Category: News

Elections in Armenia: the head of the municipal service and his wife took all

Alex Nanijanian
Eurasia Daily
June 7 2026
Today
17:13

At one of the polling stations in Armenia, the head of the local municipal service and his wife collected the ballots in a bag and took them away. This is reported by the Armenian Vendetta telegram channel with reference to a local news outlet.

A video has fallen into the hands of journalists, in which the chairman of the Sisian district election Commission, Armine Andranikyan, a member of the Civil Contract party, enters the polling station in the village of Lor. She takes the ballots from the booth, puts them in a bag and says that she is going to move them to another polling station.

In this she was assisted by her husband, the chairman of the commission, a member of the Civil Contract party, David Margaryan❶.

He is the head of the Sisian municipal service and, as the telegram channel notes, is actively involved in the political activities of the Civil Contract party.

More details: https://eadaily.com/en/news/2026/06/07/elections-in-armenia-the-head-of-the-municipal-service-and-his-wife-took-all-the-ballots

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Armenia, once Russia’s reliable ally, considers an EU future

Frangulian Shushan
Deutsche Welle, Germany
June 7 2026
Arshaluys Mgdesyan | Sofia Serova

14 hours ago14 hours ago

Armenians are set to vote on the country’s future geopolitical direction on June 7. The election will be a test of public opinion in the long-standing Russia ally, where the population is increasingly eyeing the EU.

Citizens of Armenia are not only electing a new National Assembly on Sunday: They are also voting on the future geopolitical direction of the country. On the table is either rapid EU integration or a return to Russia’s sphere of influence.

A preelection survey commissioned by the Washington based NGO International Republican Institute (IRI) puts Civil Contract, led by pro-EU Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, in first place, with 32% of respondents saying they would vote for the party.

The opposition traditionally has more pro-Russian views and is represented by three major forces that currently lag far behind the ruling party, according to the poll results. Some 7% of voters said they would support the “Strong Armenia” bloc run by a Russian billionaire of Armenian origin Samvel Karapetyan. He is currently under house arrest in Yerevan on charges of inciting a violent power grab as he publicly supported the Armenian Apostolic Church amid a bitter conflict between the church leaders and Prime Minister Pashinyan.

The political grouping “Armenia Alliance”, led by former president Robert Kocharyan who is reportedly a friend of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, is expected to garner 4% of the votes. The “Prosperous Armenia” party founded by business mogul Gagik Tsarukyan can likely count on the support of 2% of the Armenian citizens. Tsarukyan’s party is officially partnered with Russia’s ruling ‘United Russia’ party.

The remaining five political parties, including some new protest projects, are only polling around 1-2%.

Experts warn that these numbers should be treated carefully given the unprecedentedly low response rate with only 16% of respondents agreeing to participate in the poll. That is 19 percentage points lower than ahead of in the 2021 snap election. At the same time 92% of participants expressed their willingness to vote compared to 72% in 2021. Almost one in two respondents declined to name their favorite candidate or said they have not yet reached a final decision on how to vote.

However, other polls showed different results, giving Pashinyan’s “Civil Contract” party between roughly 26 and 34 per cent, suggesting it could have a slightly narrower lead against the opposition.

The new political vector: Brussels or Moscow?

The pivotal issue in the election campaign is international affairs. The ruling party has moved closer towards the European Union, gradually distancing itself from Russia and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) — a military alliance overseen by the Kremlin.

In May 2025, Armenian parliament adopted a law to launch the process of joining the EU. During the ongoing election campaign, Nikol Pashinyan promised to secure a visa-free regime with Europe within the next two years.

In early May, Pashinyan hosted the European Political Community Summit in the Armenian capital Yerevan. At the press conference after the summit, he pointed out that his country “is no ally of Russia’s” when it comes to its war against Ukraine.

This rhetoric prompted a harsh reaction in Moscow. At the end of May, President Vladimir Putin threatened to impose tariffs on Armenia and build new legal obstacles for its citizens willing to work in Russia. He, alongside with other members of The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), suggested that Armenia hold a referendum on whether it wants to join the EU or remain part of the EAEU.

As Russia remains the largest market for Armenian agricultural produce, Moscow has tried to use its trade relations with Yerevan as leverage. Prior to the elections, Russia’s Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Supervision applied multiple restrictions on Armenian imported products including vegetables, berries, wine, flowers and fish under an excuse of alleged violations of sanitary norms.

At the same time, Moscow has notified Yerevan that their agreement on preferential supplies of gas and petroleum products to Armenia can be suspended.

Putin also compared of the current political context in Armenia to the one in Ukraine in 2014, which he referred to as a “crisis”. He warned that adopting European standards will lead to Moscow ending its economic cooperation with Yerevan.

