Revisiting the Problem of Post-Soviet Revolutions: The Armenian Revolution Makes Some Difference

The phenomenon of recurrent revolution in the post-Soviet political space deserves a new examination, as the Year 2019 marks not only 30 years since the chain of revolutions in Eastern Europe, but also the first anniversary of the revolution in Armenia. There are scant reasons to expect that economic underperformance or even a sharp spasm of crisis would bring any of the seven unmistakably authoritarian post-Soviet regimes to an abrupt end, but the deepening resentment against corruption could produce a powerful demand for change in the course of elections, which theses regimes feel obliged to stage. Manipulations of elections are the most common trigger for revolutions, but the big question of whether such explosions of social energy could deliver on the demand for change is set to remain open.