One year after the Velvet Revolution, it is worth remembering the role of journalists who were aware of the events and were able to inform others. For publicist Lusine Hovhannisyan, that atmosphere, where no secret could be kept, or where unclarified information couldn’t exist was important.

“Since until 2018 the authorities were very confident in their power,  the sharp criticism of the media was not at all concerning for them at all. They would say, talk as much as you want, either way, there’s no one paying attention to you, you only leave the impression that the media is free. Now the situation has changed, we truly have a free press, but there is an aggressive attitude towards the press. The new authorities seem to have a prejudice that they should not be criticized,” she said.

Lusine Hovhannisyan considers the tension between the media and authorities as not being positive.

“After all, we cannot wake up every single day and say thank you for April 23 and start our day. We must submit demands and these demands need to be accepted normally.”

In the drawer

The Media Initiatives Center’s Velvet Sketches project talks about people who went out into the streets in spring 2018 to see, hear, talk and act.

The Velvet Sketches is a documentary created on the internet. Here there are videos, photos, no comments, footage, memories. Everything that made the humans during the days of the revolution the media.

Gegham Vardanyan