Azerbaijan and Armenia thrown into firebox of locomotive going to war

Fake Armenians clearly demonstrate Russophobia, pro-Western views and the uselessness of an alliance with Russia in their comments on social networks. Why all of a sudden do they need this manipulation on the Internet among representatives of the Armenian ethnos? This question is answered by the Vzglyad business newspaper.

There has been a stormy and hysterical discussion on social network of a Russian political scientist of Armenian origin over the statement of Russian TV presenters about Armenia during the broadcast devoted to the signing of an association agreement with the European Union. The majority of Armenians has expressed its discontent with the political scientist and the Russian TV hosts. But the essence is not the reaction of specific people. The fact is that a number of Armenian social media users have emerged, claiming that Russia saved only 30% of Armenians from genocide and this is its fault. In addition, Armenia does not need our country now, and, in fact, Russia subjected Armenians to ethnocide. And besides, the Russian Federation specifically attacked Georgia in 2008 in order to arrange an economic blockade of Armenia.

When visiting the pages of most of these Armenian commentators, one can see the following picture: there are images with patriotic Armenian symbols in the profile, a small number of personal photos (or their total absence), no place of residence, work or study. Posts and reposts on their page are mostly in Russian (rather good and well-written) and occasionally in English. Comments to these posts are made by the same fake Armenians. Posts in these accounts, as a rule, were published as recently as 2017, and the most remarkable thing is that there are no links to the Armenian-language resources.

It is hard to find even one letter of the Armenian alphabet in the profiles of fictitious Armenians! It can be concluded that in 2017, there was a creation of fake Armenian accounts (bots), and Russian-speaking specialists are engaged in work with them. It is not difficult to recall how the number of specific social media users, various "Crimean daughters of officers" and "grandsons of grandmothers" who suffered from the Stalinist Holodomor in the 1930s in the Polish city of Lviv, increased sharply with the beginning of the 2013 Maidan in Ukraine ... Now, probably these people, "couch warriors" of independent Ukraine, have turned into "patriots" of the Armenian people.

Why all of a sudden do they need this manipulation on the Internet among representatives of the Armenian ethnos?

Fake Armenians clearly demonstrate Russophobia, pro-Western views and the uselessness of an alliance with Russia in their comments on social networks, as well as criticize the executive power in Yerevan. An attempt is being made to cause Armenians living in the republic and abroad to believe in Russia's negative influence and in the need for sharp political changes within Armenia. This Transcaucasian country recently signed a comprehensive and expanded partnership with the EU. Perhaps, the West has the task to split the Armenian society into pro-Russian and pro-European segments, to make a coup d'etat (or change leadership legally, or at least change a foreign policy course) and under the West's promise of security under some pretext force Russia to withdraw the 102nd Russian military base in Gyumri. Without Russian troops, Armenia is doomed to remain alone between Azerbaijan and Turkey. If this assumption is true, then in 2018-2020 there will be numerous persuasions, promises of the West for the Armenians to preserve security, the country's entry into NATO and economic preferences.

We can also expect an increase in political tension within the country, an increase in anti-Russian sentiments and provocations directed against the Russian military. Or, there may be some staged negative events related to the Armenians living in Russia, which, naturally, will be covered extensively in the Western media. Despite the obvious shortcomings of Russian policy in Armenia (as well as in the entire post-Soviet space) and the Armenian executive's work that is far from perfect, pro-Russian views are very popular even among young people of this Transcaucasian republic. Therefore, the main goal is precisely the split in the Armenian society, heating up ultra-patriotic, nationalist sentiments. The main task for the Americans is to re-ignite the conflict, major hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Apparently, manipulations on the Internet and the media to aggravate the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh are also made among Azeris and Turks.

The recent meetings between Putin and Erdogan, the resumption of trade relations between Russia and Turkey, the successes of Russian arms and diplomacy in Syria, the independent policy of the Turkish leader... All this can not but irritate Washington. Therefore, efforts are being made in a hurry to untwist the old Armenian-Turkish conflict in order to provoke a political and even military confrontation between Russia and Turkey. An attempt to push Russia against Turkey is not an end in itself, but part of a larger geopolitical game. According to the leading analyst of the National Energy Security Fund, a lecturer at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, Igor Yushkov, Russia will achieve independence in the transit of gas from Ukraine by 2020. This will be done at the expense of two lines of the Nord Stream, two strings of the Turkish Stream and the existing Belarusian gas pipeline. The need for a Ukrainian gas transportation system will disappear. We can remember how Bulgaria under the pressure of the EU set unacceptable conditions for Russia to build the South Stream, and as a result the project was closed. For this purpose the diplomatic work of the West with Armenia and Belarus was intensified. For this reason, they will probably try to disrupt the construction and operation of the Turkish Stream by means of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Azerbaijan and Armenia are thrown into the firebox of a locomotive going to war. Will they be able to keep their composure and not be led by provocations of the West? And how should Russia act under such circumstances? First of all, it should strengthen its informational influence on the Caucasus and Turkey, use actively the Internet, local press and the entire information space of these countries. It should  launch an information program to preserve Armenia and Azerbaijan in the zone of its influence. It should explain to ordinary Armenians and Azerbaijanis that peace between these two peoples and their prosperity were achieved only within the framework of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, at the time when these republics transferred part of their sovereignty to Moscow.

We should act tough to suppress the work of Western embassies, foundations and other public organizations in the Transcaucasus. Finally, we should not simply freeze hostilities in Karabakh, but actively look for a compromise model of integration between Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia, within which peace and security of citizens of these countries can be ensured. The Kremlin should not hesitate to impose its opinion on the leaders of the former Soviet republics, it should not be afraid to criticize them for wrong actions. Russia has no need to pay for the welfare of these countries with its own funds, as it was in the USSR, but bringing order, controlling and ensuring the safety of ordinary people, peaceful coexistence of peoples in the region is quite possible for us.