There are clear signs of full-fledged dictatorship in Armenia – Dmitry Solonnikov

Speaking with Alpha News, Russian political scientist and strategist Dmitry Solonnikov commented on the attacks of the Armenian authorities on the church and offered possible scenarios for how events in the country might unfold.

“These existential actions and the fight against the classical, patriarchal foundations of Armenian society may well be part of the election campaign. It seems quite logical to me. Look at how the process took place. In 2025, the first election cycles began in Armenia, and it was noticeable that Nikol Pashinyan was losing support. His party could no longer obtain a majority in the local elections, and, most likely, there was an assessment of the current electoral processes in Armenia as a whole with the prospect of how this would develop until 2026. It became clear that after the parliamentary elections, Pashinyan would lose power. For him, this is, of course, not only a political catastrophe, but it is very likely the beginning of criminal proceedings, allegations of fraud, embezzlement of budget funds, and more.

Yes, of course, he always has a chance to move somewhere abroad, to France, to the United States, where there is a significant Armenian Diaspora and from where, as we understand, he receives valuable instructions on how to conduct his policy. But being in Armenia will be fundamentally complicated for him, his assets, and his family members. That is why there is an escalation, that is why an attempt is now being made a year before the elections to deal with the potential opposition personally, and with the moral and spiritual foundations of Pashinyan’s opposition, so as to eliminate them now not physically, but politically.

By spring, public passions will have cooled. All this will be in the past. News, political events do not live that long. A year is a long time. That’s it. In the spring, they will already be launching a full-fledged election campaign, having completely cleared the political field. I believe Pashinyan is playing this game. And, most likely, he did not come up with this scenario himself. We all clearly understand that behind him are political strategists and political consultants from the US, from Europe, the same representatives of USAID—though officially dissolved—Soros funds, which, in general, have not gone anywhere. They brought him to power in 2018, and, quite likely, they are drawing up a scenario for his further political career today,” the expert emphasized.