Levon Ter-Petrosyan

Ter-Petrosyan was elected the first President of the newly independent Republic of Armenia on 16 October 1991, receiving 83% of the vote. On 18 October 1991, he signed onto Gorbachev's failed attempt to form an economic community out of the collapsing Soviet Union and preserve the economic ties between the republics (only 8 of the 15 republics agreed to sign). Ter-Petrosyan then brought Armenia into the Commonwealth of Independent States which formed after the formal abolition of the Soviet Union in December 1991.[8] In late 1991 and early 1992, the fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh expanded into a full-scale war. After major Armenian losses in the summer of 1992, Ter-Petrosyan dismissed Defense Minister Vazgen Sargsyan and appointed his comrade-turned-rival Vazgen Manukyan to the post.[3]^(p210) The regular Armenian Army was formed during this time, and the tide of the war turned decisively in Armenia's favor. Armenian forces secured not only most of the territory of the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast but also captured seven districts of Azerbaijan surrounding the core territory. Although Armenian authorities officially stated that the Republic of Armenia was not a participant in the war and only provided support to Nagorno-Karabakh Armenian forces, in reality Karabakh Armenian forces and the Armenian Army were united in their military actions.[3]^(p210) According to Defense Minister Manukyan, on several occasions the more cautious Ter-Petrosyan was deliberately not fully informed about the extent of the Armenian military's participation in operations in Nagorno-Karabakh.[3]^(p210) The war ended in an Armenian victory with the signing of a ceasefire agreeement in May 1994 by representatives of Armenia, Azerbaijan and the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.

Despite Ter-Petrosyan's efforts to establish normal relations with Turkey (Azerbaijan's supporter in the war), which included arranging for the transport of wheat to Armenia from the EU through Turkish territory and attending the funeral of Turkish president Turgut Özal in Ankara, the capture of Kalbajar district by Armenian forces in April 1993 significantly worsened relations with Turkey. That month Turkey closed its border with Armenia.[3]^(p213) As on other occasions, Ter-Petrosyan only been presented a small part of the Kalbajar operation by Vazgen Manukyan.[3]^(p212) The Turkish-Armenian border remains closed to this day and the two countries have no diplomatic relations.

Armenia suffered severe economic hardship in the first years following independence, as it had been deeply integrated with the Soviet economy and had the highest level of imports of any Soviet republic.[8] Its main route to Russia through Azerbaijan was cut off and the route through Georgia was frequently closed due to civil unrest there.[3]^(p205) Armenia's GDP declined drastically from 1991 to 1993 because of these factors, and fuel shortages were ubiquitous․[9] The worst years of the energy crisis have been dubbed the "dark and cold years" in Armenia, alleviated only by the restarting of Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant in October 1995. In 1992, Ter-Petrosyan's prime minister Hrant Bagratyan adopted an economic reform program to rapidly marketize the Armenian economy, which was followed by mass deindustrialization and inflation.[9] From 1991 to 1993, Armenia experienced the largest decline in industrial output out of any of the post-Soviet states, and the majority of economic activity occurred in the unregulated shadow economy.[9] The mass privatization of the economy was accompanied by the growth of corruption. By the end of Ter-Petrosyan's presidency in February 1998, about 1,350 medium and large enterprises had been privatized, largely concentrated in the hands of a small part of the population.[9] Armenia's economic hardships during Ter-Petrosyan's presidency made him deeply unpopular among much of the population, and some 800,000 people emigrated from Armenia during his presidency.[9]

