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This former journalist just took down Armenia's ruling elite

42-year-old Nikol Pashinyan led weeks of protests in the ex-Soviet state to become its new prime minister.

Armenia’s popular uprising inched toward a resolution last week as protest leader Nikol Pashinyan won a second round of elections to officially become the country's new prime minister.

“My message to [the] Armenian people: it's time,” Pashinyan, a 42-year-old former newspaper editor, told VICE News. “The best life for us, it's in our country."

Pashinyan roused a grassroots movement to demand an early parliamentary election and the resignation of Serzh Sargsyan, who had previously served two five-year terms before being appointed prime minister just eight days after his presidency ended. Armenians took to the streets to protest against the power grip.

Unlike their Georgian and Ukrainian neighbors in 2003 and 2014, the Armenians demonstration against poverty and corruption resulted in a bloodless coup

Armenia, an important Russian ally, also hosts a Russian military base, and Russia’s decision not to intervene in the revolution took many by surprise. And although the Kremlin will be watching closely to see if the new leader preaching Armenian independence will continue to toe the line, for now, Pashinyan says he’s focused only on matters at home.

This segment originally aired May 8, 2018 on VICE News Tonight on HBO.