Russian State Media Have Been Ordered To Refer To Pashinyan’s Victory In The Armenian Elections As A “defeat”
- 8.06.2026, 20:00
The Armenian prime minister's party retained its parliamentary majority and the right to form a government on its own.
The Russian presidential administration has instructed pro-government and state media to portray the results of the parliamentary elections in Armenia as a “defeat” for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, despite the victory of his party, “Civic Contract,” with 49.81% of the vote. This was reported by Meduza by an employee of one of the major pro-Kremlin media outlets. According to him, editorial offices are being advised to emphasize that the 50% threshold was never crossed, as well as to write more about “violations” during the election in order to “cast doubt on the legitimacy” of Pashinyan.
Judging by publications and TV reports, media outlets loyal to the authorities followed the Presidential Administration’s instructions. Channel One and NTV reported that the Civil Contract party received less than 50% of the vote, while Russia 1 further emphasized that the opposition, “despite unprecedented pressure,” received a combined total of nearly 40%. RIA Novosti noted that the ruling party did not receive 50% of the vote. The agency then actively covered statements by Russian authorities regarding “gross violations” and a “heavy atmosphere” during the election, and subsequently published a column titled “Nikol Pashinyan’s Pyrrhic Victory.” TASS, Interfax, Vedomosti, and RBC also widely quoted Kremlin and Foreign Ministry spokespeople Dmitry Peskov and Maria Zakharova, who spoke of “violations,” “repression,” and the “trampling” of democracy in the Armenian elections.
Meanwhile, Pashinyan’s party retained its parliamentary majority, winning 61 of 105 seats and the right to form a government on its own. Samvel Karapetyan’s “Strong Armenia” party received 23.29%. In third place was the “Armenia” bloc led by former President Robert Kocharyan, with 9.94%. Gagik Tsarukyan’s “Prosperous Armenia” party received 4% of the vote.
After the election, Pashinyan posted a video set to Queen’s song “We Are the Champions” and declared that the “three-headed party of war” had been defeated. He also promised to continue the fight against the “criminal-oligarchic system,” which, according to him, is linked to the political force opposing him.
Reuters sources claimed that Moscow wanted Karapetyan to become the republic’s prime minister and discussed the possibility of mobilizing 100,000 Armenians living in Russia to participate in the vote. In addition, the Kremlin attempted to influence the election through bots. For example, the “Matryoshka” network posted more than 460 fake videos, fabricated media reports, and other materials online aimed at discrediting Pashinyan and his pro-European course.
Before the election, Russia imposed massive restrictions on imports of Armenian products and warned of a possible revision of agreements on the supply of gas and petroleum products. In turn, Russian President Vladimir Putin urged the republic’s authorities to remember the “fate of Ukraine,” emphasizing that the war began precisely because of its attempts to draw closer to the European Union.