Supporters of the government often argue with me in the comments using the following “killer argument”:
“If you’re right that Armenia’s regime is authoritarian, that Pashinyan carries out state terror against his opponents, then why are you still free?”
These commentators fail to understand the difference between authoritarian and totalitarian regimes. In the latter (as well as in democracies), the entire society must be mobilized around certain goals. Totalitarian mobilization is achieved through coercion, while democratic mobilization happens voluntarily—through conviction and a sense of shared interest.
In the case of authoritarianism, it’s quite the opposite: the more indifferent and apathetic the public, the better it is for the authorities. “Stay in your corners, worry about your daily problems, say and write whatever you like, even hold rallies, even make opposition speeches in parliament”—all that activity is tolerated as long as it poses no threat to the ruling power. Those who don’t present a danger are usually spared repression; the regime limits itself to smear campaigns carried out by government officials and propagandists.
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An authoritarian regime resorts to direct repression only when its opponents become a threat to the ruling seats. Samvel Karapetyan, the clergy, and Gyumri mayor Vardan Ghukasyan are, in this sense, clearly dangerous — and Pashinyan will seek to keep them imprisoned, at least until the parliamentary elections. Given that the police, National Security Service, investigative bodies, prosecutor’s office, and courts all function as the regime’s political cudgel, that is entirely possible.
As for Aleksandr Kochubayev, he does not pose such a threat. His arrest, apparently, was merely the result of the “Führer’s” hysterical outburst. If people are being jailed for that kind of Facebook post, then Pashinyan himself should have been arrested several times over.
So, the Armenian regime is not totalitarian—it is authoritarian. Although, I should add, when security forces break into the homes of dozens of clergymen at night, conduct searches, and then arrest them, it does resemble the style of totalitarian states.
Aram ABRAHAMYAN
