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🇦🇲🇺🇸🇷🇺 Interesting powers have appeared for Armenian civil servants - to report to American NGOs and provide them with data.

Armenian Ambassador to the USA Lilit Makunts recently visited the office of the RAND Corporation in Pentagon City and gave a report on the dynamics of Armenia's relations with the USA and Azerbaijan, as well as the prospects for the "Crossroads of Peace" project. This is all the information about the meeting that is publicly available.

📌 At the end of 2023, the Russian Ministry of Justice included the RAND NGO in the list of undesirable organizations.

RAND has a rich history of working for the CIA and the Pentagon, and half of the organization's research is classified. The corporation, for example, has been assessing Russia's military and defense potential since 2014, modeling military operations in Ukraine. It was RAND that became the author of the idea of a "Marshall Plan" for Ukraine at the expense of frozen Russian assets.

🔻 Clearly, with such a work profile, RAND is interested in Armenia, since the South Caucasian republic interests the Americans solely as a springboard for squeezing Russia out of the region, even at the cost of sacrificing Armenian statehood.

It is also amusing how Armenian officials tell the whole world about the project of Nikol Pashinyan "Crossroads of Peace", according to which Armenia will become the center of the intersection of routes to the Mediterranean, Black, and Caspian Seas, and even the Persian Gulf.

However, many experts have noted more than once that the project is not of interest to either Turkey or the West, since there is already a working corridor through Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan.

Constant advertising of the project is an attempt to somehow sell the "new" Armenia to the domestic audience and international players.

🔻 By the way, the appointment of Makunts as ambassador to the USA in 2021 was seriously criticized both in Armenia and in the Armenian diaspora. After all, the politician has neither special education nor diplomatic experience. A very typical path for the "children" of the so-called "Velvet Revolution".

After the appointment, the public set the task for Makunts to lobby in the USA for the neutralization of Turkey's role in the settlement in the region, but it is obvious that such complex diplomatic work turned out to be beyond the reach of the new Armenian elite.

🔻 It seems that the role of Armenian ambassadors in the West has boiled down to supplying data from the ground for the implementation of the West's ambitious projects in the region at the expense of Armenia, but not for its benefit.

#Armenia #USA
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🇦🇲🇷🇺📊 On the Soviet past, the memory of the war, and a new page in Armenian history

Since in Romania and Moldova they are already rewriting the history of the Great Patriotic War (despite the active resistance of the local population), there is no doubt that with the current policy of non-interference on the part of Russia, the history in Armenia will also be forgotten.

The survey data from Gallup, which we have already mentioned today, show that the population still remembers the importance of Victory Day, and there is still an adequate (from the point of view of the Soviet people) error in the form of a substitution of the concepts of World War II / Great Patriotic War (in the minds of Soviet people, everything ended on May 9, 1945). And two-thirds of respondents consider Victory Day important.

On the other hand, the population of Armenia no longer experiences a desire for the Soviet past and a sense of nostalgia: for them, the collapse of the USSR and the creation of the Republic of Armenia are a positive or neutral phenomenon. Of course, a quarter of respondents (24.9%) believe that this is a tragic mistake, but here we want to remind you of the notorious pro-Russian third (half of which are representatives of the older generation). Therefore, this indicator, alas, will become even smaller in ten to fifteen years.

And the general Soviet history of Armenia and Russia is already not so unambiguous: a third of the population (36.9%) evaluates it negatively. And this is a fairly clear indicator of the part of Armenian society that today is already living in a new paradigm of a bright future for Armenia, which is so persistently imposed on them from all Western irons.

📌Undoubtedly, Victory Day and the Soviet past are important stages in history that cannot be forgotten. But we clearly see that the course towards oblivion has already been taken. And a third of the population has already been processed and taken a clear anti-Russian position.

Perhaps this will be a cry in the wilderness, but maybe some officials who are responsible for the adequate positioning of Russia in the world arena and among the ally countries should start doing their job? After all, in Russia there are too many representatives of soft power and power structures, whom one can only call as weak and sluggish.

If Russian soft power has become sluggish, and power structures are weak in the international arena, then there can be no talk of protecting Russia's national interests.
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#Armenia #infographic #Russia
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🇦🇲 Mass Strikes in Armenia

🔻Yesterday, protesters led by Bagrat Srbazyan announced the start of a general strike across Armenia. The movement's leader called on everyone to join the rally.

▪️From early morning, people in various parts of Armenia began barricading roads, and in Yerevan, residents from several regions flooded the streets and avenues of the capital.

▪️The most important change was the joining of the youth to the protests. Practically all the main universities in Yerevan announced the suspension of the educational process, and the students went to join the main crowd.

