Pro-Government Militias
Yerkrapah Union of Volunteers (Armenia)
Basic Group Information
| Name assigned by coder: | no |
| PGM ID Number: | 400 |
| Country: | Armenia |
| Date formed: | July 1, 1993 |
| Accuracy of date formed: | month |
| Details of Formation: | The Yerkrapah was founded by Vazgen Sargsyan in July 1993 out of Nagorno-Karabakh war veterans. |
| Date dissolved: | Feb. 23, 2008 |
| Accuracy of date dissolved: | year |
| Details of Termination: | After the 2008 elections, the Yerkrapah continued to support the old government. The newly elected government then disarmed and arrested members of the Yerkrapah. The group continued to exist and in 2014 signed an cooperation agreement with the emergency ministry to assist the fire brigade; there is no evidence, however, that the Yerkrapah was armed again. |
| Termination Type(s): | change in government; PGM defects |
Former and Successor Group Information
| Predecessor group(s): | none |
| Successor group(s): | none |
| Private Military Company? | no |
| Former Group? | no |
| Former Armed Group? | no |
| Former Rebel Group? | no |
| Former Rebel Group UCDP ID: | none |
| PGM Becomes Rebel Group? | no information |
| Successor Rebel Group UCDP ID: | none |
Government Relation, Support, and Training
| Government Relation: | informal (type 1) |
| Created by the Government?: | yes | Main Creating Government Institution: | person/minister |
| Government Link(s): | person/minister |
| If link to party, name of party: | |
| Training and Equipment: | no information |
| Shared Information and Joint Operations: | yes |
| Shared Personnel: | no information |
| Type(s) of Material Support: | no information |
| State Sponsor(s): | none |
| Other Connection(s): |
Group Characteristics
| Membership: | ex soldiers; party activists |
| Primary Membership: | noncivilian |
| Alternative Primary Membership: | no information |
| Location: | Nagorno-Karabakh |
| Force Strength: | [5000, 30000] |
| Target(s): | religious group |
| Purpose(s): | intimidation of ethnic/religious groups |
Ethnic Characteristics
| Ethnic Target(s): | none |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Targeting: | not applicable |
| Ethnic Membership: | none |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Membership: | not applicable |
| Ethnic Purpose: | none |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Purpose: | not applicable |
Other Information
| Other Information: | The Yerkrapah Union of Volunteers is sometimes also referred to as the Yerkrapah Union of Veterans (Wikipedia). |
New Variables from Meta-Analysis
Purpose
| Purpose: | The Yerkrapah was the personal army of Vazgen Sargsyan, who used them to act against people he disliked, especially religious minorities. |
| Relative Benefit(s) of PGM Use | unknown |
Treatment of Civilians
| Treatment of Civilians: | The Yerkrapah was involved in beating and kidnapping members of nonapostolic religious groups. These actions were cleared by government officials. |
| Type(s) of Violence against Civilians: | beating |
Reasons for Membership
| PGM Members Coerced? | no information |
| PGM Members Paid? | no information |
| Reasons for Membership: | |
| PGM Members Killed? | no information |
PGM Size
| Size: |
Weapons and Training
| Weapons and Training: | The Yerkrapah members are armed with iron pipes and guns. |
Organisation
| Organisation: | Since its founding until his death in 1999 the Yerkrapah was led by Vazgen Sargsyan, a military commander, defense minister and later prime minister (Wikipedia). The Yerkrapah was part of the Defense Ministry and was allegedly affiliated with government security agencies. |
Reference(s) for Meta-Analysis
Evidence
- Examine the evidence for this coding.