In Yerevan, Protesters Take A Breather
- By Amos Chapple
After protest leader Nikol Pashinian called on his supporters to "rest," Yerevan went quietly back to work on May 3, following weeks of massive protests.
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Sunrise over Yerevan on the morning of May 3, one day after thousands of people heeded Pashinian's call for a general strike and civil disobedience, paralyzing life in the capital.
2
Two men wait for a bus in the morning light in central Yerevan. After weeks of protest that included nonviolent acts of dissent, there was almost no sign of the political crisis gripping Armenia.
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Weary men sitting in the sun on Republic Square in downtown Yerevan. After the ruling Republican Party (HHK) indicated that it would support Pashinain for prime minister in a May 8 parliamentary vote, the protest leader effectively told his supporters to stand down until then.
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Men waiting in the subway. On May 2, Pashinian called off protests that had blocked roads across the country and some subway stations in Yerevan. On May 3, there were no closures reported.
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Sona Ghazaryan, 20, cleaning Republic Square with university classmates. The linguistics student said her group headed to the square, which was the scene of a huge protest rally one night earlier, after classes finished and would spend three hours scrubbing it clean. “We have come here because we love our country, and we want to show our support for what is happening on the streets," she told RFE/RL. "I want everything in my country to be fair. We all love Armenia and we want the best for her.”
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Prescient bathroom art, or just wishful thinking, in central Yerevan.
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Vic, a 61-year-old tour driver who rolls with a cayman head on the dash of his Cadillac, says he was unable to work on the days protesters blocked roads. "And so what? I was out there in the protests anyway."
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A policeman catching some spring sun inside the entrance to a subway station in central Yerevan.
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Lunchtime in central Yerevan. One local told RFE/RL he was amazed at the apparent control Pashinian had over his supporters. "He can basically turn Yerevan on and off with a snap of his fingers."
![A man cracking walnuts in a market. Despite indications that opposition leader Pashinian would be elected prime minister with ruling Republican Party support, many in Armenia express little trust in the Republicans. One local told RFE/RL, "May 8 will either be the biggest party ever or a very [bad] day."](https://gdb.rferl.org/3919996a-1285-4668-bc4f-50bbfb2ddeaa_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A man cracking walnuts in a market. Despite indications that opposition leader Pashinian would be elected prime minister with ruling Republican Party support, many in Armenia express little trust in the Republicans. One local told RFE/RL, "May 8 will either be the biggest party ever or a very [bad] day."
