Nikol Pashinyan will declare Russia as the only culprit

The saying “Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel” gained new flesh and blood in late July 2016 in Armenia, when a group of terrorist assassins seized the Police Patrol Service Regiment building, killed police officers, held hostages, including doctors who came to provide medical assistance, robbed an ATM, and suddenly decided to recite patriotic-anti-Russian texts when surrendering to the authorities.

Nikol Pashinyan liked this trick. After seizing power, he made one or two primitive demarches against Russia, for example, withdrew Yuri Khachaturov from the CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization), demonstratively did not go to meet Putin arriving in Yerevan, and thus declared a backup policy of considering him anti-Russian and put it on the shelf. Meanwhile, in fact, from the very beginning of the change of power, he was asking Russia to recognize his legitimacy. Russia gave its “approval”: the reason for that is another matter for discussion.

Then, Russia constantly expresses its attitude towards him in mild or harsh ways because of the gross mistakes of domestic and foreign policy made during his tenure. Lavrov’s statement that Nikol Pashinyan is deceiving his citizens about the content of the Karabakh negotiations, raising gas prices, banning high-ranking Armenian smugglers from selling cigarettes in Voronezh are just some of such political slaps.

I believe all these accusations have remained unanswered because Nikol Pashinyan simply has no answer. The political and administrative mistakes are getting worse, and instead of correcting them, the government is looking for new culprits.

The last culprit was the Armenian people, who do not listen to their Prime Minister and do not wear masks. Moreover, this Armenian people complain that during the lockdown there is no social discount, that patients die in homes, as they can be treated only in hospitals chosen by “Mr. Death”, which are already full, that Nikol Pashinyan initiates constitutional coup few times a week. It seems that the option of putting guilt trip on the people no longer works, the authorities must find a new responsible for their mistakes.

Nikol Pashinyan’s government has cut off Armenia’s connection with the world, no serious international partner wants to have short-term plans or long-term prospects with it. The only connection with the world left is Russia, which, based on the perception of its geopolitical mission, continues to work with our authorities. Always being opposed to a strong dependence on Russia, I cannot help but notice that this dependence has now multiplied dangerously as a result of the pursued policy.

It should be noted that in parallel with this, so called homemade, creeping anti-Russianism is being breed in Armenia. The authorities are engaged in this, intermediately, for example, with the law of removing Russian channels from the air, or with deputies sent to Europe, who are confusing the voting buttons, with various NGOs, which are ready to blame Moscow for any foreign policy mistake, and in regard to the domestic policy – the KGB, the sectarians, an insane professor, as well as members of terrorist organizations whose guarantee of freedom is their anti-Russianism.

Now the following tendency of the government is noticeable; it will try to declare Russia guilty of its mistakes. By the help of the authority’s “magic stick” the above-mentioned army of “confused” deputies, NGOs and terrorists will be replenished with fakes, the son-in-law of the Revolution, Lulu, and that time the Overton window will be widely opened. They will immediately add “patriotism” to this, which in this case will mean anti-Russianism, and they will declare that neither Nikol nor their witlessness is to be blamed for our crisis situation, but Russia.

Declaring Russia guilty is the last bullet of the authorities, but the danger is that this bullet will now hit Armenia and Artsakh.

Aghasi Yenokyan