After weeks of rallies and unrest, Armenia’s bloodless revolution secured victory Tuesday when parliament selected protest leader Nikol Pashinyan as prime minister, making a dramatic break with the ruling elite in the former Soviet country. The 42-year-old secured the vote after his pro-democracy movement ousted former prime minister Serzh Sargsyan after more than a decade in power. Capping weeks of nationwide strikes, protests and carnivalesque street parties, parliament voted 59 to 42 in favor of Pashinyan. Impoverished and landlocked, Armenia relies on Moscow for economic backing and keeping a simmering conflict with neighboring Azerbaijan at bay. An even larger battle may lay ahead for Pashinyan: dismantling a ruling class that still holds enormous economic and political sway.

Source: Washington Post May 08, 2018 10:25 UTC