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Armenia: Pashinyan turns the Church-State confrontation up to 11 [1]
['Alexander Thompson']
Date: 2025-06
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan speaks to reporters on June 18 about the Church and Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan. (Image: Pashinyan’s official Facebook page)
The intensification of a domestic political struggle in Armenia is causing yet another spasm of acrimony between Yerevan and Russia.
Key members of the Kremlin propagandagentsia have leapt to the defense of Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, a fierce critic of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, in a rapidly developing domestic feud that burst into public view on June 18. Karapetyan catalyzed a chain of events with comments supportive of the Armenian Apostolic Church, which has come under attack from Pashinyan for its retrograde stance on his Real Armenia project to transform Armenian society.
Earlier in June, Pashinyan accused the Church’s primate, Karekin II, of violating his priestly vows of celibacy by fathering a child. The Church has not directly responded to the allegation.
Pashinyan reacted to Karapetyan’s criticism by going for the political jugular, authorizing Karapetyan’s detention on suspicion of anti-state activities, adding that the electricity entity that he controls should be nationalized. Pashinyan accused Karapetyan of engineering a power shortage in the country specifically designed to foment public discontent with the government. He gave the power company until June 21 to establish “a mechanism for restoring damage caused to citizens,” or face a government take-over.
Pashinyan’s power play drew a swift reply from Moscow in the form of a media barrage condemning his actions. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova derided Pashinyan as a hypocrite. Meanwhile, Kremlin attack dog Vladimir Solovyov claimed Pashinyan was betraying the interests of Armenians. “Do the people of Armenia still take any part in the fate of the country? Or will they soon suffer the same fate that befell Artsakh [Nagorno Karabakh]?” he said.
Answering questions in parliament, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan effectively told Moscow to bugger off. He described the matter as an internal affair, adding the Kremlin proxies were trying to amplify “unacceptable appeals, distorted assessments [and] insults, including those of a personal nature, including towards the leadership of the Republic of Armenia.”
The Armenian Apostolic Church also has come to Karapetyan’s defense, calling him a “national benefactor.”
“The persecution being carried out against Mr. Samvel Karapetyan is yet another manifestation of the Prime Minister’s anti-Church actions, aimed at depriving the Armenian Church of the support of its faithful flock through fear and intimidation,” read a church statement issued June 19.
Meanwhile, Karapetyan’s lawyer said his client is a victim of political persecution. “They are accusing him of allegedly publicly calling for the seizure of power, and this is the basis for the accusation. This has absolutely nothing to do with reality,” Karapetyan’s lawyer told the BBC.
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https://eurasianet.org/armenia-pashinyan-turns-the-church-state-confrontation-up-to-11
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