Russia’s bid to influence the elections

Moscow’s interference in the upcoming elections became subject of heated discussion in Armenia long before the vote.

Tensions in the campaign escalated sharply following the publication by the Russian independent investigative media outlet The Insider about an alleged Russian spy network in Armenia. According to the investigation, Russian billionaire and leader of “Strong Armenia” party Samvel Karapetyan mentioned the Information Center of Russia’s Federal Security Service as his employer in his application for a passport issued in 1999.

Armenian security forces have repeatedly opened criminal cases against representatives of the pro-Russian opposition. A major political scandal erupted following the arrest of Andranik Tevanyan, the second candidate on the “Prosperous Armenia” party list. The politician, who is known for his pro-Russian views, faces charges of treason and espionage. The opposition has described both the cases and the article by The Insider as “political persecution.”.

A new page in US-Armenian relations

Aside from its EU shift, Pashinyan’s government is deepening its dialogue with Washington. Recently the two countries signed a charter on a comprehensive strategic partnership and a memorandum on rare earths.

In August 2025, Armenia and Azerbaijan paved the way to an ambitious logistics project mediated by U.S. president Donald Trump and informally called Trump’s Route. It aims at connecting Azerbaijan with its exclave of Nakhichevan through Southern Armenia. This agreement marked a significant step towards the end of the blockade imposed upon landlocked Armenia by neighbouring Azerbaijan and Turkey amid a long-standing dispute over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Pashinyan’s party describes Armenia’s future relations with Russia as ‘transforming’ rather than allied. The reason, according to the party, is diversification of foreign policy. This change does not remain unanswered by Moscow. The crisis in relations between the two states started escalating in the fall of 2022, when the CSTO and Russia effectively failed to provide a response to Yerevan’s request for military assistance amid border clashes with Azerbaijan.

Main opposition forces, on the contrary, act as ideological opponents of the current ruling power. They push for restoration of a strategic alliance between Armenia and Russia, viewing it as a key security guarantor in the peace process with Azerbaijan.

Controversies around Nagorno-Karabakh

Nikol Pashinyan made the idea of “real Armenia” central for his election campaign, denying the revisionists’ calls to restore the country’s “historical borders.” Those include the region of Nagorno-Karabakh previously controlled by pro-Armenian forces. Azerbaijan regained control of this breakaway region following the 2023 war, which brought an end to a conflict that had lasted for more than three decades.

The opposition criticizes this approach, insisting that Yerevan should advocate for the right of ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh who had to flee as a result of the war to return to their homes. The authorities accuse their opponents of pushing the country to the brink of war with Azerbaijan by their hostile rhetoric.

Despite the tensions, 71% of participants in the survey commissioned by IRI believe that the elections will be free and fair, while 61% of them said that the country is moving in the right direction. 17 % of the respondents consider border security to be the main challenge for their country.

Edited by: Jess Smee


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Armenia goes to polls in pivotal vote to decide South Caucasus future

Arbi Tashjian
EuroNews
June 7 2026

Armenia goes to polls in pivotal vote to decide South Caucasus future

By Jane Witherspoon & Peter Barabas & Aleksandar Brezar
Published on 07/06/2026 – 6:00 GMT+2•Updated 12:23

Armenians will decide their future on Sunday against the backdrop of a Russia-West clash, as both the EU and the US support PM Pashinyan’s cautious pro-Western drive, while Russia embarked on an onslaught of economic and political pressures on Yerevan to keep the former Soviet state in its orbit.

Armenians are all set to head to the polls on Sunday in a decisive election that will shape the future of the South Caucasus country and the entire region, as Russia warned Yerevan of a “Ukraine scenario,” while the EU and the US came together to support Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s cautious pro-West pivot after securing a historic peace agreement with Azerbaijan.

The voters are choosing between Pashinyan and his centrist Civil Contract party, and a fragmented pro-Russian opposition openly supported by the Kremlin.

Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan — running while under house arrest — is leading the Strong Armenia party as its main figure, alongside former President Robert Kocharyan, who also ran a pro-Moscow campaign.

A Breavis poll published days before the vote projects that Armenians would give Pashinyan a decisive mandate of over 60% of decided voters to solidify the South Caucasus country’s strategic realignment towards a pro-Western path, setting it on a collision course with the Kremlin and cementing the historic peace agreement with Azerbaijan over Karabakh.

The poll showed that no opposition party was expected to rise above 12%.

On the eve of the vote, Armenia’s Investigative Committee arrested six candidates from the opposition Strong Armenian party on Saturday, after the Central Election Commission announced that it authorised judicial action over allegations of money laundering and material inducement.