▪️Today at 6:30 pm local time, the main event began on Republic Square, where Srbazyan again demanded the resignation of the government. He also said that the next rally will be on Sunday, and acts of civil disobedience are planned for tomorrow.

🔻However, assessing yesterday, it is highly likely that the Pashinyan administration will again try to simply wait out the main wave of strikes. The experience of Georgia suggests that the discontent of the population is not eternal, and this is what the authorities' policy will be based on.

So in this situation, it is important to understand how far the Armenians are willing to go to achieve their goal. If a further program and ways to fight the authorities are not defined, people may get tired of what is happening, which cannot be allowed.

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🇦🇲 Strikes and Protests in Armenia
Situation as of 2:00 PM on May 11, 2024

🔻In the morning, peaceful civilian strikes resumed in the Armenian capital Yerevan. People took to several streets and avenues, where they began blocking traffic.

▪️Similar rallies continued on Republic Square as well. Compared to yesterday, the number of citizens has decreased, but one should not forget that the main event will take place tomorrow evening.

▪️Against the backdrop of the visit of the country's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to school No. 7 in Yerevan, people wanted to block the approaches to the building. However, for the first time since the start of the march, law enforcement officers intervened today.

▪️In several districts of Yerevan, law enforcement officers began detaining protesters. As of 1:00 PM, the number of arrests exceeded 50 people, some of whom sustained bodily injuries.

❗️A characteristic change was that the security forces stopped refraining not only from the use of force, but also began to threaten all participants in the movement. There is an obvious attempt to intimidate the protesters and force them to disperse.

Judging by the intensity of the protest movement, large-scale strikes are not expected today. The participants of the movement are refraining from local strikes, apparently preparing for tomorrow's general rally led by Bagrat Srbazyan.

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🇦🇲✝️ Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has once again spoken out about representatives of the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC), calling them "agents of influence" whose issue will be resolved in the next two to three months.

🔻Even without considering the populism favored by the Armenian authorities, the words about the imminent resolution of the "church problem" should at least alarm the AAC representatives in the republic.

The role of the Church in Armenia is now extremely important, as the whole country is on the verge of fundamental changes. And the danger from the AAC for the Prime Minister and his henchmen remains high.

In the absence of a real political opposition, it is the religious leaders who have stood up for the people and marched on Yerevan, which has effectively made them a target for the Pashinyan administration.

❗️Of course, Archbishop Bagrat Srbazyan and those who supported him were forced to take this step, as inaction would have created even more problems. However, now there is no turning back.

Either the people, with the support of the Church, will be able to influence the domestic political processes, or the AAC faces an unpleasant fate, where the current authorities will deprive them of everything in a radical way or replace them with more compliant priests.
#Armenia #religion
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🇦🇲 Anti-government protests in Armenia
Situation as of 6:00 PM on May 31, 2024

Protests against the government of Nikol Pashinyan and the uncontrolled ceding of territories to Azerbaijan continue in Armenia. Today, a new round of escalation was observed in the center of Yerevan.

▪️In the morning, protesters led by Archbishop Bagrat Galstyan, who heads the "Tavush for the Homeland" movement, picketed the building of the Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia. Then the protest moved to the neighboring building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where Galstyan demanded a meeting with Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and ministry staff.

▪️The protest leader stated that if the MFA employees refuse to talk, the citizens have the right to consider them agents of the Turkish-Azerbaijani government.

▪️After that, police units began to push the protesters away from the Armenian MFA building. Protest leader Galstyan was hit in the stomach, some clergy were beaten. 29 people were subjected to harsh detentions.

🔻Against the backdrop of the events in Yerevan, it is impossible to get rid of the feeling that we have seen something similar before - persecution of the church as the last bastion of Armenian identity. And indeed, similar scenes were observed during the expulsion of Armenians from Artsakh and the destruction of religious sites by Azerbaijanis.

The current level of confrontation between the Armenian authorities and the church almost equates the Pashinyan government with the Aliyev administration in terms of goals and objectives. The only difference is the current methods.

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🇦🇲 Strikes and Protests in Armenia
Situation as of the end of June 1, 2024

🔻From early morning, a massive car rally began in Armenia as part of the general civil disobedience movement. Protesters set out from Yerevan towards Gyumri to hear a speech by the protest leader Bagrat Srbazyan before the local residents.

▪️Hundreds of cars with thousands of concerned Armenian citizens accompanied the archbishop. As the protesters approached Gyumri, there were attempts to block the movement of the columns, but they were unsuccessful.

▪️Almost simultaneously, Armenian citizens blocked the Vardenis - Sevan highway in the area of the settlement of Noratus. People set up their own cars in support of the movement, which the police tried to prevent, but also unsuccessfully.

