Richard Giragosian

Richard Giragosian was an Armenian American academic, security analyst, and founding director of the Regional Studies Center (RSC), an independent think tank in Yerevan, Armenia. He died on September 19, 2026, in Istanbul, Turkey, at the age of 61, after suffering a brain hemorrhage while visiting the city for a meeting. He was treated at Okmeydani Prof. Dr. Cemil Tascioğlu Hospital and spent an extended period in intensive care before his death, according to reports from Agos and Armenian outlets including Aravot and Radar Armenia. A funeral ceremony was planned in Armenia.

Born on January 8, 1965, in Providence, Rhode Island, Giragosian built more than three decades of policy experience in security and international relations. For nine years he served as a professional staff member of the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress, where he was the committee's principal staffer for the former Soviet Union and China, organizing hearings and analytical studies for members of Congress. From 2002 to 2006 he was a guest lecturer for the U.S. Army Special Forces at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Bragg.

After moving to Armenia in 2006, he founded and directed the Regional Studies Center in Yerevan and became a familiar voice on Caucasus and regional security. He consulted for the Asian Development Bank, the European Union Delegation to Armenia, the European Parliament, the French Ministry of Defense, the International Crisis Group, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, and the U.S. Departments of Defense and State. He also served as a guest lecturer for the NATO Defense College in Rome and as a visiting professor at the College of Europe's Natolin campus, and as a senior expert at Yerevan State University's Centre for European Studies.

His writing and commentary reached audiences far beyond Armenia. He contributed analyses for Al Jazeera and the Asia Times, wrote for the European Council on Foreign Relations, Le Monde, The Moscow Times, and Turkish Policy Quarterly, and earlier contributed to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Jane's Information Group, Oxford Analytica, and the Turkish-language international edition of Newsweek. He previously directed the Armenian Center for National and International Studies.

Colleagues remembered Giragosian as a leading foreign policy expert whose work shaped understanding of Armenia's neighborhood and its relations with Turkey, Azerbaijan, Iran, Georgia, and the wider region. His sudden death in Istanbul prompted tributes from diplomats, analysts, and friends across Armenia and abroad. He leaves a body of research, commentary, and institution-building centered on the Regional Studies Center he founded and led.