Also on Saturday, media reports showed a sharp increase in Armenians arriving in Yerevan from Russia to vote, amid Armenian media and civil society allegations of widespread Russian disinformation campaigns and actions to influence the vote, which Moscow denied.

During the final stages of the volatile election campaign, both the European Union and the United States firmly endorsed Pashinyan as he cautiously but surely introduced a pro-Western reorientation of Armenia’s foreign policy after the peace agreement with Azerbaijan, setting the nation of some 3 million on a collision course with Russia.

The European Commission declared it was “standing firmly” behind Pashinyan, announcing an economic support package of measures to alleviate mounting Russian economic sanctions against Yerevan due to its pro-Western, pro-EU turn.European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement on Thursday that Moscow has “weaponised economic relations for political pressure” by furthering export restrictions on Armenian products.

“We know this playbook all too well. This is why Europe stands firmly with Armenia,” von der Leyen said.

US President Donald Trump called on Armenians to “Make Armenia Great Again,” declaring his “complete and total endorsement” for Pashinyan’s re-election.

“Nikol (Pashinyan) completely shares my vision of peace and prosperity for Armenia and the entire South Caucasus region,” Trump said, marking the first time a US president has endorsed a candidate in a country on Russia’s regional orbit.

Trump called Pashinyan a “great friend and leader,” adding that he is “making his country strong, wealthy, and very secure,” referring to Armenia’s premier signing a historic peace agreement at the White House with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev last year, which paved the way for significant US investments in the country.

Pashinyan has conducted a fiery election campaign, telling Armenians that their future is at stake and openly confronting the critics and the opposition who accused him of giving up on Karabakh and therefore betraying the country, in a key message that he closed the chapter with Azerbaijan to forge a peaceful and prosperous future for the South Caucasus region.

Pashinyan maintained that “abandoning Karabakh was my greatest service to Armenia,” as “we were put in a trap and if we continued on that path, we would lose Armenia and Armenian statehood.”

Pashinyan said it was time for Armenia to look at the future, declaring that “we have no right to pass this bleeding wound from generation to generation, we must pass peace on to our children,” adding that “today we are more independent, more prosperous, and more of a state than ever before.”

But as Moscow unleashed a series of economic restrictions on key Armenian imports and threatened Yerevan with cuts in its vital oil and gas supplies, Pashinyan has taken cautious steps over the last week of the campaign to defuse tensions with Russia and insist on a multi-vector foreign policy with Armenia’s interests at centre stage.

On Thursday he said he agreed with Russian President Vladimir Putin to travel to Moscow to “have a meeting and resolve all current issues,” stating that “we will not engage in a war of words with Russia, we will calmly defend Armenia’s positions.”

“We will not act against Russia’s interests, but neither will we act against our own interests,” Pashinyan said during a campaign rally.

Just days before, he said that Armenia’s EU membership bid is at the moment “theoretical” and that Yerevan “will continue to work calmly and steadily, without disputes, within the Eurasian Economic Union, and I am convinced that we still have potential in this direction, which we will use in the near future.”

The Armenian premier further said that “relations with Russia are in a transformational phase,” but that he considered this process “positive” and that Armenia’s relations with Russia remained “open and sincere, and we have kept no dark corners in that relationship.”

The polls open at 8 am local time (6 am CET) for the 2,4 million Armenians eligible to vote, with first results expected as early as Sunday evening into Monday morning.

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Armenians vote with peace efforts and Russia in focus

Ani Tigranian
Reuters
June 7 2026
By Lucy Papachristou
  • Vote tests peace push after loss to Azerbaijan
  • Russia ties in focus amid pressure on Yerevan
  • Pashinyan leads polls; pro-Russian rivals trail
YEREVAN, June 7 (Reuters) – Armenians voted on Sunday in a parliamentary election seen as a test of the government’s efforts to forge a peace deal after a crushing military defeat by Azerbaijan three years ago.
The landlocked South Caucasus country’s ties with Russia are also in focus, as Moscow has stepped up economic pressure on Yerevan ahead of the vote by slapping restrictions on ‌Armenians exports and threatening to cut off its cheap oil and gas.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s ruling Civil Contract party, which has brought Armenia closer to the West since taking power in 2018, is squaring off against three main pro-Russian opposition candidates.
Polls conducted before the vote show Civil Contract party leading, backed by up to 32% of voters, with the pro-Russian Strong Armenia party trailing in second place with up to 11%.
A strong showing for Pashinyan would give him a mandate to conclude peace negotiations with Azerbaijan, with whom Armenia has been at intermittent war since the late 1980s, as well as to normalise relations with Turkey, a key ally of Baku’s.
“For me, it is very important that the country preserves its sovereignty, first of all, and ⁠that we have the right to choose for ourselves whom we want to be friends with and whom we want to cooperate with,” said Astghik Sargesyan, who voted at a polling station in Yerevan.
She said she wanted Armenia to get closer to Europe but also maintain “the right balance” with its neighbours.

