What do “pro-Western” supporters of the government mean when they say “5th column”? (In particular, we are discussing the “extra-parliamentary” forces that regularly meet at the round table with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan).
They imagine the agents of the Russian Empire, the Kremlin, Putin, and FSB as such a “column,” which are fighting against the sovereignty of Armenia, are behind all the aggressive actions of Azerbaijan since 2020 and are the reason for all our defeats. The Prime Minister of Armenia and other government representatives also often use the term “5th column” without elaborating what they mean, but from the context, it can be understood that they are talking about the same “agents.”
According to this worldview, there is a “progressive,” “democratic,” and “development-oriented” West, which is opposed by “backward,” “imperial,” and “aggressive” Russia with its CIS “satellites.”
According to that, Pashinyan is the first representative of the “advanced” world, and here the “5th column” is doing everything to defeat the “independent,” “sovereign” plan of the leader of Armenia.
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But the fact that Pashinyan is in the same “backward” club and, for example, participates in Putin’s event, which is attended by Central Asian leaders and Lukashenko, and where the Russian President justified it in a somewhat cynical way, Russia’s attack on Ukraine, does not fit into that perception of the world.
It’s not that attending the event was wrong. It’s just that “pro-Westerners” should find more convincing arguments to defend their favorite leader.
Aram ABRAHAMYAN
