Russia is putting more and more pressure on Armenia. Putin sends another warning
The scale of this operation turned out to be larger than all similar campaigns previously conducted during elections in the United States, Germany and Poland combined.
First there was propaganda about the “war with Russia” and the “Ukrainian scenario”, then Putin himself came into play. Case? The Kremlin has apparently been preparing Armenia for a new political reality for a long time.
The “Matryoshka” campaign against Armenia has become the largest operation of this type since the elections in Moldova in 2025. According to the “Bot Blocker” project, by the beginning of May, the pro-Russian network had already published 343 false recordings regarding Armenia and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. This corresponds to as much as 10.8 weeks of uninterrupted operation.
For comparison:
- 409 such materials were published before the elections in Moldova (15.7 weeks of work),
- before the elections in the United States – 180 recordings (5.7 weeks),
- in Germany – 97 (2.4 weeks),
- and in Poland only 14 (0.5 weeks).
The operation against Armenia began exceptionally early – at the earliest since the beginning of observations of this type of campaign. The first publications appeared as many as 243 days before the elections scheduled for June 7, 2026. For comparison, in Moldova the campaign started 168 days before the vote, and in the United States – 113 days earlier.
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Council Antonio Costa and Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan during the Armenia-European Union summit in Yerevan, May 5, 2026.KAREN MINASYAN / AFP / AFP
The smear campaign is reaching a new level
In the case of Armenia, “Matryoshka” also began to actively spread false information about health for the first time – specifically, Nikol Pashinyan's health.
When the arguments about corruption, “selling the country to the West” or “dragging Armenia into war with Russia” no longer work, the only thing left is to appeal to something that a person has no influence on – his health.
– said the representative of “Bot Blocker”. Pashinyan's office denied rumors that the prime minister had health problems.
Nikol Pashinyan and Vladimir Putin, Yerevan, November 23, 2022.Contributor / Contributor / Getty Images
Bots are preparing Armenia for “war”
As part of the disinformation campaign, attempts were made to spread false materials through the media. The Armenian portal CivilNet reported on May 11 that for two years the editorial office has been regularly receiving messages with requests to “urgently” check various publications. As it later turns out, materials that look like world media texts are simple fakes.
The structure of these messages, the accounts used, repeated sources, and the narratives spread indicate a coordinated disinformation campaign
A possible armed conflict between Armenia and Russia has become one of the main topics promoted by “Matryoshka”. The disinformation network began publishing false videos on the X website on at least March 6.
According to the “Bot Blocker” project, at least 20 such materials have already appeared. This is what was claimed in false publications spread by Kremlin bots:
- “After winning the parliamentary elections, Pashinyan will lead Armenia to war with Russia”;
- “Pashinyan allegedly promised French President Emmanuel Macron to start a war”;
- millions of users of the Polymarket platform allegedly bet money on Armenia provoking a conflict with Russia;
- The actors of the series “The Office” allegedly appealed to Armenian citizens not to let Pashinyan win, because otherwise he “will start a war with Russia.”
The last material on this topic appeared on May 11. It claimed that Pashinyan's spokeswoman confirmed the presence of NATO instructors in Armenia, and that the prime minister himself “will provoke an armed conflict with Russia” after the parliamentary elections.
Moscow versus pro-Western Armenia
On the evening of May 9, journalists asked Vladimir Putin about Pashinyan, who – as they stated – “a few days ago hosted Zelensky and provided him with a platform to issue threats against our country.”
As for Armenia's plans to join the European Union, this obviously requires a separate discussion. It's none of our business
– Putin replied. But at the same time he suggested holding a referendum in Armenia on joining the European Union.
After all, right now we are experiencing everything that is happening in the Ukrainian direction. And where did it start? Since Ukraine's entry or attempted entry into the European Union
Putin added.
The Russian president has already made it clear that Moscow opposes Armenia's plans to strengthen relations with the European Union and the United States.
The Swedish portal Blankspot reported on May 9 that as a result of hacking into the e-mail box of one of the employees of the Russian secret services, they managed to obtain a document containing the Kremlin's plan to influence elections in Armenia. The document shows that Russia's goal is to weaken the electoral results of Pashinyan and his “Civic Contract” party. For this purpose, it was proposed, among other things, to triple the reach of pro-Russian content – from one to three million views per day.