‘BALANCED FOREIGN POLICY’

The election is also being closely watched in Europe, which is keen to gather allies in the region after Georgia, Armenia’s neighbour to the north, made an abrupt U-turn on its Western path in recent years.
Pashinyan would need a two-thirds majority in parliament to call a referendum to change the country’s constitution – a key demand of Azerbaijan’s before it will sign a peace deal.
If Civil Contract falls short of the necessary seats, it could be difficult for Pashinyan to conclude the deal, and peace efforts could stall.
Pashinyan has faced a wave of criticism from the opposition and some sections of the public, who have accused him of capitulating to Azerbaijan, particularly since the 2023 war.
He has countered by placing his peace efforts centre stage in his campaign. Asked by reporters outside a polling station in Yerevan after he voted on Sunday how he would manage relations with both Russia and the EU, Pashinyan ‌said his ⁠government would provide a “balanced foreign policy” if re-elected.
Armenia’s opposition is dominated by pro-Russian groups including Strong Armenia, formed last year by Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, who wants to keep Armenia close to Russia, a key supplier of energy and buyer of exports.
Karapetyan, who was able to vote in person in Yerevan on Sunday despite being under house arrest for allegedly calling for the government to be overthrown – accusations he rejects as politically motivated – said he would also have Armenia strike a balanced foreign policy.
“We cannot say that we will have only good relations with Russia or only good relations with the United States,” he told reporters in comments broadcast by Armenian media.
Several voters ⁠from Nagorno-Karabakh – the breakaway territory retaken by Azerbaijan in the 2023 war – said they felt betrayed by Pashinyan. The region’s entire 100,000-strong ethnic Armenian population fled to Armenia after the chaotic one-day lightning offensive.
“We are fighting so that this scoundrel finally leaves,” said one former Karabakh resident, who gave his name as Arman, after voting in Yerevan.
“For us, even a small piece, just a piece of land, is very important. Where else can we go?”

COMBATIVE ⁠CAMPAIGN

Pashinyan has clashed publicly with voters, including a refugee from Nagorno-Karabakh whom Pashinyan accused, in an exchange that later went viral, of having “run away” from the region instead of staying to fight.
Karapetyan has wooed the electorate with AI-generated videos, among them one showing happy Azerbaijani families moving en masse to Armenian villages and displacing distraught locals.
The election is unfolding against the backdrop of accusations of authoritarianism against Pashinyan ⁠by domestic critics and international rights groups. The government has broadly defended the actions of law enforcement agencies against individuals who it says are trying to foment coups.
A spate of arrests in the lead-up to the vote has targeted the opposition, including parliamentary candidates for the Strong Armenia party.
Polls opened at 8 a.m. (0400 GMT) and will close at 8 p.m. Some 2.48 million people are registered to vote out of Armenia’s population of roughly 3 million. Turnout stood at roughly 33% as of 2 p.m.

Reporting by Lucy Papachristou; Editing by Andrew Heavens, David Holmes, William Maclean

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Parliamentary elections are underway in Armenia, with 18 parties and blocs par

Baghdasarian Karlen
ARKA, Armenia
June 7 2026
07.06.2026, 08:07

The regular elections to the 9th National Assembly of Armenia have begun in Armenia. At 8:00 a.m. local time, 2,005 polling stations opened across the country.

YEREVAN, June 7. /ARKA/. The regular elections to the 9th National Assembly of Armenia have begun in Armenia. At 8:00 a.m. local time, 2,005 polling stations opened across the country.

According to the Central Election Commission of Armenia, 2,505,102 people are registered as voters.

According to Armenian law, citizens of the Republic of Armenia located abroad will not be able to vote in the elections (except for the heads and employees of Armenian diplomatic missions abroad, military personnel on long-term assignments or training abroad, and their family members).

Eighteen political forces are participating in the elections: 16 parties and two blocs. The parties include the Reformist Party, the “I Am Against Everyone” Democratic Party, the Meritocratic Party of Armenia, the New Force Reformist Party, the Wings of Unity Party, the Prosperous Armenia Party, the Pan-Armenian National Democratic Pole Party, the Kochari – National Revival and Awakening of the Nation Party, the Armenian National Congress Party, the Republic Party, the Christian Democratic Party, the Democratic Union Party, the Democracy, Law, Order (DLO) Party, the Civil Contract Party, the For the Republic – Defenders of Democracy Party, and the Bright Armenia Party. Two blocs, Strong Armenia and Armenia, are also participating.

