On July 14, 2026, hundreds of workers from companies owned by jailed businessman and opposition leader Gagik Tsarukian protested against their effective closure by the Armenian authorities.
In a post-election crackdown promised by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, Tsarukian was arrested on July 6 as law enforcement searched his villa and the offices of dozens of companies making up his Multi Group conglomerate.
The authorities allowed one of those companies, Armenia’s main cement plant, to resume operations on July 9 after an angry protest by its workers. The other Multi Group firms remain idle, with no explanations from the Armenian government or law enforcement.
Workers from several of those firms, including the country’s second-largest brandy distillery, protested in the following days, saying they have been left without their sole source of income.
“We patiently waited for a week without taking any action,” one of them, Mariam Mkrtchyan, told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
“Somebody must answer for all this,” said another worker.
