Pashinyan: Real Armenia and fourth republic doctrines rooted in history

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, in a video published on Saturday, reiterated that his administration’s ideologies of 'Real Armenia' and 'fourth republic' stem from the history of the Armenian nation.

“What lesson does our history teach us? Our history tells us: ‘Do not repeat my mistakes.’ And to avoid repeating them, we must read, learn, and study our history. Let’s finally admit that we talk a lot about our history, but we don’t read it enough,” the Prime Minister said in a video posted on his Facebook page.

He is seen holding an Armenian History book. 

Pashinyan emphasized that the 'messages of historical Armenia' should be understood as guidance for present-day statehood building.

“What does historical Armenia tell us? Historical Armenia tells us: ‘Do not let your current state— the Republic of Armenia—become part of historical Armenia.’ Therefore, the ideology of the Real Armenia and the ideology of the fourth republic stem from the history of the Armenian people, from learning the messages of historical Armenia,” the Prime Minister added.

Earlier in September, Pashinyan, speaking at the congress of his ruling Civil Contract party, declared that his administration would transform the country into the “fourth republic of Armenia” with an entirely new constitution, should they win the elections next year.

The current Armenian state is colloquially known as the third republic of Armenia, as the successor to Soviet Armenia, which in turn followed the short-lived First Republic of Armenia (1918–1920).

Pashinyan had said that the third republic was founded on the logic of conflict, while the fourth republic will be founded on the logic of peace.

Earlier in February this year, Prime Minister Pashinyan addressed the nation in what he described as an ideological message and unveiled the Real Armenia doctrine, a suggested plan seeking political, economic transformation, focusing on all areas of public life and stressing the need for citizens to form a new understanding of patriotism, among others.

Pashinyan has since said that the Real Armenia doctrine made peace possible with Azerbaijan.