Central Election Commission (CEC) Counting Schedule and Operations – June 7

The CEC will begin publishing voting data at 9:00 AM.

From 12:00 PM to 9:00 PM, the CEC will publish information on voter turnout and the voting process as of the previous hour every three hours.

Voting ends at 8:00 PM local time, after which the counting will begin at election commissions.

Throughout the voting period, the CEC, the Prosecutor General’s Office, the police, the Investigative Committee, and the Ombudsman’s Office will periodically provide updates on reports of violations, incoming complaints and statements, media publications, and investigations conducted based on them. Election day is also a working day for the country’s courts.

The CEC has accredited a number of international organizations to carry out its observation mission, including the OSCE/ODIHR, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, PACE, the European Parliament, the CIS IPA, the CIS Observer Mission, and the International Organization of La Francophonie.

On June 8, at 12:00 AM, the Central Election Commission (CEC) will begin announcing preliminary voting results for the regular National Assembly elections in Armenia by polling station.

On June 8, by 8:00 PM, the CEC will summarize the preliminary voting results and officially publish them live on Public Radio and Public Television of Armenia.

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Armenia heads to polls in choice between Russia and EU

Tatoyan Vazgen
Deutsche Welle, Germany
June 7 2026

Armenia heads to polls in choice between Russia and EU

04:32
PoliticsArmenia
Sergei Satanovskii

Armenians are voting in a parliamentary election seen as a choice between closer ties with Russia or the EU. Polls suggest support for an EU path, but trust in the government — especially in border regions — is shaky.

Armenia’s strategic location in the South Caucasus region makes it a key geopolitical flashpoint between the European Union and Russia.

The incumbent prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, is seeking closer relations with the European Union and the United States. His main challenger is pro-Moscow billionaire Samvel Karapetyan.

Moscow continues to play a central role in the country’s economy: exports, imports, remittances, and gas supplies are all closely tied to Russia.

DW correspondent Sergei Satanovskii traveled to Armenia, speaking to residents about their views ahead of the vote.

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Russia’s old ally set to give Putin a bloody nose

Hagop Kamalian
The Telegraph, UK
June 7 2026

Armenians are expected to ignore Kremlin’s threats and fake news when they head to polls

Adrian BlomfieldSenior Foreign Correspondent

The closer that Armenia’s election day has drawn, the more menacing Vladimir Putin has become.

As a tiny, landlocked state in what Moscow always regarded as its southern sphere of influence, Armenia’s three million people have long been required to follow the Kremlin’s line.

But when Armenians go to the polls on Sunday, they are expected to defy Putin’s demands and re-elect Nikol Pashinyan, their increasingly pro-Western prime minister.

For centuries, Christian Armenia viewed Orthodox Russia as its protector against powerful Muslim neighbours, a dependency deepened by the Ottoman-perpetrated genocide of 1915-17, in which 1.5 million Armenians were killed.

Yet that often transactional relationship has steadily unravelled since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Putin never much cared for Mr Pashinyan, who came to power in 2018 after Armenians, weary of Moscow-backed strongmen, swept the charismatic reformer into office in a popular uprising.

Initially careful not to alienate the Kremlin, on whose goodwill Armenia’s economy depended, Mr Pashinyan gradually moved closer to the West, appalled by Russia’s conduct in Ukraine.

Putin retaliated by striking at the heart of Armenian identity. In 2023, Russian peacekeepers stationed in the Armenian-populated enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh stood aside as Azerbaijan launched an offensive to reclaim the territory.

According to analysts, the Kremlin expected traumatised refugees and enraged nationalists to overthrow Mr Pashinyan and replace him with a more pliant leader.

But Putin miscalculated. Armenians directed their anger not at Mr Pashinyan, but at Moscow. In punishing the Armenian leader for his lack of subservience, the Kremlin destroyed its own leverage.

Mr Pashinyan seized the moment to argue that Armenia’s future depended on ending its vassalage to Moscow.

Rather than treating Nagorno-Karabakh solely as a sacred symbol of Armenian identity, he recast it as a burden that trapped Armenia in dependency and prevented closer integration with Europe.

Urging his people to embrace the “real Armenia” within its internationally recognised borders, he argued that abandoning territorial dreams could unlock prosperity and security.

The potential rewards are considerable. Reopening Armenia’s sealed borders with Azerbaijan and its ally Turkey would end decades of isolation, expand trade, and allow the country to host a US-backed transit corridor linking Europe with the energy and mineral-rich states of Central Asia.

