Russia wants to send 100,000 Armenians to Armenia to vote against Pashinyan in

Russian officials have in recent months discussed sending Armenians living in Russia to vote for Pashinyan’s opponents in parliamentary elections scheduled for June 7, five sources told Reuters.com.

Armenians make up a large global diaspora, including a population in Russia estimated to exceed 2 million people. However, Armenians are not allowed to vote in elections from abroad.

One source — a senior American official — stated that there is debate within the intelligence community regarding how many people Moscow could realistically transport. However, according to him, intelligence services are taking this idea seriously. Armenians regularly travel between the two countries, with dozens of flights operating daily.

According to three sources, Russian authorities estimated the cost of transporting 100,000 voters at approximately $50 million. By mid-May, the Kremlin allegedly set quotas for each region on the number of Armenians to be sent and demanded reports from local administrators on preparations.

Reuters could not determine whether such a plan is being implemented in practice and whether it could narrow the large gap between the leaders of the electoral race.

According to a poll conducted earlier this month, Nikol Pashinyan’s “Civil Contract” party is expected to take first place with approximately 30% of the votes.

Samvel Karapetyan’s “Strong Armenia” party, according to the same poll, garners about 6% and significantly lags behind amid high competition.

Pashinyan came to power in 2018 after protests that overthrew his pro-Russian predecessor.

In August 2025, Pashinyan concluded a US-brokered peace agreement aimed at ending years of conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over a disputed region. The deal involves opening a transport route through southern Armenia, allowing goods to move eastward towards Central Asia, and granting Azerbaijan direct access to its exclave of Nakhchivan and to Turkey.