Arman Babajanyan
Arman Babajanyan is the founder and owner of the online media outlet 1in.am. His diverse career has spanned religious service, journalism, and politics, beginning with his role as chairman of the Youth Union of the Armenian Church of the Ararat Patriarchal Diocese in 1989 and editor of its "Hayord" periodical from 1990-1993.
Babajanyan pursued extensive theological education, graduating from institutions in Venice (Murad-Rafaelian Seminary, 1995) and Etchmiadzin (Vazgenian and Gevorgian Seminaries, 1998). He later earned degrees from the Institute of Foreign Economic Relations in St. Petersburg (2001), University of Southern California's Faculty of Foreign Affairs (2004), and Georgetown University's School of Security Studies (2005).
His media career includes founding "Zhamanak" daily newspaper in Los Angeles (2003), then "Zhamanak Yerevan" and "Zhamanak" in Armenia (2006), and serving as founding editor of "1in.am. First News" from 2010-2019. In 2006, he was sentenced to four years in prison for military service evasion.
In 2018, he was elected to the National Assembly on the national electoral list of the "Bright Armenia" party. But in 2019, Arman Babajanyan announced that he was leaving the "Bright Armenia" faction. Later, he continued his activities as an independent deputy. He founded the "For the Republic" party in 2020 and participated in the 2021 snap elections as part of the "Shirinyan-Babajanyan Democrats Alliance." He remains active in pro-Western advocacy, including collecting signatures for an EU membership referendum in 2024 and organizing protests against Russian military presence in Armenia, including a demonstration against the 102nd military base in Gyumri in August 2025.
