Yerkrapah

Yerkrapah
Yerkrapah logo
Active	July 1993—present
Country	Armenia
Role	Paramilitary
Size	5,000-30,000
Motto(s)	Defenders of the Land
Engagements	Nagorno-Karabakh War
Commanders
Current commander	Manvel Grigoryan
Notable commanders	Vazgen Sargsyan

Yerkrapah Volunteer Union (Armenian: «Երկրապահ» կամավորական միություն, ԵԿՄ «Yerkrapah» kamavorakan miut'yun, YeKM) or Yerkrapah Union of Veterans, meaning Defenders of the Land, is a non-governmental group that consisted of 6,000 Nagorno-Karabakh War veterans, formed by Vazgen Sargsyan. The Yerkrapah is a large and influential veteran group. The Yerkrapah Union was actively involved in the Nagorno-Karabakh War although after the death of Sargsyan, Yerkrapah began to decline in support in politics. Yerkrapah had incorporated between 5,000 and 30,000 veterans. According to Thomas de Waal, after 1994 "the veterans' group Yerkrapah became the most powerful organization in the country."