“Pashinyan is openly looking for a gradual decoupling from Russia,” said Laurence Broers of Chatham House, an international affairs think tank.

“He has tied his political fortunes to regional stabilisation with Azerbaijan and Turkey, and is looking to the EU as an alternative anchorage to provide Armenia with security and support in a volatile environment.”

Alarmed by the prospect of Armenia slipping from its orbit, Moscow has responded with threats and intimidation. Russia has banned a range of Armenian imports, hinted at ending discounted gas supplies and warned Armenia that it could suffer the same fate as Ukraine.

At the same time, Armenia has been inundated with Kremlin-linked disinformation, in what analysts describe as one of the most sustained foreign-influence campaigns seen in modern Europe.

Mr Pashinyan has been falsely accused of buying luxury homes abroad, child trafficking and plotting to flood Armenia with Turkish mosques and French nuclear waste.

So far, the campaign appears to have had a limited impact. Polling has varied wildly, but most Western analysts believe Mr Pashinyan’s Civil Contract Party remains on course for victory.

“Pashinyan’s figures are trending in his favour,” said Stephen Nix, Europe and Eurasia director at the International Republican Institute (IRI), a Washington-based democracy organisation that has conducted polling in Armenia.

“We’ve assessed that whichever party convinces the electorate that they are the best guarantor for peace and economic prosperity is going to win, and Pashinyan has stayed on message in both areas.”

IRI’s latest poll puts support for Civil Contract at 32 per cent, with the strongest pro-Russian bloc, Strong Armenia, on only 6 per cent.

Yet the election has also exposed deep divides within Armenian society. Many Armenians – particularly among the diaspora and the 120,000 refugees who fled Nagorno-Karabakh – remain unwilling to accept the loss of the territory as readily as their prime minister.

Mr Pashinyan has at times worsened these tensions himself. During a series of heated exchanges with Karabakh Armenians, he lost his composure, describing some critics as “pitiful”, “runaways”, and “scumbags”, prompting accusations of victim-blaming and hate speech.

The prime minister has also faced accusations of authoritarianism following the detention of senior clergymen and opposition figures, including Samvel Karapetyan, the billionaire leader of Strong Armenia, who remains under house arrest awaiting trial.

Government officials insist such figures are seeking to destabilise the country on Moscow’s behalf. Last year, Armenian authorities said they had foiled an alleged coup plot involving senior clergy and a pro-Russian Armenian militia fighting in Ukraine.

The atmosphere has grown increasingly febrile. A video circulated recently on Armenian social media showing five masked men in combat fatigues brandishing rifles and warning Mr Pashinyan: “We know where and when you are going. You must answer for your every step.”

Mr Pashinyan mocked the men for hiding behind masks. But many Armenians will have taken the threat seriously.

Their country has a long history of political violence. In 1999, gunmen stormed parliament and assassinated the prime minister, the speaker and six other senior politicians in an attack whose motives remain murky to this day.

Polls suggest Armenians are increasingly hopeful that the country may finally be emerging from decades of isolation and instability. But as they loosen Russia’s grip and turn towards the wider world, many also fear the dangers that may lie ahead.

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Armenians go to the polls under Russian pressure aimed at preventing a drift t

Emil Lazarian
NBC News
June 7 2026

Armenians go to the polls under Russian pressure aimed at preventing a drift toward West

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his ruling Civil Contract face opposition from some parties that are vocally pro-Russian.

By The Associated Press

YEREVAN, Armenia — Armenians will vote Sunday in parliamentary elections as the incumbent government, under mounting Russian pressure, seeks to loosen ties with Moscow and deepen cooperation with the West.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his ruling Civil Contract party are looking for a strong mandate for a new geopolitical course. The opposition they face includes some parties that are vocally pro-Russian.

Russian officials have hit Armenian exports with a barrage of restrictions in recent weeks, while high-ranking officials, including President Vladimir Putin, have made thinly veiled threats comparing Armenia’s path to that already taken by Ukraine.

Armenian investigators said they issued six arrest warrants for members of the opposition Strong Armenia party the day before the vote, accusing them of buying votes. The nation’s Central Election Committee confirmed Saturday that the party could run after a member of another opposition party, Republic, appealed for Strong Armenia to be barred over corruption allegations.

Armenia’s Parliament, the National Assembly, must consist of at least 101 members who are elected for five-year terms. Parties must win at least 4% of the vote to take a seat, while blocs made up of three or more parties must hit 8%.

Two political blocs and 17 parties are taking part in Sunday’s election. Most pollsters and experts have predicted Pashinyan, who came to power in 2018 following sweeping street protests, will come out ahead.

