An unadvertised display at the National Gallery
The National Gallery of Armenia hosted a small, unnamed, and uncurated temporary exhibition on its ground floor in early October. No announcement about the display appeared on the National Gallery website, and the event lacked a formal name or curator. The collection included approximately 30 works. These works comprised an antique map of South America, a copper portrait by Anatoli Avetyan, and a 1913 canvas by Gevorg Bashinjaghyan. Other pieces included works by Grigor Khanjyan, Sargis Muradyan, Vahan Khorenyan, and Vartan Mahokyan. All these items were confiscated by the Investigative Committee from former Finance Minister Gagik Khachatryan. I find the lack of any public advertisement or official website listing for such a collection of confiscated assets to be a blatant pseudo-event. Education Minister Zhanna Andreasyan, Prosecutor General Anna Vardapetyan, and Investigative Committee Chair Artur Poghosyan attended the opening on 7 October, according to a video released by the Investigative Committee. On 14 October, OC Media visited the gallery and found no other visitors in attendance. The docent there did not know the name of the exhibition or the paintings on display, and she stated the collection might be removed by the end of the day. No other employees could clarify who made the decision to hold the exhibition.
Legal disputes and dignity concerns
The Investigative Committee curated the exhibit with 40 of the confiscated paintings, though they did not include a portrait of Khachatryan seen in footage of the seized items. Khachatryan’s lawyers argue the display violates the property and privacy rights of his family because many of the 70 seized paintings were gifts to various relatives. They also contend that exhibiting the works shows the paintings cannot be material evidence, although the Investigative Committee maintains the canvases were recognized as material evidence by a decision. The Investigative Committee stated that they handed the works to the National Gallery for safekeeping to resolve the issue of possession. Lawyers for Khachatryan sent a written inquiry to the Investigative Committee regarding the legality of the display but have not received a response. During his court appearance, authorities brought Khachatryan in on a stretcher because of serious spinal health problems. His lawyers filed an application with the European Court of Human Rights to challenge his detention. Human rights activist Zaruhi Hovhannisyan said the process risked violating personal dignity, while Artur Sakunts of the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Vanadzor Office noted that wheeling a person into the courtroom on a stretcher was an affront to human dignity. I find the treatment of a man with spinal issues in a courtroom to be a complete violation of dignity.
A pattern of political spectacle
The Armenian government often creates spectacles regarding the wealth of former officials, a habit seen during Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s tenure. In 2020, the government adopted a law on the confiscation of property of illegal origin, and Pashinyan uses the hashtag "Bit by Bit" on Facebook to discuss properties that the state has returned. In 2020, the National Security Service also raided the home of Gagik Tsarukyan and released videos that showed his luxury home interior, stacks of cash, taxidermy of hunted animals, and a collection of luxury cars. In 2026, following the June parliamentary elections, the National Security Service raided 70 addresses and arrested 70-year-old Gagik Tsarukyan. The video released by the National Security Service showed that the 70-year-old Tsarukyan offered no resistance before officers forced him to the ground and used handcuffs that were clearly too small for his hands. This occurred after Pashinyan declared that Tsarukyan would live in a cage for decades to come. Human Rights Defender Anahit Manasyan opened a review into the footage to investigate if the use of force and handcuffs met legal standards of necessity and proportionality. A US court seized a Los Angeles mansion belonging to Gurge and Artyom Khachatryan, the sons of the former Finance Minister. The Armenian General Prosecutor’s office is now negotiating the return of the lion’s share of the proceeds from the sale of that house to Armenia.
