By Konkret, velvetologist
In Armenia, everyone is asking about the striking similarity between the voices of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, also known as ‘Nikovelvet’, and that of his loyal mayor of Yerevan, Tigran Avinyan.
In 2018, experts wondered whether the velvet revolutionary Tigran Avinyan was not just sucking up, imitating Nikovelvelt’s voice and tone in order to benefit from his aura.
These ‘sister voices’ have caused panic within some opposition parties. They would like to discredit Avinyan by imitating his voice using AI technology, but this approach automatically raises doubts in the listener’s mind. Are we hearing Pashinyan’s voice or that of the current mayor of Yerevan?
This vocal peculiarity has fuelled numerous debates within the country. Various political and diplomatic circles have sought to clarify the situation.
This is what Nikol Pashinyan and the other prominent figures in his party had to say:
‘The origin of this vocal resemblance is a revolutionary velvet meal prepared by the renowned chef Levon Ter Petrosyan at his restaurant, Velvet Conspiracy. Following the instructions of a cooking programme, the chef added an excessive amount of spices to the dishes, damaging Pashinyan and Avinyan’s vocal cords.’
A different opinion is expressed on Radio Free Liberty Azatutyun, the unofficial radio station of the US Embassy :
‘In order to achieve almost identical voices and tones (the vocal resemblance is 80%), Nikol Pashinyan and Tigran Avinyan underwent intensive training at the Actor’s Studio. This training aimed to give a voice to the voiceless in Armenia.’
At last, we can reveal the views of the FSB, Robert Kocharyan and the ARF Dashnaktsutyun on the matter:
‘Ever since our political leaders lost power, things have gone really wrong! Stop shouting that we are corrupt! No! We didn’t have enough time during our thirty years in power in Armenia to show you in every possible way that we were able to take advantage of the system.’
