to which civil society in Armenia had matured in recent years. The anti-Russian undercurrents of the Electric Yerevan movement fueled many comparisons with the Euro-Maidan revolution
in Ukraine, especially amongst Russian observers. At points, Sargsyan's
long-term future appeared uncertain, with chorus of premature political
obituaries drumming louder as unrest worsened day-by-day.

Sargsyan
effectively defied these naysayers by demonstrating that he had learnt
the lessons from Viktor Yanukovych's ignominious demise in Ukraine.
Instead of resorting to mass violence to restore order, Sargsyan
attempted to appease the protesters with concessions demonstrating his ostensible concern for their economic plight and demands for a less corrupt judicial process.

Six days after the protests began, Sargsyan made a public statement insisting that the 17% hike in electricity costs
was necessary to ensure Armenia's power grid was operational. But to
alleviate the financial burden, heannounced that the government not
households would cover the excess costs until an independent audit of
the price hike was completed. To prevent opposition movements from
snowballing in retaliation to gratuitous police brutality, Sargsyan
launched a police investigation into officers involved in the June 23 crackdown.
A senior regime-affiliated member of the police force was demoted and
police officers involved in the repression were reprimanded.

Sargasyan's
deft accommodation of the Yerevan protesters' grievances prevented the
electricity protests from escalating into a national popular revolution.
The absence of unified leadership
amongst the Armenian opposition and the increasingly abstract nature of
their agenda following the government's concession on the electricity
issue ultimately defused the protests completely. To prevent a
more cohesive challenge to the Republican Party's 16 year long hegemony
over Armenian politics from emerging, Sargasyan has attempted to
stimulate the economy by borrowing from international