In 1991 Armenia declared independence from the collapsing Soviet Union. Uncertainty soon took over euphoria as people found themselves lost with their newly-found freedom. They didn't know what it meant to be a free-minded citizen and were unclear about what civil society was. It has taken over 20 years for a new generation to start asking, and try to respond to, these key questions. What is it to be a citizen? What responsibility and rights do we have as such? What is “the State,” what is the constitution?
In 2012, the wake-up call: thousands took to the streets of Yerevan to protest against what was seen as mismanagement of the capital’s public space. The so-called Mashots Park movement was one of the first of the large-scale street demonstrations that have gripped the city since then.
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Three people who witnessed first hand the Mashots protests and the recent events of Sari Tagh in July try to explain what being a citizen means for them.