“I think Armenians expect, first of all, a peaceful, independent and prosperous Armenia from this election, as we have today,” said Hripsime Grigoryan, a Civil Contract member of the outgoing Parliament.

A campaign election flyer for current prime minister of of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan.Nicholas Muller / SOPA Images/LightRocket via Gett

Pashinyan has spoken on several occasions about the need for a balanced foreign policy ensuring Armenia maintains good relations with the United States, Europe and Russia, as well as regional powers such as Turkey and Iran.

Despite this, Pashinyan has attracted far more enthusiasm in the West than in Moscow. He has been endorsed by several European leaders, as well as U.S. President Donald Trump.

“Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, of Armenia, a great friend and Leader, is making his Country strong, wealthy, and very secure,” Trump wrote on social media, urging Armenians to “Make (Armenia) Great Again.”

This has displeased the Kremlin. Speaking to journalists after Russia’s Victory Day parade on May 9, Putin said if the Armenian people saw benefits in joining the European Union then “we will certainly have nothing to say against it.”

Yet he also reminded reporters, “We are currently living through everything that is happening in respect of Ukraine. And how did it start? It started with Ukraine’s joining or attempting to join the EU.”

Unlike the Civil Contract party, most of Armenia’s opposition supports building stronger relations with Moscow.

The Strong Armenia party seeks to develop business ties with Russia and has accused Pashinyan of attempting to start a war with Moscow. Party leader Samvel Karapetyan is on trial for allegedly advocating for the government’s overthrow, which the Armenian-Russian billionaire has rejected as a politically motivated case. He has coordinated the party’s campaign while under house arrest, aided by his nephew Narek Karapetyan.

Other potential contenders include former President Robert Kocharyan, who leads the Hayastan bloc and has accused Pashinyan of “seriously undermining” relations with Russia, and the Prosperous Armenia Party led by pro-Russian business owner Gagik Tsarukyan.

These parties also have strongly criticized Pashinyan for attempting to normalize relations with neighboring Azerbaijan. The Armenian leader and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev initialed a document on moving toward a peace deal at the White House alongside U.S. President Donald Trump in August.

The two countries were locked in a decades-long conflict over the fate of Karabakh, a breakaway region that had been controlled for decades by ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia. Azerbaijan took control of the entire Karabakh region during a rapid offensive in 2023.

“I want this government to change because the condition of our country is getting worse,” Sahakyan Elina, a supporter of the Prosperous Armenia Party, told The Associated Press at a rally Thursday. “I don’t want to live with my enemies in unity.”

Russian officials have slapped new restrictions on Armenian produce in the run-up to the parliamentary vote, banning the import of Armenian flowers, certain types of cognac and wine, eggplants, potatoes, dried fruits, fish and more.

Russia says the bans are related to violations of agricultural import rules.

The European Commission on Thursday described the move as “nothing short of economic coercion.”

“By extending export restrictions on Armenian products, Moscow is weaponizing economic relations for political pressure. We know this playbook all too well,” the commission said in a statement.

Moscow also controls a significant portion of Armenia’s energy and infrastructure and supplies it with cheap gas, which is a point that Putin has been quick to drive home in his meetings with Pashinyan.

Putin also has stressed that Armenia cannot join the EU and remain within the Eurasian Economic Union, a Russian-led customs bloc.

“Being in a customs union with the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union is impossible,” Putin said. “It’s simply impossible by definition.”

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Armenia Votes in Test of PM’s Pivot Away From Russia

Emil Lazarian
The Moscow Times
June 7 2026

Armenia Votes in Test of PM’s Pivot Away From Russia

By Mariam Harutyunyan for AFP and Irakli Metreveli for AFP

Armenia voted Sunday in a parliamentary election set to test Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s tilt to the West, as the country faces threats and allegations of interference from former imperial ruler Russia.

Turnout was 58.97% when polls closed at 16:00 GMT, the Central Election Commission said, with partial results expected early Monday.

Armenia and Russia are technically allies, but Moscow has compared the former Soviet republic’s EU ambitions to the same path it claims triggered its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The election comes after years of upheaval since Pashinyan was propelled to power in a 2018 street revolution.

The small Caucasus country is still reeling from long-time foe Azerbaijan’s military takeover of the Karabakh region.

The conflict came to an end in 2023, when the Azerbaijan army seized control of the enclave, and most of the Armenian population fled.

Pashinyan has framed the vote as a choice between a lasting peace with Azerbaijan or a return to war.

The 51-year-old has also sought to loosen Armenia’s dependence on Moscow after it failed to help during the Karabakh conflict.

He has frozen Armenia’s participation in a Russia-led security bloc while deepening ties with the European Union and the United States, setting Armenia on a path toward possible EU membership.

