Vitaly Mikhaili Balasanyan ( hy, Վիտալի Միխայիլի Բալասանյան, born March 5, 1959) is an Artsakhi politician and retired general. He served as the head of the National Security Council of the self-proclaimed

Republic of Artsakh Artsakh, officially the Republic of Artsakh () or the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (),, is a breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan. Artsakh controls a part of the former ...

from November 2016 to November 2019 and again from December 2020 to January 2023. For his services in the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, he was awarded the country's highest title,

Hero of Artsakh Hero of Artsakh ( hy, Արցախի հերոս, Artsakhi heros) is the highest title of the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh. According to the official website of the President of Artsakh, the title Hero of Artsakh "is awarded for exceptional se ...

. He previously served as a member of Artsakh's

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

. He twice ran, unsuccessfully, for the office of

President of Artsakh The president of Artsakh or president of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic is the head of state and head of government of the ''de facto'' Republic of Artsakh. In a constitutional referendum held in 2017, citizens of the Republic voted in favor o ...

Early life and career

From 1977 to 1979 he served in the

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and subsequently lived and worked in his native Askeran. In February 1988, Balasanyan participated in the first violent incident of the Karabakh conflict known as the

Askeran clash The Askeran clash on 22—23 February 1988 in the town of Askeran was one of the starting points of Armenian- Azerbaijani conflict, which triggered the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. The Askeran clash was followed by the Sumgait pogroms. Backgr ...

, when a large group of Azerbaijanis attempted to march from Aghdam to Stepanakert, but was stopped at Askeran with fights breaking out. In 1990 Balasanyan was elected commander of Askeran region's self-defense and in December 1991 member of the Supreme Council of the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh. He led the defense of Askeran between 1992 and 1993. In June–July 1993 he was a key commander in the

Battle of Aghdam The Battle of Aghdam (June – July 1993) took place on 23 July 1993 during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, during which Armenian forces captured the Azerbaijani city of Aghdam, which they considered a main staging area of Azerbaijani forces for ...

and subsequent fighting as commander of the Askeran defense district. In 1997, Balasanyan became the first commander of the newly established Martakert mountain-rifle division and in 1999 promoted to deputy minister of defense of the self-proclaimed

in charge of veterans' affairs. Balasanyan earned the rank of major general in 2000 and in 2002 became the 8th person to be awarded the title of

Post-military

Balasanyan retired from the military in 2005 and was elected to the National Assembly of the self-proclaimed

as a candidate for the Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaktsutyun. From 2007 to 2010 he was an Adviser to the

Bako Sahakyan and was re-elected to parliament in 2010. In 2011 he received a degree from the

Armenian State University of Economics The Armenian State University of Economics (ASUE) ( hy, Հայաստանի պետական տնտեսագիտական համալսարան) is a state-owned university of economics in Yerevan, the capital Armenia, founded in 1975. History The facul ...

. In 2012, Balasanyan was the main challenger to Bako Sahakyan in the 2012 NKR Presidential Elections. He received some 33 percent of the vote. Balasanyan was re-elected to parliament for the fourth time in 2015. After the start of 2016 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes he helped coordinate Armenian defense in Askeran direction, where he was previously a commander, rising to social media prominence after a series of interviews. Balasanyan was a presidential candidate in the 2020 Artsakhian general election. He finished third with 7.98% of the vote.

Security Council

In November 2016, Balasanyan was appointed secretary of the National Security Council of the Republic of Artsakh. President Bako Sahakyan dismissed him from his post in November 2019. On December 2, 2020, in the aftermath of the

2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict in 2020 that took place in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding territories. It was a major escalation of an unresolved conflict over the region, involving Azerbai ...

, President Harutyunyan appointed Balasanyan to the office of Secretary of the National Security Council. On December 16, the President announced that all security-related decisions would have to be approved by the Security Council․ Balasanyan announced a number of reforms, including the subordination of Artsakh's armed forces to the Security Council and the closing of religious organizations not related to the

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. He also stated that the Republic of Artsakh would recover by diplomatic means the parts of the Askeran and Hadrut regions lost in the

. Since taking the post of Secretary of the Security Council, he has occasionally been referred to in the Armenian press as the de facto leader of Artsakh. Balasanyan was dismissed from the office on 7 January 2023 and replaced by Ararat Melkumyan.

Criticism

Balasanyan has been criticized for his Russian patronage, as well as his harsh treatment of journalists.Հերոսը և հակահերոսը
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Awards

References

Links

An Interview with Balasanyan

Vitaly Balasanyan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balasanyan, Vitaly Armenian Apostolic Christians Politicians from the Republic of Artsakh Armenian military personnel of the Nagorno-Karabakh War 1954 births Living people Executive branch of the government of the Republic of Artsakh