals who have “clean hands”.
Until now, only one member of the Karapetyan family has taken part in Armenia’s political life. Samvel Karapetyan’s brother, Karen Karapetyan, served as head of the presidential administration under former president Serzh Sargsyan. He was also a member of Sargsyan’s party and a lawmaker.
Commentary
Political analyst Robert Ghevondyan notes that many political forces plan to take part in Armenia’s upcoming parliamentary elections. Some of them want only to make themselves known. Others hope to secure at least a small number of seats. He believes that the party “Strong Armenia” will attempt to challenge the ruling force.
“This political force currently relies on Russia-oriented players and their electorate. In 2021, those actors and voters placed their hopes in the ‘Armenia’ bloc, led by Robert Kocharyan. Now, the overwhelming majority of them see an alternative to the current authorities’ policies in the figure of a Russian oligarch of Armenian origin, Samvel Karapetyan, whose stance aligns with Russian interests.
At the same time, the analyst recalls that Samvel Karapetyan cannot run in the elections. He says Karapetyan “does not meet the requirement of permanent residence in Armenia”.
Ghevondyan suggests that the new political force will opt for a shadow governance model. He compares it to the system operated by Bidzina Ivanishvili in Georgia.
“Although this would violate Armenia’s constitution, politicians acting from this position appear not to be particularly concerned,” he says.
Commenting on the ideology of “Strong Armenia”, the expert says the party proposes to launch new domestic economic projects through Russia or with Russian capital. In foreign policy, he says, it wants to intensify ties with Moscow.
“In other words, this approach can be described as a ‘return into Russia’s embrace’. This is hardly surprising. A small segment of Armenian society supports such a position, and representatives of this force are trying to secure their votes.”
He adds that “Strong Armenia” also expects support from certain circles in Russia, primarily in the form of resources.
Ghevondyan also questions how the party plans to fulfil its promise to create 300,000 new jobs.
“At first glance, this proposal closely resembles a ‘planned economy’ model, which once led to the collapse of the Soviet Union. If we talk about attracting investment under free market conditions, Armenia is already moving along that path. Between 2018 and 2025, this approach increased the number of jobs by around 275,000.”
The analyst concludes that the party is effectively proposing “to replace invested capital with Russian assets”. He adds that this appears unlikely, given Russia’s current economic situation.
Samvel Karapetyan’s party enters Armenia’s elections
Samvel Karapetyan’s party enters Armenia’s elections
