Armenia became independent from the
Russian Empire on 28 May 1918 as the
Republic of Armenia, later referred as
First Republic of Armenia. About a month before its independence Armenia was part of short lived
Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic. Suffering heavy losses during the
Turkish invasion of Armenia and after the
Soviet invasion of Armenia, the government of the First Republic resigned on 2 December 1920.
Soviet Russia reinstalled its control over the country, which later became part of the
Transcaucasian SFSR. The TSFSR was dissolved in 1936 and Armenia became a constituent republic of the Soviet Union known as the
Armenian SSR, later also referred as the
Second Republic of Armenia. During the
dissolution of the Soviet Union the population of
Armenia voted overwhelmingly for independence following the
1991 Armenian independence referendum. It was followed by a presidential election in October 1991 that gave 83% of the votes to
Levon Ter-Petrosyan. Earlier in 1990, when the
National Democratic Union party defeated the
Armenian Communist Party, he was elected Chairman of the Supreme Council of Armenia. Ter-Petrosyan was re-elected in 1996. Following public discontent and demonstrations against his policies on
Nagorno-Karabakh, the President resigned in January 1998 and was replaced by Prime Minister
Robert Kocharyan, who was elected as second President in March 1998. Following the
assassination of Prime Minister
Vazgen Sargsyan, parliament Speaker
Karen Demirchyan and six other officials during parliament seating on 27 October 1999, a period of political instability ensued during which an opposition headed by elements of the former Armenian National Movement government attempted unsuccessfully to force Kocharyan to resign. In May 2000,
Andranik Margaryan replaced
Aram Sargsyan (a brother of assassinated
Vazgen Sargsyan) as prime minister. Kocharyan's re-election as president in 2003 was followed by widespread allegations of ballot-rigging. He went on to propose controversial constitutional amendments on the role of
parliament. These were rejected in a referendum the following May. Concurrent parliamentary elections left Kocharyan's party in a very powerful position in the
parliament. There were mounting calls for the President's resignation in early 2004 with thousands of demonstrators taking to the streets in support of demands for a referendum of confidence in him. The Government of Armenia's stated aim is to build a
Western-style parliamentary democracy. However, international observers have questioned the fairness of Armenia's parliamentary and presidential elections and constitutional referendum between 1995 and 2018, citing polling deficiencies, lack of cooperation by the
Electoral Commission, and poor maintenance of electoral lists and polling places. Armenia is considered one of the most democratic nations of the
Commonwealth of Independent States and the most democratic in the
Caucasus region. The observance of
human rights in Armenia is uneven and is marked by shortcomings.
Police brutality allegedly still goes largely unreported, while observers note that defendants are often beaten to extract confessions and are denied visits from relatives and lawyers. Public demonstrations usually take place without government interference, though one rally in November 2000 by an opposition party was followed by the arrest and imprisonment for a month of its organizer. Freedom of religion is not always protected under existing law. Nontraditional churches, especially the
Jehovah's Witnesses, have been subjected to harassment, sometimes violently. All churches apart from the
Armenian Apostolic Church must register with the government, and proselytizing was forbidden by law, though since 1997 the government has pursued more moderate policies. The government's policy toward conscientious objection is in transition, as part of Armenia's accession to the
Council of Europe. Armenia boasts a good record on the protection of
national minorities, for whose representatives (
Assyrians,
Kurds,
Russians and
Yazidis) four seats are reserved in the
National Assembly. The government does not restrict internal or international travel.
Transition to a parliamentary republic In December 2015, the country
held a referendum which approved transformation of Armenia from a
semi-presidential to a
parliamentary republic. As a result, the president was stripped of his
veto faculty and the presidency was downgraded to a figurehead position elected by parliament every seven years. The president is not allowed to be a member of any political party and
re-election is forbidden. Skeptics saw the constitutional reform as an attempt of third president
Serzh Sargsyan to remain in control by becoming
Prime Minister after fulfilling his second presidential term in 2018. In May 2018, parliament elected opposition leader
Nikol Pashinyan as the new prime minister. His predecessor Serzh Sargsyan resigned two weeks earlier following widespread
anti-government demonstrations. In June 2021, early
parliamentary elections were held. Nikol Pashinyan's
Civil Contract party won 71 seats, while 29 went to the
Armenia Alliance headed by former President Robert Kocharyan. The
I Have Honor Alliance, which formed around another former president, Serzh Sargsyan, won seven seats. After the election, Armenia's acting prime minister Nikol Pashinyan was officially appointed to the post of prime minister by the country's president Armen Sarkissian. In January 2022, Armenian President Armen Sarkissian resigned from office, stating that the constitution does no longer give the president sufficient powers or influence. On 3 March 2022,
Vahagn Khachaturyan was elected as the fifth president of Armenia in the second round of parliamentary vote. ==Government==