From the speeches and notes of government representatives and propagandists, it’s clear which events they consider dangerous and which ones they largely dismiss.
When people took to the streets last September, expressing their anxiety and anger over the final depopulation of Artsakh, dozens of propagandists quickly claimed that a “Russian agency” was behind the protests and that the Kremlin was plotting a coup.
Now, a few information warriors occasionally bring this up, but the daily flood of identical messages (what used to be called “под копирку”) is no longer there. This suggests that the mythical “coup” from Russia is no longer seen as a threat. In other words, Pashinyan has fully digested the loss of Artsakh.
In mid-May of this year, when Reverend Bagrat held rallies with several thousand participants, Pashinyan threatened to throw him in the trunk of a car and detain him. The propaganda brigades then began telling the public about the supposedly “negative” role the Armenian Apostolic Church has played throughout history. Today, statements condemning “clerical-feudal backwardness” have become much rarer. This indicates that the imaginary threat of establishing a “theocracy” in our country has disappeared. In reality, the government has also digested the aimless surrender of the border regions of Tavush.
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Now, Tigranashen and several other settlements and territories are “next in line.” There will be complaints, but I doubt they will be widespread, as fewer people seem to care about national security issues or national issues in general. Propagandists might claim that Iranian spies or people controlled by a Colombian drug cartel are behind the protests. Later, when Pashinyan’s team digests that loss as well, the issue will likely disappear from public discussion altogether.
Why are such absurd lies regularly spread? It’s simple: because the majority of citizens don’t see them as absurd.
Aram Abrahamyan