Ter-Petrosyan's first term also saw significant tension between his government and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF), a nationalist political party which holds enormous influence in the Armenian diaspora and had established itself as Ter-Petrosyan's main opposition. On 29 June 1992, Ter-Petrosyan delivered a televised address where he accused the ARF of collaboration with the KGB and pilfering funds raised from the diaspora intended for Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. Two years later, on 28 December 1994, Ter-Petrosyan declared that a plot by the ARF to violently overthrow the government had been uncovered. The party was banned from the Republic of Armenia and its offices were raided by police.[10] Thirty-one ARF members, who would later be known as the "Dro Group", an alleged secret wing of the ARF, were arrested and charged with conspiracy to overthrow the government, committing a number of assassinations and drug trafficking; all were found guilty.[9] The ban on the ARF was lifted by Ter-Petrosyan's successor Robert Kocharyan soon after Ter-Petrosyan's resignation.[9]

Although Ter-Petrosyan was initially expected to win the 1996 presidential election by a large margin due to the opposition being divided, three other candidates dropped out of the race and endorsed Vazgen Manukyan.[11] According to the official results, Ter-Petrosyan received about 52%, just above the 50% required to win without a runoff election.[11] His reelection was marred by allegations of electoral fraud reported by the opposition and supported by many international observers. On 25 September 1996, around 200,000 people in Yerevan came out to protest the election results, then stormed the parliament building and beat the speaker and deputy speaker of parliament following a speech by Vazgen Manukyan.[11] Tanks and troops were brought into Yerevan to end the protests. On the same day, Defence Minister Vazgen Sargsyan stated that "even if they [the opposition] win 100 percent of the votes, neither the Army nor the National Security and Interior Ministry would recognize such political leaders."[3]^(p258) Ter-Petrosyan's popularity waned further as the opposition started blaming him for the economic quagmire that Armenia's post-Soviet economy was in.

Ter-Petrosyan was forced to step down in February 1998 after advocating a compromised settlement of the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh which many Armenians regarded as undermining their security. Ter-Petrosyan's key ministers, namely then-Prime Minister Robert Kocharyan, Defense Minister Vazgen Sargsyan and Interior Minister Serzh Sargsyan, refused to accept a peace plan for Karabakh put forward by international mediators in September 1997.[12] The leadership of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic were also opposed to the plan. The plan, accepted by Ter-Petrosyan and Azerbaijan's leader Heydar Aliyev, called for a "phased" settlement of the conflict which would postpone an agreement on Karabakh's status, the main stumbling block. The "phased" approach envisioned the return of most of the Armenian-occupied Azerbaijani territories around Nagorno-Karabakh in exchange for the deployment of OSCE peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts in the first and second phases, followed by the lifting of the Azerbaijani and Turkish blockades of Armenia in the third stage, and leaving for last the issues of Nagorno-Karabakh's status, the Lachin Corridor, and the return of displaced persons.[12] When Levon Ter-Petrosyan stepped down from the presidency, he compared himself to the late Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, and stated that he was resigning was to avoid destabilizing the country.[13]

On 21 September 2007, Ter-Petrosyan made his first public speech in nearly ten years at an event in Yerevan marking the 16th anniversary of Armenia's declaration of independence. In this speech he was strongly critical of President Kocharyan. Subsequently, Ter-Petrosyan officially announced his candidacy in the 2008 presidential election in a speech in Yerevan on 26 October 2007. He accused Kocharyan's government of massive corruption, involving the theft of "at least three to four billion dollars" over the previous five years. He was critical of the government's claims of strong economic growth and argued that Kocharyan and his prime minister, Serzh Sargsyan, had come to accept a solution to the problem of Nagorno-Karabakh that was effectively the same solution that he had proposed ten years earlier. A number of opposition parties have rallied behind him since his return to the political arena, including the People's Party of Armenia led by Stepan Demirchyan, the Republic Party led by Aram Sargsyan,[14] the Social Democrat Hunchakian Party, "Azadakrum" movement for Jirair Sefilian, "New Times" Party and Raffi Hovannisian's Heritage Party.[15]

Mass protests at Freedom Square (left) and near the French embassy (right).

