Court reinstates Yerevan kindergarten director after dispute

Margarita Hovhannisyan, the longtime director of Avan’s No. 57 kindergarten, has been ordered back to her post after the Civil Court of Appeals ruled in her favor.

The court fully upheld Hovhannisyan’s appeal, reinstating her as director of the Avan Nursery-Kindergartens SNCO’s No. 57 branch. Judges also ordered compensation equal to her average monthly salary for the period she was out of work. Four disciplinary sanctions previously imposed on her were declared invalid, her attorney Lusine Virabyan said on Wednesday.

The dispute gained public attention in 2024 when tensions at the kindergarten followed the involvement of Julieta Azaryan, then a member of the ruling Civil Contract party but not yet a lawmaker. Hovhannisyan is the niece of former Yerevan mayor Taron Margaryan, and the case was widely viewed as part of broader political friction between the ruling party and figures tied to the city’s previous leadership.