Vladimir Akopian is an Armenian-American chess Grandmaster.
Karen Asrian was an Armenian chess player. Awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1998, he was a three-time Armenian champion. Asrian was a member of the gold medal-winning Armenian team in the 37th Chess Olympiad.
Tsaghkadzor is a resort town and urban municipal community in the Kotayk Province of Armenia. It is a popular ski and health resort and one of Armenia's most important tourist destinations. It is situated on the eastern side of Mount Teghenis, 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) northwest of the provincial capital Hrazdan and 58 kilometres (36 mi) northeast of the capital Yerevan.
Serzh Azati Sargsyan is an Armenian politician who served as the third President of Armenia from 2008 to 2018, and twice as the Prime Minister of Armenia from 2007 to 2008 and again from 17 to 23 April 2018, when he was forced to resign in the 2018 Armenian revolution.
Gabriel Eduardi Sargissian is an Armenian chess grandmaster. He was a member of the gold medal-winning Armenian team at the Chess Olympiads in 2006, 2008 and 2012 and at the World Team Chess Championship in 2011. Sargissian was awarded the Movses Khorenatsi medal in June 2006 and awarded the Honoured Master of Sport of the Republic of Armenia title in 2009.
Human rights in Armenia tend to be better than those in most former Soviet republics and have drawn closer to acceptable standards, especially economically. In October 2023, Armenia ratified the Rome statute, whereby Armenia will become a full member of the International Criminal Court.
Arianne Bo Caoili was a Filipino and Australian chess player. She held the FIDE title of Woman International Master, won the Oceania women's chess championship in 2009 and competed in seven Women's Chess Olympiads. Outside of chess, she was a financial consultant and singer, and served as advisor to Armenian prime minister Karen Karapetyan.
Bilateral diplomatic relations exist between Armenia and Turkmenistan. Armenia has an embassy in Ashgabat. Turkmenistan has an embassy in Yerevan.
Karen Demirchyan Sports and Concerts Complex, also known as Demirchyan Arena, Sports & Music Complex, or simply Hamalir, is a large multi-purpose sports and concert complex with 184 stairs leading up Tsitsernakaberd hill which dominates over the western parts of Yerevan, near the Hrazdan River gorge.
Tourism in Armenia has been a key sector to the Armenian economy since the 1990s when tourist numbers exceeded half a million people visiting the country every year. The Armenian Ministry of Economy reports that most international tourists come from Russia, EU states, the United States and Iran. Though relatively small in size, Armenia has four UNESCO world heritage sites.
The Chess Federation of Armenia, also known as the Armenian Chess Federation, is the governing chess organization in Armenia and is affiliated to FIDE. The body was founded in 1927. Responsible for organizing individual and club championships for men and women and the various important international tournaments in Armenia, it also forms the Armenian national men's and women's teams. The Federation is a member of the European Chess Union.
Zaruhi Postanjyan is an Armenian Member of Parliament since 2007, a public activist and a member of Heritage board. She was the head of "Heritage" faction of National Assembly of Armenia.
Chess has been played in Armenia since the early Middle Ages; however, it was institutionalized during the early Soviet period. Highly popular in Armenia today, chess gained widespread recognition during the 1960s, when Soviet Armenian grandmaster Tigran Petrosian became the World Chess Champion. A country of about three million people, Armenia is considered one of the strongest chess nations today, and a chess superpower. Among countries, Armenia has one of the most chess grandmasters per capita.
Yerevan City Council election was held on May 5, 2013. The Republican Party of Armenia won 56% of the total vote, Prosperous Armenia had 23%, while Barev Yerevan won over 8%. The opposition parties and the local observers denounced the elections as "unfair".
Various political and civil groups staged anti-government protests in Armenia in 2013. The first series of protests were held following the 2013 presidential election and were led by the former presidential candidate Raffi Hovannisian. Hovannisian, who, according to official results, lost to incumbent Serzh Sargsyan, denounced the results claiming they were rigged. Starting on 19 February, Hovannisian and his supporters held mass rallies in Yerevan's Freedom Square and other cities. On 10 March, Hovannisian started a hunger strike, calling elected President Sargsyan to resign before 9 April, the inauguration day. Hovannisian called "for the solution of this unprecedented pan-national fundamental issue before April 9." During an interview on 18 March 2013, Sargsyan said he would not visit Hovannisian and described his claims as "arrogant phrases seasoned with obscenities". Sargsyan was inaugurated on 9 April 2013, while Hovannisian and thousands of people gathered in the streets of Yerevan to protest it, clashing with the police forces blocking the way to the Presidential Palace. Hovannisian's movement was dubbed "Barevolution", a portmanteau of barev and revolution, referring to Raffi Hovannisian's habit of walking up to people and greeting them during the election campaign.
Officially, the Technical Center-Academy of the Football Federation of Armenia, commonly known as the Yerevan Football Academy or Avan Football Academy, is a modern football training school located in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia.
Mikayel Arayi Minasyan is an Armenian public figure, diplomat, and media mogul. He previously served as Armenia's ambassador to the Holy See, Sovereign Military Order of Malta and Portugal. He is the son-in-law of former Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan.
Radisson Blu Hotel, is a hotel in Yerevan, Armenia. It is operated by Radisson Hotels under the Radisson Blu brand. The hotel was originally opened in 2005 as the Golden Palace Yerevan. However, the hotel had been entirely renovated and expanded between 2014 and 2016. It was eventually reopened in July 2016 as the Radisson Blu Hotel, Yerevan.
The following lists events that occurred in 2018 in Armenia.
