Strong Armenia () is an Armenian political party founded in December 2025 by businessman Samvel Karapetyan. Originally called the Pro-Armenian Party, it adopted its current name in January 2026, and Karapetyan was elected its chairman on 11 February 2026. The party was formed in the wake of the expulsion of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians, Karapetyan's 2025 arrest amid the government's dispute with the Armenian Apostolic Church, and the government's moves towards a settlement with Azerbaijan.
The party describes itself as conservative, and its platform emphasizes national defense, the protection of businesses from political pressure, and closer ties with Russia; international media have described it as pro-Russian Although Karapetyan was named its candidate for prime minister, he was ineligible to stand due to his foreign citizenships, and his nephew Narek Karapetyan headed the party list. In the 2026 Armenian parliamentary election, the Strong Armenia bloc won 23.27% of the vote and 29 of 105 seats, becoming the largest opposition force in the National Assembly.
Background
From April to June 2024, the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC) became directly involved in the nation’s politics when Primate Bagrat Galstanyan openly called for regime change against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan seeking to see himself installed in his place with the backing of Patriarch Garegin II. Galstanyan argued that attempted western alignment was unnatural and that Armenia's place was with the former USSR states, among the CSTO and EEU. During the height of the protests, as more and more clergy joined, Pashinyan alleged that Garegin II had broken his oaths of chastity and sired a secret child out of wedlock and was therefore not a valid Patriarch. In response, Garegin's spokesmen Father Zareh Ashuryan called Pashinyan circumcised and in violation of his baptismal vows, and Pashinyan responded by offering to show Garegin that he was not circumcised in person. Despite the exchange earning the ire of social conservatives in society, the protests fizzled out and failed in its objective of pressuring Pashinyan to either resign or call a fresh election with Galstanyan stating he would transform his support base into a "new concept".https://iravaban.net/482882.html "Tavush for the Motherland" movement, about gathering with a new concept
Samvel Karapetyan is an Armenian billionaire businessman and owner of the Tashir Group conglomerate, with businesses spanning real estate, energy, construction, retail and infrastructure. In 2018, he was named by the US Treasury Department in the so-called Putin list, which included 114 senior political figures and 96 businessmen who rose to prominence under Putin's leadership. His largest asset in Armenia was Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA), the country's sole electricity distribution company, which came under Tashir's management in 2015. Pashinyan called for ENA's nationalization in June 2025, hours after Karapetyan's arrest over his criticism of the government's campaign against the Armenian Apostolic Church; the regulator revoked the company's license in November 2025, and the government approved its full nationalization in March 2026. Karapetyan rejects the charges against him as politically motivated, and Tashir is seeking $500 million in damages through the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce.
On 18 June 2025, Karapetyan was arrested and charged with publicly calling for the seizure of power, shortly after voicing support for the Armenian Apostolic Church in its dispute with the government; in October 2025 the charges were expanded to include money laundering. On 25 June 2025, Galstanyan was arrested on charges of plotting a coup d'état. The National Security Service (NSS) alleged that Galstanyan coordinated a group of about 1,000 supporters, mainly former soldiers and police officers, divided into strike groups assigned to tasks such as blocking roads or shutting down the internet. Karapetyan was moved to house arrest in December 2025.
History On 8 December 2025, this party was founded by businessman Samvel Karapetyan under the name "Pro-Armenian" party, which later changed to "Strong Armenia" on 16 January 2026.
On 19 January 2026, spokesperson Marianna Ghahramanyan announced that the party's organization is in its final stages, and that the party is expected to develop its agenda and vision in the near future.
On 11 February 2026, the party held a congress to elect a new president and council, with Samvel Karapetyan unanimously elected as party chairman. The following day, the party held a presentation at the Karen Demirchyan Complex. During the presentation, the party announced its candidates for the 2026 parliamentary election, where Karapetyan was announced as the party's candidate for prime minister, and that Narek Karapetyan will lead the party list. As Karapetyan also held Russian and Cypriot citizenship, he was constitutionally ineligible to stand for parliament or prime minister. the party said it would seek to change the law after the election.
On 14 April 2026, the Anti-Corruption Committee arrested two party members and accused them of pre-election bribery by paying Armenian residents "under the guise of charity". Then on 16 April, another 14 party members were also arrested on similar charges.
Electoral history The party contested the 2026 Armenian parliamentary election on 7 June 2026 as the Strong Armenia bloc, with Samvel Karapetyan as its candidate for prime minister. According to the final results announced by the Central Electoral Commission on 14 June, the bloc received 340,006 votes (23.27%), finishing second behind Civil Contract and becoming the largest opposition force in the National Assembly with 29 of 105 seats, including one seat reserved for an Assyrian minority representative. Strong Armenia, together with five other opposition forces, issued a joint statement rejecting the published results as unable to form the basis of legitimate authority, and its supporters protested outside the commission building as the results were announced.
Despite rejecting the results, the bloc announced that it would take up its mandates and work in parliament, with Narek Karapetyan arguing that since Civil Contract had not won a constitutional majority, the opposition would be able to block a number of decisions. The Central Electoral Commission handed mandates to the elected deputies on 21 July 2026, ahead of the first session of the ninth convocation on 2 August. The following day, the commission consented to the Prosecutor General's request to bring criminal charges against Narek Karapetyan, but rejected the request to arrest him.
Platform The party's platform will focus on the protecting businesses from being targeted for their political views, most notably against party leader Samvel Karapetyan. The party is critical of the "poor leadership" that led to the defeat of Artsakh in the 2020 Karabakh war, and supports more investment in national defense.
The party calls for ensuring the protection of Armenia's independence without submitting to economic and cultural coercion from Turkey. The party also supports closer ties with Russia to avoid turning Armenia into "an arena of geopolitical confrontation".
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