Speaking to people supporting our opposition (not only Armenian National Congress, but also Heritage, Dashnaks, etc…), I came to conclusion that they [these people] are pretty different. Even though they have one target, however their motives and methods are pretty antithetical. Just like in that old joke: “3 million Armenians have 3 million points of view”.

So today I thought of categorizing people supporting Armenian opposition, as this analysis is important for understanding them and choosing the language to speak to them. This will also help to save energy, as some people will never listen and will never change. Here it goes:

zombies: these are people who never listen. They just gather for the sake of gathering, they mostly stand there like zombies, just for the sake of being there. A call of duty. They do not have their own opinion, but follow the opinion of the guy with the microphone. They don’t know what’s right and what’s wrong, they don’t have to know it.

idiots: this is maybe the most dangerous category within opposition. They say: “idiots are dangerous not because of their stupidity, but because of the remaining of brains they still carry in their heads”. These people are those who blame the country doing nothing to change it. They like talking about how bad and negative Armenia is, how helpless and useless everything is. They naively believe change of power or revolution will make the country a paradise and they like repeating it everyday. These people see solution in revolution by meeting any problem, late taxi, bad hairdresser, slow civil servant, no success in business – revolution will help. We need another president. They love comparing Armenia to US and EU but only mentioning Armenia’s negative sides.

fighters: these are brainless people who will fight police and army every single time they are said to do so. They will attack presidential palace or Parliament if they are simply given an order. Being fanatics they see solution in battle. They believe that only physical fight and crucifying of president and all ministers, MPs and oligarchs will make Armenia the land of their dreams. They don’t believe in system change they believe in the power of punishment. Every soldier, every policeman is their enemy. (Irrespective of being Armenian).

romantics: this is the purest category within the opposition and it takes country’s problems too deep. These guys are those who want to see the light and they preach light and love. They are very few within the opposition and they are mostly people of art and culture. They will create poems, music and paintings to show their protest and thus will call people to change. Obviously they don’t want to kill anyone.

analyzers: the category with the least quantity of people. Unfortunately. This is the category who reads, watches, participates and analyzes. These are people who offer solutions and try to show the way. These people may not even be active, however they perfectly know country’s challenges, weaknesses and they can offer quick fix. Analyzers are rarely engaged in opposition’s program building, as nobody reads programs in Armenia nowadays.

bankers and investors: these are mostly ex-ministers, corrupt officials and ex-oligarchs. Naturally, every movement, especially fight needs funding. These people actively participate in oppositional events and they have solid expectations. In case of complete power change – the portfolio of the minister, and in case of seats in the Parliament – the MP seat. They may be in a shadow as well, however the funded power will help them freely manipulate state authorities and make decisions in their own favor.

leaders: this is the category that compiles zombies, idiots, fighters, romantics, analyzers and investors. The only difference is – these are with leadership skills.