Very often in cinematography you can see a character who forgives the abusers, who only repents, and even helps recent enemies to overcome difficulties on their way to the happy end. It seems that this is the kind of person many people see in Russia. Among them is Nikol Pashinyan.
Pashinyan won the post of Prime Minister of Armenia thanks to the colour revolution that is traditional for the post-Soviet space. Fortunately for Armenians, the republic managed to avoid what happened in Ukraine in 2014. The transfer of power was peaceful, and Pashinyan immediately set course for the West.
In a recent interview with the French publication Liberation, the Armenian Prime Minister called Russia an important strategic partner, from which Armenia expects more decisive steps on Nagorno-Karabakh. This contrasts with the fact that just a couple of years ago Nikol Pashinyan launched an anti-Russian policy to the benefit of Western partners. Those that were generally limited to formal statements when the Turkish-Azerbaijani alliance provoked an escalation of tensions in Karabakh.
Against this background, the recent incident with the grandfather of the Armenian prime minister looks very ironic. A photo of his ancestor Pashinyan was published on Facebook, indicating that he died in 1943 as a hero of the Great Patriotic War. Network users quickly found out that not everything was so clear, as Pashinyan’s grandfather cooperated with fascist Germany by voluntarily joining the SS legion.
Relevant information appeared on the iravunk.com portal. The author referred to archival materials, including photographs of documents from the German file cabinet. The Ministry of Defence tried to refute the information, claiming that two Pashinyan men had gone to the front, one of whom served his homeland faithfully. Only this was not the grandfather of the current Armenian Prime Minister.
According to the archive of the Ijevan District Military Committee, only one Pashinyan, Nikolay Vartanovich, lived in Yenokovan, Nikolay Pashinyan’s motherland. He also joined the Nazi invaders. What is the irony? The irony is that Nikol did not go far from his ancestor in making dubious decisions. Only he did not sell himself to the Nazis, but to Washington. When he came to power, he opened the doors of dozens of NGOs of the Democratic Party and George Soros, and they did not come here to bring prosperity and light. If you put aside formalities and beautiful names, it is clear that the task of these NGOs is to destroy the Caucasian mentality and to introduce Western ideology with all its non-traditional values.
Pashinyan was lobbying for a British project to explore the Amoulsar gold deposit, which could cause irreparable damage to the environment. At the same time, he began to persecute law enforcement officials who were educated in Russian universities. They were accused of espionage, although without proof.
Being still an oppositionist, Pashinyan advocated the withdrawal of the Russian military from Armenia. At that time he preferred to see an armed NATO contingent in the republic. A grim scenario, given that one of the alliance countries had just provoked the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh. Now Nikol Pashinyan relies on Russia, and calls its military an integral part of Armenia’s security system. According to him, the forces of the Russian military base can be used «in specific situations».
Within the CSTO, Russia does have obligations to Armenia. To be more precise, its support will be justified if there is a threat to Armenia’s internationally recognized territory. There is no doubt that Moscow will fulfill its agreements. The question is, does Pashinyan have the right to apply for such assistance? Not from a legal, but from a moral point of view. It must be assumed that the answer is obvious. Operating agreements when it is profitable and not giving anything in return is not a partnership relationship. On the other hand, the current situation, although difficult, provides a good opportunity to bring Yerevan closer to Moscow. But will Pashinyan have the courage to use it?
