Russian political analyst and staunch Kremlin mouthpiece of Armenian descent Sergey Kurginyan came to Armenia to say whether we are threatened by fascism or not yet threatened by fascism. And in general, what are we threatened by, if we don’t act as we should? 

At the discussion titled “Fascism in the 21st Century: Challenges and Threats,” Kurginyan said there’s no domestic threat of neofascism in Armenia, but that doesn’t mean we can relax because, according to him, neofascism will invade Armenia from outside. 

Tert.am published a story with the following headline [AM]: “No Direct Threat of Neo-Fascism in Armenia, But That Doesn’t Mean That Armenia Can Stand By, Indifferent.”

Aravot made a more interesting move, its story [AM] headline markedly at odds with the claim made in the first paragraph.

An advocate of neo-imperialist unification, Kurginyan, appearing in the pages of local Armenian media, not only disseminated his muddled visions, but also showed us the vulnerabilities of our media. The first and foremost of these is the lack of any filtering.  

I’m not talking about censorship or political opportunism but about simple logical filters. It might seem that local media is neutral and unbiased in its work, simply citing Kurginyan’s opinions, but it raises several questions as a result. And the media not only doesn’t want to answer those questions, but also doesn’t pay attention to them. 

For example, Novosti Armenia published a news story [RU], citing Kurginyan: “The events in Ukraine showed what brainwashing leads to. Our issue is to inform the people of Armenia, to report the maximum on the topic of fascism, since the Armenian people were the first to see the impact of fascism. That was the Armenian Genocide of 1915.”  

Russia is remarkably left out of the Ukraine-fascism-genocide chain. A news outlet citing Kurginyan sees nothing odd in this and continues to quote him. “Initiatited by Ukraine’s gangster elite, a war has been declared on both Russia and humanitarian values. And now a real genocide is happening there, with a certain internal structure.”

If a rational reader tries to decode this idea, he is forced to admit that Ukraine has declared war on Russia — moreover, on its own soil and is subjecting its own people to genocide. Waging war against “humanitarian values” of course is a horrific move, especially since no one can say how it takes place and what values in particular are referred to. 

During the Soviet era, official vocabulary was full of such compelling expressions that, by and large, conveyed nothing. For example, it was said that “the progressive public condemns.” In Kurginyan’s opinion, the progressive public condemns Ukraine.

And since seeking enemies outside your own country and blaming Europe and the US in everything has become a component of Russian policy, it was this line that the Russian analyst was toeing in Armenia.   

For example, invited as a guest on Kentron TV’s Urvagits talk show [AM], Kurginyan said under no circumstance would host Petros Ghazaryan want to live, say, in Antwerp, since in Antwerp, Ghazaryan’s child would constantly pass by pornographic windows. 

Standing out in this string of jumbled thoughts reprinted in the local media, in particular, are the forecasts that refer to us, which Kurginyan makes freely and easily. He has a knack for the threaten–don’t threaten pendulum.

He said that he follows Yerevan life and wants to tell us the truth: “Yerevan residents live their peaceful and stable lives and have thousands of problems, as did the residents of Donetsk years ago, but Donetsk is now completely ruined, collapsed.”

Kurginyan, with a desire to expose brainwashing, calmly speaks of making Yerevan the next Donetsk, if Yerevan suddenly decides that the winds of fascism blow from a completely different direction.

If respectable local Armenian media writes a headline [RU] such as “Karabakh’s Only Threat is Armenia’s Betrayal,” it unwittingly spreads the pro-Russian political analyst’s view that “No type of Azerbaijani aggression threatens Karabakh, if there’s no Armenian betrayal. But if even Armenia betrays Karabakh, then Karabakh, all the same, will remain standing, though it will be in a difficult situation.”

Is this clear? It’s possible even without Armenia.

Especially considering that, according to Kurginyan, 80% of Armenia’s population dreams of returning to the Soviet Union; that is, Russia. And the idea of sovereignty is not topical for Armenia (he said this a few years ago).

One of the biggest vices of journalism is to become a small screw of propaganda. Especially if this happens because of ignorance — unwittingly and because of inertia, so to speak. The media simply quotes, without any excessive efforts or deep intentions.

If local Armenian media calmly admits the fact that it’s possible even without Armenia and an hour-long interview can be viewed on air without Armenian translation, then we’re truly on the path to colonization.

And in colonies, the media, as a rule, simply disappears, resembling official Russian television, through which brains are not only immaculately washed, but also ironed wrinkle-free.

Nune Hakhverdyan

The views expressed in the column are those of the author's and do not necessarily reflect the views of Media.am.