While U.S. President Donald Trump offered his “TOTAL Endorsement for Re-Election” to “great friend and Leader” Pashinyan, Moscow has bristled at the possible loss of yet another ally in its backyard.

“We will accept any choice made by the people” in the election, Pashinyan told journalists at a polling station in Yerevan after casting his ballot.

He said Armenia would pursue a balanced foreign policy after the vote, insisting “there is no question of choosing” between Russia and the West.

In a pointed remark, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in May: “We all see what is happening with Ukraine now…How did it all begin? With Ukraine’s attempt to join the EU.”

The Kremlin has been accused of seeking to sway the vote in Armenia.

Analysts have noted misinformation on the web, hacker activity and Kremlin-friendly narratives portraying Western cooperation as dangerous.

In the weeks before the vote, Russia banned the import of several products from Armenia, seen as a move to heap economic pressure on the country.

And Armenian officials have warned that “enemies of freedom” are funding propaganda efforts.

‘Reckless rush’

Pashinyan has insisted he does not want a rupture with Moscow. But the campaign is a battle over Armenia’s geopolitical future.

Pashinyan and his chief opponents have all accused each other of risking a fresh conflict.

Pashinyan told voters Armenia could face a “catastrophic war” with Azerbaijan within months if his Civil Contract party — leading in opinion polls — fails to secure a strong majority.

His opponents say that rhetoric is fearmongering.

Samvel Karapetyan, a billionaire Russian-Armenian businessman whose Strong Armenia party is polling second, has rejected claims he would drag Armenia back into Russia’s orbit, but warned against Pashinyan’s “reckless rush” to the West.

“Russia has been and will remain our strategic partner and principal economic partner,” he said.

Karapetyan has been under house arrest since last year on charges of plotting a coup — allegations he rejects as politically motivated.

In a high-profile visit in May, French President Emmanuel Macron threw his support behind Pashinyan, embracing the Armenian leader as a dear friend.

At an evening reception, Macron took to the microphone and Pashinyan to the drums for a rendition of “La Boheme,” the 1965 classic by the late French-Armenian singer Charles Aznavour.

‘Voted for peace’

It remains unclear whether Pashinyan’s party can secure the two-thirds parliamentary majority needed to pass constitutional amendments, which Azerbaijan has demanded as a condition for a final peace treaty.

Pashinyan’s democratic record is also on the ballot paper.

Eight years after he swept to power on a promise to dismantle Armenia’s oligarchic system, he faces increasing accusations of democratic backsliding.

Still, for many Armenians, the opposition remains associated with Russian influence and oligarchs.

“I voted for peace. Only Pashinyan can bring peace,” one voter, 63-year-old craftsman Hakob Hakobyan, told AFP.

Another voter, Khachatur Movsisyan, a 59-year-old mechanical engineer, said he had backed an opposition party “because the country, and all of us, need change in foreign policy, domestic policy and in negotiations with Azerbaijan.”

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Voting in the Armenian elections has ended.

Babken Chilingarian
Caucasian Knot
June 7 2026
Voting in the Armenian elections has ended.

Voting in the parliamentary elections in Armenia has concluded, and election commissions have begun counting the votes. Lines formed at several polling stations during the final hours of operation.

As reported by the “Caucasian Knot,” parliamentary elections were held in Armenia today. Observers reported widespread violations, and the opposition complained about the use of administrative resources during the elections, including in Martuni. The elections were accompanied by mass detentions of opposition party members and their supporters.

The elections will effectively be a referendum on the future of the current government and Armenia’s foreign policy, according to the “Caucasian Knot” report “2026 Elections to the National Assembly (Parliament) of Armenia”.

At 8:00 PM (7:00 PM Moscow time), polling stations in Armenia closed, with all 2,005 polling stations closed.

According to the schedule, the Central Election Commission will begin announcing preliminary voting results at polling stations at midnight, writes “Novosti Armenia”

Turnout in the parliamentary elections in Armenia by 5:00 PM (4:00 PM Moscow time) was 48.92%, with more than 1.24 million people voting, writes News.Am.

The most active voters were in the Syunik region, where 55.36% of voters cast their ballots. The least active voters were in the Armavir region, where, according to the Central Election Commission, 44.8% of voters turned out.

Queues formed at a number of polling stations in the final hours of operation. Thus, at Yerevan polling station 9/16, dozens of people are visible in line at the entrance to the building, according to a recording published by Yerevan Today.
The Prosperous Armenia Party of oligarch Gagik Tsarukyan, the Armenia bloc of former president Robert Kocharyan, and the Strong Armenia bloc of businessman Samvel Karapetyan are the most pro-Russian participants in the Armenian parliamentary elections.

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