Armenian parliament shooting
political terrorist attack
The 1999 Armenian parliament shooting, commonly known in Armenia as October 27 (Armenian: Հոկտեմբերի 27, romanized: Hoktemberi k'sanyot), was an attack on the Armenian National Assembly in the capital of Yerevan on 27 October 1999 by a group of five armed men led by Nairi Hunanyan that, among others, killed the two de facto decision-makers in the country's political leadership—Prime Minister Vazgen Sargsyan and Parliament Speaker Karen Demirchyan. Their reform-minded coalition had won a majority in a parliamentary election held in May of that year and had practically sidelined President Robert Kocharyan from the political scene.
The shooting led to significant changes in the country's political landscape. It remains a subject of numerous conspiracy theories, mostly involving President Kocharyan, whose tenure thereafter was frequently criticized as authoritarian. Sargsyan and Demirchyan were posthumously honored with National Hero of Armenia titles.
Attack
On 27 October 1999, at around 5:15 p.m., five men led by journalist Nairi Hunanyan, armed with Kalashnikov AK-47 rifles hidden under long coats, broke into the National Assembly Building in Yerevan, while the government was holding a question-and-answer session. They fatally shot eight people:
Vazgen Sargsyan, Prime Minister (the target)
Karen Demirchyan, National Assembly Speaker
Yuri Bakhshyan, Deputy National Assembly Speaker
Ruben Miroyan, Deputy National Assembly Speaker
Leonard Petrosyan, Minister of Urgent Affairs
Henrik Abrahamyan, Member of Parliament
Armenak Armenakyan, Member of Parliament
Mikayel Kotanyan, Member of Parliament
The gunmen injured at least 30 people in the parliament.
Hunanyan was accompanied by his brother Karen, uncle Vram, and two others. The group claimed they were carrying out a coup d'état, describing their act as "patriotic" and "needed for the nation to regain its senses." They said they wanted to "punish the authorities for what they do to the nation" and described the government as profiteers "drinking the blood of the people." They claimed Armenia was in a "catastrophic situation" and that "corrupt officials" were not doing anything to provide the way out. Vazgen Sargsyan was the main target of the group and the other deaths were said to be unintended.
“Armenian parliament shooting” enters the record as political terrorist attack. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Armenian, parliament and shooting can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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