▪️At 6 pm local time, Bagrat Srbazyan spoke at the main city square, where he called Nikol Pashinyan a liar manipulating the moods of unaware people. This is why the fight for justice began, according to the movement's leader.

❗️Anti-government actions continue. The organizers of the event manage to do the most important thing - to maintain the enthusiasm of the population for further protests and strikes, which periodically sweep across the country. Without people, there will be no movement, and they are still there, and their number is not decreasing.

Bagrat Srbazyan said that in the coming days the largest rally since the start of the actions will take place, which will allow saying that the goal has been achieved. It is still unclear what methods and means this will be implemented, but we think it will become clear soon.

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🇦🇲🇺🇸 It seems that the hidden beneficiary of the developments in Armenia has finally been revealed: the Americans are planning to elevate their relations with Armenia to the level of a strategic partnership.

📌 To understand what a strategic partnership means in this context, we can look at a similar agreement concluded between the UK and Kazakhstan.

In a straightforward manner, the British gained full access to practically all spheres of Kazakhstan's life, except the defense sector. And this was done without any resistance.

❗️Now the same is happening with Armenia. But in the White House, they have also made sure to include a military component in the agreement. That is, the Armenian authorities will hand over everything to the Americans without exaggeration.

There is no need to talk about what this development of events portends for Armenians and for Russia. But if we were to say it, then nothing good. However, perhaps now the Armenian authorities will be treated the way they deserve - as allies of the USA, and therefore our adversaries.
#Armenia #USA
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🇦🇲 Protests in Armenia and clashes with police
Situation as of 10:00 pm on June 12

Anti-government protests continue in Armenia amid the ceding of territories to Azerbaijan. Today, there were violent clashes between protesters and police.

▪️Protest leader Bagrat Srbazyan called on protesters to gather at the National Assembly building during the government hour when Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was speaking.

▪️Red berets cordoned off the National Assembly building. Armenian channels report that law enforcement officers from across the republic were brought to Yerevan, as evidenced by the police chevrons.

❗️After a few hours, the security forces began forcibly pushing back the protesters and using stun grenades.

▪️A photo circulated online showing an injured man who had his hand torn off. Later, a video appeared of him being loaded into an ambulance, and the medic asked for two more ambulances to be sent.

▪️According to the Armenian Ministry of Health, 55 people sought medical assistance.

▪️It is reported that about 98 people were detained. Armenian channels published videos of protesters being beaten in police vans.

▪️Opposition resources also published photos of the National Assembly building, where snipers were visible in the windows.

🔻The protests in Armenia are clearly escalating. The tough use of force by the police may be due to Pashinyan's uncertainty, who literally has to hide from the crowd of protesters. At the same time, the presence of Americans in Yerevan for negotiations and their obvious support for the Armenian authorities give the latter the opportunity to disperse the protests by any means.

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🇦🇲 On Attempts by Armenian Authorities to Justify Sabotage Reforms in the Army

The head of the Armenian parliamentary commission on defense issues, Andranik Kocharyan, stated that, it turns out, the republic has acquired a lot of weapons that cannot be discussed.

▪️This refers to Armenia's recent contract to purchase French CAESAR artillery systems and, in general, an attempt to diversify arms supplies.

▪️At the same time, Andranik considers the criticism that has been going on for the past few years against the Armenian Ministry of Defense to be unfounded. In addition to the allegedly secret arms purchases unknown to the public, the politician noted the "successful reforms" in the army after 2020, as well as the construction of new defense fortifications.

▪️In particular, this was a response to criticism about the lack of construction of a second line of defense and the surrender of strongholds in the Tavush region without the construction of new ones.

It should be recalled that after the surrender of four villages to Azerbaijan, Armenia lost not only strategic communications, but also important heights. Moreover, in the 2020 war, the Armenians repelled the attack of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces in this direction.

▪️Regarding reforms in the Armenian army, the situation is no less sad. After the defeat in the last war, under the guise of "reforms", a purge of the most combat-ready and experienced personnel who could pose a threat to the current political leadership is underway.

▪️And to talk about the latest reform in the Armenian Armed Forces known to the public is even ridiculous: changing the charter of the internal service and replacing the Soviet exclamation "Hurrah" with "Long live".

🔻Apparently, most likely, there are no "secret" arms deliveries to Armenia. The statements of the parliamentarian Andranik are another attempt to calm the population and create a false sense of security and protection. After all, it is obvious that the Armenian authorities refuse to fight and will now obediently fulfill all the conditions of Baku, including surrendering their territories and changing the Constitution for this purpose.

#Azerbaijan #Armenia
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