Armenia is one of the four post-Soviet countries—along with Ukraine, neighboring Georgia, and Moldova—which are “partly free.” This is noted in the Freedom in the World 2022 report by Freedom House released Thursday.

“Armenia, still reeling in the aftermath of its 2020 war with Azerbaijan, approved reforms to the electoral code that will improve transparency and fairness. The political system appeared to stabilize somewhat after snap parliamentary elections, though criminal cases against local opposition figures late in the year [2021] raised concerns that the country’s democracy remained on shaky ground,” the report added. 

The third country of the South Caucasus, Azerbaijan, as in previous years, in 2022 as well was named not only as one of the “not free” countries in the region, but also in the world.

Another neighbor of Armenia, Turkey, is also listed as a "not free" country by human rights activists. Moreover, Turkey was once again recognized as the most "not free" country in Europe in a Freedom House report published today.