Kremlin press directives: Armenia election results must be presented as defeat for Pashinyan

Russia's presidential administration advised pro-Kremlin media outlets to portray the results of Armenia's parliamentary elections in a way that makes Nikol Pashinyan's party appear to be the loser. The directives instructed outlets to emphasize that the "Civil Contract" party received less than 50% of votes and to report on electoral violations to "sow doubts about the legitimacy" of the Prime Minister.

Russia's presidential administration issued guidance to state and pro-Kremlin media outlets on how to cover Armenia's parliamentary elections. An employee at one major Kremlin-loyal outlet revealed this to Meduza.

Directives: Pashinyan must lose

According to these recommendations, editorial teams must emphasize that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's "Civil Contract" party received less than 50% of votes in the elections and interpret this clearly as a defeat. Additionally, outlets were instructed to write extensively about electoral violations to "sow doubts" about Pashinyan's legitimacy.

The goal appears to be undermining the political position of Armenia's current leadership. In recent years, Pashinyan has moved away from Russia's sphere of influence and sought closer cooperation with the European Union and Western countries, making him an undesirable figure for the Kremlin.

Pattern of influence

This is not the first time Russian state media has been used to shape domestic politics in foreign countries. The information disclosed by Meduza points to a systematic practice in which the Kremlin administration distributes specific narratives to editorial teams to be used as the basis for their reporting.

Armenia's election results and their coverage in Russian media reflect broader tensions in the two countries' relations. Yerevan's gradual distancing from Moscow has been met with extreme hostility by the Kremlin, and information warfare appears to be one of the primary tools through which the Kremlin seeks to influence Armenian politics.