Former MP Mihran Hakobyan claimed in a Facebook post that “the 2018 revolution was about surrendering Artsakh.”

According to Hakobyan, anyone seeking power without Karabakh aims to make Armenians forget their identity and purpose for existing on this land.

“Let’s be honest. The 2018 ‘Nikolian’ revolution had a major geopolitical—or so-called external—component, most of which remains undisclosed to this day. That component revolved around one word: Karabakh.

If the domestic aspects of the revolution could be managed, the external agenda was unmanageable. Serzh Sargsyan was not someone who could be pushed into a war ending in betrayal, capitulation, and the surrender of Artsakh. Therefore, Sargsyan had to go, making way for Nikol and his band of unprincipled, uneducated opportunists—naturally, to the applause of the revolutionary crowd.

Simply put, the 2018 revolution was about giving up Karabakh. And if one truly wants to remove Nikol, it must be clearly declared—no diplomatic euphemisms—we are going for a counter-revolution. We are dumping Nikol’s regime into history’s trash bin and going after Karabakh. Those who say ‘the people are scared’, ‘we lack resources’, ‘we have no allies’—don’t believe them. Those spreading such claims are either openly or covertly Nikol supporters, or simply fighting for power and capital. As the Russians say, ‘дело мастера боится’—a skilled hand fears no task.”

He recounted a story about Aghasi Khanjyan from 1936, when the then-head of Armenia visited Yerevan State University. A musical ensemble in traditional dress performed national-liberation songs of Van-Vaspurakan before a packed hall. Silence fell, and Khanjyan stood up and asked them to sing again. After their third performance, he quietly left. Hakobyan said Khanjyan knew he would soon be called to Tbilisi, never to return—his action was a signal to the country’s intellectual elite: “Don’t forget who you are and why you have gathered on this patch of land.”

He concluded: “Closing the Karabakh chapter is ordinary Nikolism. Seeking power without Karabakh is mere political corpse-robbing. Pursuing regime change without keeping Karabakh on the agenda is parasitism. Anyone aiming for power without Karabakh wants us to forget who we are and why we’ve gathered on this patch of land,” he wrote.

On September 19, 2023, Azerbaijan launched a large-scale offensive on Artsakh, subjecting the region to intense shelling. On September 20, the Artsakh authorities accepted the Russian peacekeepers’ proposal for a ceasefire and agreed to Baku’s terms, including the disarmament of the Defense Army and the dissolution of the Republic of Artsakh. On September 24, forced displacement of over 100,000 ethnic Armenians to Armenia began. As of now, only around 20 Armenians reportedly remain in Artsakh. On September 28, President Samvel Shahramanyan signed a decree dissolving the republic, effective January 1, 2024.