MOSCOW – Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced on Thursday that the army had tried a coup, the latest development in a country still recovering from last year’s lost war with Azerbaijan.
Now politicians and political analysts are speaking out of Russia’s hand in the coup attempt, which marks President Vladimir Putin’s strained relationship with Pashinyan. Pushinyan insulted Moscow on Tuesday by complaining about Russian missiles, an indirect criticism of the Kremlin’s strategy of waiting for intervention until Armenia is weakened in the conflict, despite its official status as a military ally.
“They did not explode, or maybe 10 percent of them exploded,” Pashinyan said Tuesday about the missiles. The military generals – who were already angry about Pashinyan’s shooting down military generals in an attempt to modernize power – objected and caused the conflict.
According to political analyst Artur Paronyan, Russian chief of staff Valery Gerasimov earlier in the day called on his Armenian counterpart, General Onik Gasparyan. “Moscow has clearly signaled to General Gasparyan to get rid of our prime minister,” Paronyan told The Daily Beast.
Led by General Gasparyan, dozens of generals signed a statement calling for Pashinyan to be removed for his alleged inability to “make adequate decisions in this crisis.” It was the first direct intervention by the military in Armenia’s domestic politics since 2008, when ten protesters were killed after the army crashed into a rally on Freedom Square in Yerevan.
Armenia healed from that tragedy, and has since changed course. Over the past decade, the country has developed a vibrant civil society that is confronted with its most acute social issues. But the threat of a war with Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave has been in the air for decades. Generations grew up preparing for the next war, and in September the fighting began. It lasted six weeks, and Armenia is upside down.
If Kim Kardashian had an Armenian man in Armenia, she would be in danger
After the war, thousands of bitter protesters displaced Yerevan’s center, blaming the government for the defeat and demanding that Pashinyan resign. A ceasefire mediated by Russia saved Armenia from defeat in Nagorno-Karabakh, but it also made Armenia desperately dependent on Russia for security.
The opposition appealed to Pashinyan, and the army joined him on Wednesday. Many men in crowds of protesters wore military uniforms and said they would not leave Freedom Square until Pashinyan left. On Thursday, General Gasparyan published his statement formally requesting that the prime minister resign and criticize him for “discrediting” the military.
In an exclusive interview with The Daily Beast, Pashinyan’s main rival, former Defense Minister Vazgen Manukyan, claimed he had strong support from the Russian military. “We blame Pashinyan for the total diplomatic failure in peace talks with Baku and for our defeat in the war against Azerbaijan’s aggression.” He added that he was’ in touch with all the commanders’ and that he knew that ‘some operations [led by Pashinyan] was more than doubtful. ”
“Everything my army could win from 1992 to 1993, he lost. “We plan to execute Pashinyan and investigate why we lost areas and 5,000 lives,” he said. Manukyan also stressed his support for peaceful demonstrations, as a civil war would destroy an already vulnerable Armenia.
Many of Manukyan’s supporters are openly campaigning for Russian support for the coup. ‘The war showed us that neither the United States nor France was here to save us. Moscow negotiated peace for us. Still, Danielyan, a pro-Manukyan analyst, has been guarding the conflict zone even now, “a pro-Manukyan analyst told The Daily Beast.
Armenian leaders have found it difficult to earn the trust of a disillusioned public. The public demanded justice years after the massacre in Freedom Square and blamed the then president, Robert Kocharyan, for the order over the shooting. A velvet revolution has dragged Nikol Pashinyan, who was once a political prisoner, to power in 2018. That same year, a court ordered former president Kocharyan to be arrested on charges related to the shooting incident.
“Putin regards Pashinyan as a traitor and an enemy who has failed many times in his promises,” Kremlin analyst Sergei Markov told The Daily Beast.
Markov explained how the conflict between Putin and Pashinyan goes beyond the missile insults. According to media reports, Putin has unsuccessfully campaigned for the release of his friend, former President Kocharyan, after his 2019 arrest.
“Putin called Kocharyan on his birthday a few months ago to demonstrate what he thinks of the arrest,” Markov said. ‘Now the Kremlin wants to see it [Pashinyan] drink the whole glass of shame so everyone can see what happens to an American puppet. ‘
Read more at The Daily Beast.
Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!
Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside delves deeper into the stories that matter to you. Learn more.