Former Armenian army chief surrenders passport, says he will never return to Armenia

Lieutenant General Norat Ter-Grigoryants, a former Soviet military commander who played a prominent role in the formation of Armenia’s armed forces and advocated the establishment of a Russian military base in the country, says he has surrendered his Armenian passport and will no longer return to Armenia.

In an interview, Ter-Grigoryants said that after surrendering his passport, he received a message from the Armenian presidential office informing him that he had been stripped of his citizenship.

“I surrendered my passport and received a message from your presidential office: ‘You have been stripped of your citizenship.’ Well, farewell, my dears. I will never come to Armenia again. That’s all,” he said.

Ter-Grigoryants was born in Vladikavkaz in 1936 and served for decades in the Soviet Armed Forces, eventually attaining the rank of lieutenant general. He served as deputy chief of the Main Staff of the Soviet Ground Forces and was also chief of staff of the Soviet 40th Army in Afghanistan.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ter-Grigoryants became involved in the formation of Armenia’s armed forces. Armenian authorities invited him to help establish the country’s military structures, and he subsequently served in senior positions, including as chief of the General Staff and first deputy defense minister. He also briefly served as acting defense minister in 1993.

Ter-Grigoryants later returned to Moscow, where he remained active in Russian-Armenian military and veterans’ circles.

His views on Russia’s military role in Armenia have also been well documented. Ter-Grigoryants has previously said that he personally proposed establishing a Russian military base in Armenia.

“I proposed creating a Russian military base in Armenia,” he said in an earlier interview.

Russia subsequently established its 102nd Military Base in Gyumri, which became a major component of Moscow’s military presence in Armenia.

The veteran general’s latest remarks come amid increasingly strained Russian-Armenian relations and growing debate in Armenia over the country’s traditional security ties with Moscow.

Ter-Grigoryants’ decision to surrender his Armenian passport is particularly notable given his own role in the formation of independent Armenia’s military and his longstanding advocacy for maintaining a Russian military presence in the country.

He is also reported to have recently marked his 90th birthday, with Russian-Armenian organizations commemorating his contribution to the creation of the armed forces of the Third Republic of Armenia.