President Robert Kocharian's appointment of a new Prime Minister in mid-May has generally been received as a squandered opportunity to revive Armenia's economy.
Political assassinations in Armenia have been prominent recently, notably the October 1999 massacre in parliament and the attempted murder of Arkadii Gikasyan, the president of the "Nagorno-Karabakh Republic" in late March. Less in the headlines are the attacks on the journalists who are working to keep these same politicians accountable.
Armenian President Robert Kocharian sacked Prime Minister Aram Sarkisian on May 2. The president suggested the move was designed to reestablish a balance of power between the executive and legislative branches of government that has been lacking since the October parliament shootings.
Over 700,000 people have left Armenia since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The same number might leave over the next five to 10 years, some observers suggest.
