Questions of major world politics determine the parliamentary elections in small Armenia: Does the country in the South Caucasus want to move further closer to the West or should it remain dependent on Russia as a protective power?
June 7, 2026, 8:16 a.mJune 7, 2026, 8:16 a.m
This question overshadows today’s vote, in which 2.5 million Armenians are eligible to vote. The election campaign was characterized by misinformation, threats and accusations – and above all demonstrated the complicated relationship between the current government in Yerevan and the leadership in Moscow.
Supporting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at the weekend.Image: keystone
The tensions have existed for years, but in recent months they have escalated massively. In April, Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin received Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Moscow. Putin was upset that Yerevan had officially committed to joining the EU. Putin told his guest that this was incompatible with membership in the EAEU economic alliance, which is dominated by Moscow.
And then the authoritarian Putin suddenly presented himself as a fighter for political pluralism. He accused his guest of hindering the opposition. There are strong pro-Russian forces in Armenia and he would like them to take part in the election, said Putin. But some of them were in custody even though they had a Russian passport, the Kremlin chief complained.
Moscow increased pressure after Putin met Pashinyan
Pashinyan’s response went viral. Armenia is democratic, there are no restrictions, said Pashinyan. “Our social networks, for example, are 100 percent free,” and there are no political prisoners in his country. He didn’t say the half-sentence “in contrast to Russia”, but it remained unsaid in the room – and Putin visibly displeased him.
Putin wanted to take Nikol Pashinyan to task – but his response was wrong during the state visit in April.Image: keystone
Since then, pressure from Moscow has increased practically every week. Russia continued to restrict the import of Armenian goods – the Russian consumer protection agency put flowers and a whole list of foodstuffs on the index; supposedly due to quality defects. Moscow has already used this mechanism in previous conflicts: certain products became defective whenever a country’s political relations with Moscow deteriorated.
Putin: It started the same way with Ukraine
But Russia didn’t leave it at that. The Energy Ministry in Moscow threatened to terminate a favorable gas supply contract – and ultimately Putin publicly reminded Yerevan that the conflict with Ukraine also began when the country sought to join the EU. Since Russia has been waging war against Ukraine for over four years, this could definitely be understood as a threat.
Whether the pressure will produce the desired result remains to be seen. “We won’t waste our future because of two loads of flowers,” says the freight forwarder Gework from the small town of Jermuk. He is not a big fan of Pashinyan, but he thinks even less of the pro-Russian parties led by billionaire Samvel Karapetyan or former President Robert Kocharyan, who is considered a friend of Putin. “I don’t want to go back to the Soviet Union,” he says.
Pashinyan’s Achilles heel is the lost war over Nagorno-Karabakh
Just three years ago, Pashinyan suffered a heavy defeat. The arch-enemy Azerbaijan attacked the Nagorno-Karabakh region, which was disputed between the two neighboring countries, and completely conquered it after short, heavy fighting. Around 100,000 ethnic Armenians had to flee from there to the heartland. The result was a serious domestic political crisis – and Pashinyan’s future was in jeopardy.
But the protests did not bring about an upheaval. Although the opposition continues to accuse Pashinyan of betraying national interests, it does not seem to offer a credible alternative to his policies. Armenia is militarily too weak to counterattack.
Compromise with former enemies is a way out?
Recently, there has been an increasing number of voices that consider Pashinyan’s policy of reaching an agreement with Azerbaijan and its protecting power Türkiye to be correct. The head of government also managed to get international support for this, for example from US President Donald Trump’s government. Recently, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio even made a stopover in Yerevan to sign a bilateral cooperation agreement.
“The mood in the country has changed,” observes Jacob Wöllenstein, the political director of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in the South Caucasus. The government’s work is now viewed more positively, especially when it comes to the issue of peace and security, which is important to many people. Pashinyan was also successful in creating new jobs, he told the German Press Agency. “Even if many people don’t like Pashinyan, there is no alternative.” In any case, the parts of the opposition perceived as loyal to the Kremlin are not.
Society is polarized
It was previously unclear whether Pashinyan would ultimately have enough in the election. His “Civil Contract” party will probably win the most votes, but could rely on partners to form the government again.
Survey results vary widely. It is therefore still unclear how many political parties or blocs will enter parliament. If in the end none of the political forces are able to form a majority government, the Armenians would have to vote again in four weeks. (sda/dpa)