Russia wants to send 100,000 people to Armenia to vote against Pashinyan — media reports
Reuters reports this, citing four sources.
According to the sources, back in October 2025, the Kremlin established a department called the Directorate for Strategic Cooperation and Partnership, which oversees influence operations in Armenia.
In recent months, Russian officials have been actively discussing the idea of sending Armenians living in Russia to vote for Pashinyan’s opponents. The number of people to be sent is still under discussion, but sources say that the Russian authorities have already calculated the cost of sending 100,000 people — it will cost $50 million.
By mid-May, the Kremlin had allocated quotas among Russian regions — specifying how many Armenians each region was required to send — and demanded reports from local authorities on the progress of preparations.
Reuters journalists have been unable to ascertain whether this plan is being implemented in practice, or whether such a number of voters would be sufficient to narrow the gap between the main candidates in the election.
Polls conducted in May show that Nikol Pashinyan’s “Civic Contract” party currently leads with around 30%, while “Strong Armenia”, the party of his closest rival Samvel Karapetyan, trails far behind in second place with around 6%.
Elections in Armenia: what we know
Parliamentary elections will take place in Armenia on 7 June. In recent years, Armenia has begun to move closer to the European Union — as a result, Russia has already threatened the country with higher gas prices.
Two weeks before the election, Pashinyan also received the backing of Donald Trump. Russia accuses Pashinyan of pursuing a pro-Western course and is demanding that businessman Samvel Karapetyan, who is under investigation in Armenia, be allowed to stand in the election.
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