Armenia moves to nationalize Russian-owned power grid, Moscow protests the seizure

Summary

Armenia's parliament has declared Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA), the country's main electricity distribution company, an "asset of public interest," a legal designation that permits forced nationalization. ENA has been owned since 2015 by Tashir Group, the conglomerate of Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, who was placed under house arrest in June 2025 after publicly backing the Armenian Apostolic Church in its confrontation with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Karapetyan's family refused to sell at Yerevan's offered price of US$380,000, a fraction of the company's estimated US$360 million market value, and Tashir has launched international arbitration seeking hundreds of millions in compensation. Russia's Foreign Ministry has formally protested the detention of Karapetyan, a Russian citizen, and his associates. Two more Karapetyan associates were arrested on July 3. Nationalization is expected to complete in mid-July 2026.

The split

Armenian government and pro-Pashinyan media frame the seizure as an energy security measure, noting that ENA's ownership by a politically active Russian billionaire creates a structural vulnerability in a country that has been systematically reducing its dependence on Russia since the 2020 and 2023 wars with Azerbaijan. Russian state media and diaspora-aligned outlets characterize the nationalization as politically motivated expropriation targeting an oligarch who exercised his right to oppose the government. Tashir Group's arbitration filings, which Pashinyan's government calls "blackmail," frame the dispute in investment-treaty terms, removing it from domestic politics and placing it in an international legal arena where Armenia's track record is mixed.

By the numbers

• US$380,000: Armenia's offered compensation for ENA
• US$360 million: Estimated market value of Electric Networks of Armenia
• June 2025: Karapetyan placed under house arrest
• Hundreds of millions: Tashir Group's arbitration claim
• Mid-July 2026: Expected completion of nationalization

Why it matters

The confrontation adds a new dimension to Armenia's realignment away from Russia. Yerevan has already withdrawn from CSTO (the Russian-led military alliance), pursued EU membership discussions, and strengthened security ties with France and India. Seizing a major infrastructure asset owned by a prominent Russian businessman with close Kremlin ties is a qualitative step beyond political signaling, and Russia's formal protest, rather than silence, suggests Moscow considers this a test case for its remaining economic leverage in Armenia. The Tashir arbitration will proceed regardless of the nationalization outcome and may produce a ruling that strains Armenia's sovereign finances.

What to watch

• Whether nationalization finalizes in mid-July as planned, or faces an injunction via arbitration
• Russia's response beyond a formal note: sanctions, gas-price adjustments, or support for Armenian opposition
• Whether Pashinyan's government uses ENA as a model to address other Russian-linked infrastructure