Final results from the election, which was held on 19 February 2008, officially showed Ter-Petrosyan in second place with 21.5% of the vote. Then he and his supporters accused the government of rigging the election and claimed victory;[16] beginning on 20 February he led continuous protests involving tens of thousands of his supporters in Yerevan.[17]

In the early morning hours of 1 March, reportedly acting on evidence of firearms in the camp, the authorities moved in to inspect the tents set up by demonstrators. Law enforcement agents then violently dispersed the hundreds of protestors camped in. Ter-Petrosyan was placed under de facto house arrest, not being allowed to leave his home, though the authorities later denied the allegations.[18] A few hours later, tens of thousands of protestors or more gathered at Myasnikyan Square to protest the government's act. Police, overwhelmed by the sheer size of the crowd, pulled out. A state of emergency was implemented by President Kocharyan at 17:00, allowing the army to be moved into the capital. At night, a few thousand protestors barricaded themselves using commandeered municipal buses. As a result of the clashes, eight protestors and two policemen died.[19] Ter-Petrosyan addressed his supporters by phone at around 2-3 a.m. on March 2, telling them to go home to avoid further casualties.[20] On March 5, Ter-Petrosyan appealed to the Constitutional Court to have the election declared invalid, which was rejected.[20]

Levon Ter-Petrosyan led the Armenian National Congress (ANC) during the 2012 parliamentary election. The ANC won 7.08% (106,903) of the popular vote.[24]

The ANC held its convention on 22 December 2012. Ter-Petrosyan talked about groups promoting pro-Western and pro-Russian divisions within the Armenian society and the political parties calling them "dangerous forces". Ter-Petrosyan did not announce whether he will run for president in February 2013.[25] Few days after the convention on 25 December 2012, Ter-Petrosyan gave Chorrord Inknishkhanutyun an interview eventually declaring his decision not to run for the office. He claimed that "dozens of arguments are being put forward by those advocating and opposing my nomination, but the most important argument has been avoided. Can anyone who has respect for his people vie for a presidential post at the age of 68? Such things usually do not happen in developed democratic countries ... everything is concentrated in the hands of a bunch of criminals who have usurped power."[26]

The official ANC statement on 27 December 2012 said that they are not participating in the upcoming presidential election in any form. The ANC claimed that the participation in the election is "legitimization of the illegal regime."[27] Rumors about Ter-Petrosyan's possible retirement from active politics spread soon after his 25 December announcement. Armenians newspapers argued that Levon Zurabyan, the ANC speaker, could become his successor.[28]

On 7 February 2013, Ter-Petrosyan gave another interview to the Chorrord Inknishkhanutyun daily newspaper. He acknowledged that the ANC cannot continue its activities with the same structure. He admitted that the alliance had "internal fermentations"[29] and called "various political forces and non-partisan individuals of the Congress to merge into one single political party."[30]

The presidential election was held on 18 February 2013. Voting in a polling station in central Yerevan, Ter-Petrosyan said the journalists he voted for the "sake of the Republic of Armenia."[31] According to the official results, incumbent Serzh Sargsyan won with over 58% of the vote. Raffi Hovannisian, the main opposition candidate who earned 37% of the total, claimed victory and started mass protests the next day. On 23 February 2013, Ter-Petrosyan addressed the gathered at the Pan-Armenian National Movement party convention. He claimed Hovannisian won the election and accused incumbent Sargsyan in rigging the election. Talking about Hovannisian's post-election protests, Ter-Petrosyan stated "I see words, I see speeches, but there is no action, no plan of actions."[32]

On 13 April 2013, the Armenian National Congress was officially transformed from an alliance of 18 original parties into a single party, on the base of the Pan-Armenian National Movement. During his speech at the founding convention, Ter-Petrosyan blamed Hovannisian for having no political agenda in his protests. In particular, Ter-Petrosyan said "during the current post-election period we have seen everything but political processes."[33]

The ANC, now a party rather than an alliance, went to the 2013 Yerevan City Council election alone. Their list was headed by Yerevan's former mayor Vahagn Khachatryan.[34] ANC failed to pass the 6% threshold by gaining only 1.2℅.