BREAKING: Pashinyan's government has detained Prosperous Armenia Party leader and businessman Gagik Tsarukyan after carrying out one of the largest coordinated operations against his business empire and organizations in recent years.
Tsarukyan has been charged with allegedly aiding large-scale fraud and money laundering as part of a criminal investigation into alleged offenses committed between 2022 and 2024, according to Armenia's Investigative Committee. He is expected to appear before a court, where prosecutors will seek his pre-trial detention. His lawyer, Yerem Sargsyan, called the accusations "absurd and ridiculous."
Authorities surrounded Tsarukyan's residence early Monday morning, blocked access to the property, and carried out more than 12 hours of searches while simultaneously raiding nearly all companies belonging to the Multi Group concern, as well as the homes of several company directors.
Authorities also sealed the headquarters of the Armenian National Olympic Committee, which Tsarukyan has led since 2004, along with hotels he owns in the resort town of Tsaghkadzor. According to the Prosperous Armenia Party, the raids forced around ten companies operating within the Multi Group concern to halt operations, leaving approximately 7,000 employees unable to work.
The detention comes less than a month after authorities prevented Tsarukyan from leaving Armenia through Zvartnots International Airport after opening a separate criminal case accusing him of large-scale tax evasion. It also follows recent government actions involving AraratCement, further expanding Pashinyan's government's campaign against Tsarukyan's business interests.
Tsarukyan has consistently denied wrongdoing and has repeatedly described the cases against him as politically motivated. One of Nikol Pashinyan's most outspoken political opponents, he led the "Prosperous Armenia" alliance in the June 2026 parliamentary elections, where it narrowly failed to enter parliament after the results from three polling stations were invalidated, a decision later upheld by Armenia's Constitutional Court.
🇦🇲 Armenian billionaire and leader of the Prosperous Armenia Party, #GagikTsarukyan, has been arrested. He is accused of fraud on an especially large scale.
At the same time, the wild animals kept by Tsarukyan were tranquilized and transferred to the Yerevan Zoo.
#Armenia #SouthCaucasus #MiddleEast #Europe
Matsun: The Ancient Fermented Treasure of Armenia
Long before refrigeration, long before the modern world discovered yogurt, the people of the Armenian Highlands had already mastered the art of transforming fresh milk into one of humanity's oldest fermented foods—matsun (մածուն).
The very name tells its story. The Armenian word matsun derives from the verbs matsnul (to sour, to curdle) and matsuts'anel ("to ferment"), preserving in its language the ancient process by which milk became a nourishing and long-lasting food.
As early as the 11th century, the Armenian philosopher and scholar Grigor Magistros explained that the Greeks had learned to prepare matsun from the Armenians and adopted its Armenian name without understanding its true meaning. This remarkable testimony stands among the earliest written accounts connecting both the product and its name to Armenia.
For centuries, matsun has been at the heart of Armenian life. It nourished shepherds crossing mountain pastures, monks in medieval monasteries, travelers on distant roads, and generations of Armenian families. It became the foundation of beloved dishes such as tan, tanapour, and jajik, while also earning a reputation in medieval Armenian medicine as a wholesome and restorative food.
The Armenian word traveled beyond its homeland. Today it survives in many languages—including Georgian matsoni/მაწონი, historical Greek forms, and the Western Armenian pronunciation madzun, carried across the world by Armenian communities from Constantinople to North America.
More than a fermented milk product, matsun is a living piece of Armenia's cultural heritage—a tradition that has endured through kingdoms, invasions, exile, and diaspora. Every spoonful carries the memory of the Armenian Highlands, where language, history, and cuisine have remained inseparable for millennia.
Մածուն — not merely food, but a taste of Armenian civilization.