We suffered a humiliating defeat during the war where we lost 70 percent of Artsakh, and it is very possible that we will lose all of it. We had over 4,000 casualties, the enemy is directly threatening Syunik and the border regions, the economy is collapsing, and state structures are not doing anything. But Pashinyan and his government continue to be in power. Why? The answer is clear and understandable: because we are living under ‘the people’s government,’ the ‘people’ who are not interested in the catastrophes mentioned.
Let me give you a clear example. The government is propagating that the army was only built up after the revolution of 2018 (until then, people were only stealing from it). Moreover, the document signed on November 9, 2020, opens doors for building up the army.
The ‘people’ understand that absurdity and swallow it as if it were the truth. As the cynical managers in the Russian show business say, ‘the people swallow it.’ Why is that happening? Because this propaganda is not aimed at the inheritance of state structures or the strengthening of institutional memory, but, on the contrary, at igniting ‘lumpen’ instincts. And within that reality, there are no notions of ‘homeland,’ ‘army,’ or ‘state.’
Nikol Pashinyan, therefore, is not a monster himself, nor is he even deviating from the norm. Rather, he is a litmus test that reveals who the ‘people’ are whose power the Prime Minister enjoys talking about so much. He is the leader of those ‘people,’ his thoughts and the condensed expression of his worldview are in complete harmony with the mental capabilities and mentality of the ‘people.’ If those people truly make up the majority of Armenian citizens, it means only one thing: we will lose our statehood in the near future, and it will not be because of Pashinyan, but because of the will of the ‘people.’
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I personally will stay in Armenia even if it becomes a subdivision of Russia (I lived in a country with a similar status for 30 years), or even if it becomes a vilayet of Turkey. Unfortunately, that may be a realistic future if ‘the people’s government’ continues. But I cannot convince anyone, including my loved ones, to stay. I will not even be able to convince fellow citizens who continue to live with the ‘proud citizen’ mythology and who are indifferent towards having a state, army, and homeland. I believe that the first people to emigrate will be the citizens, the same ‘people,’ whose government we are living under.
Aram Abrahamyan
