N.B. This event is entirely online.

Since the Armenian Institute’s 2019 town hall there have been significant changes in Armenia. The euphoria of the change that came to happen has dissipated and now, some would argue, there is more uncertainty than the days prior to the 2018 revolution.The Armenian Institute will be hosting a new series exploring the post-revolution period from 2019 with leading individuals and organisations in the diaspora, and how the war and the pandemic have reshaped our views, outlook and priorities.

Picture taken by Aren Berberian when visiting Mt Aragats (2021).

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As part of our new series we are hosting a discussion with four leading analysts who will share their thoughts on this post-revolution era, the impact of the war and the latest elections. How are these affecting the rule of law? What has changed since the revolution? Is Armenia facing an existential threat? Are citizens really having to choose between civil liberties and national security? How can Armenia break the current deadlock?

Bios:

Moderator: Tatiana der Avedissian

Lara Setrakian is the CEO of News Deeply, now publishing in collaboration with The New Humanitarian. She also serves as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence with Fresco Capital, a venture capital fund based in Hong Kong. Lara spent five years as a foreign correspondent covering the Middle East for ABC News and Bloomberg Television. Inc Magazine dubbed her one of the “Women Who Could Own the Future,” while Fast Company named her one of its “100 Most Creative People in Business.” Lara is a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum and a Life Member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She currently sits on the Global Future Council on Media, Entertainment and Culture.

Armen Kharazian runs his own law firm representing clients in white-collar criminal defense and investigations, national security law, and anti-corruption. Armen is a former member of Armenia’s foreign service, where he held senior positions, including Deputy Chief of Mission in Washington, DC, and Head of the Foreign Ministry’s Arms Control & International Security Affairs Department, with prior postings in Armenia’s missions to the OSCE, IAEA, & CFE Treaty Joint Consultative Group in Vienna, and Armenia’s delegation to the Nagorno-Karabakh Peace Talks. Following his career in diplomacy, Armen served in a government affairs role as the Research & Analysis Director for the Armenian Assembly of America.

Vicken Cheterian is a lecturer in history and international relations at the University of Geneva and Webster University Geneva. He started his career as a journalist covering the conflicts in the Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Middle East, writing for major European and Middle Eastern papers. He received his PhD from the Graduate Institute in Geneva. He is the author of several books including War and Peace in the Caucasus, Russia’s Troubled Frontier (Hurst and Columbia University Press, 2009), and his latest book is Open Wounds, Armenians, Turks and a Century of Genocide (Hurst and Oxford University Press, 2015).

Lilit Gevorgyan is responsible for analyzing the macroeconomic, political, security, and business environment of Russia and the former Soviet republics. She has lived and worked in Armenia, Russia, Ukraine and the US. As a regular contributor to major media outlets, including frequent guest appearances on BBC Radio Four's Today Show and newscasts, she participates in broadcasts by CNN, CNBC, Bloomberg and Al Jazeera, among others. Prior to joining IHS Markit in 2009, Lilit had gained knowledge of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) risk environment during her time at the Eurasia House at Cambridge University, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), LSE Enterprise and the United Nations. Earlier in her career, she worked for the ministries of foreign affairs and economy in Armenia and she was also a press relations officer for the Armenian Diplomatic Mission in London.
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