Armenian fairy tales - from parade to parade

The other day, speaking in parliament, Armenian Defense Minister Suren Papikyan said that in 2022-2025, 5.4 times more funds were spent on the purchase of weapons and military equipment than in the previous two decades: from 1998 to 2018. That is, during the rule of Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan.

The revanchist opposition, to which these statements were addressed, was unable to respond in detail. Although this is the case when she had something to say. Firstly, there were different prices in those years. Secondly, Armenia acquired mostly old weapons. And, thirdly, she did not often have to pay for purchases. Most of what was in service with the Armenian Armed Forces was transferred to it free of charge or on deliberately non-repayable loans. Of course, these could not be modern weapons. Hence the five-fold difference. Armenia was insolvent, but it was given old weapons to maintain, so to speak, balance. It was impossible to maintain a balance at the expense of old weapons at a time when military technology was moving forward in wide strides. Armenia's partners did not transfer modern weapons to Yerevan, as this would create problems in relations with Baku. And the search for new partners for the Armenian side was difficult - the arms manufacturers tried to stay away so as not to quarrel with Azerbaijan. Those countries with which Yerevan concluded deals after the Second Karabakh War, even supporting him politically, did not sell him weapons during the conflict years.

That's the whole secret. The revanchists are trying to puff out their cheeks and prove that before Nikol Pashinyan came to power, the Armenian army could match the forces of NATO, and the new prime minister came and ruined everything. In fact, the army that was created by the Karabakh criminals who seized power in Armenia participated in the 44-day war. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has repeatedly drawn attention to this point. In December 2020, at a meeting of the CIS heads of state, he stressed that "the army that was defeated is not Pashinyan's army. This is the army that Kocharyan and Sargsyan have been creating for 20 years." A month earlier, after visiting the liberated territories, the head of state stated that "we destroyed the army of Kocharyan and Sargsyan." This was not said in defense of Pashinyan. What was said was addressed to the criminals hiding in their holes, so that they would know where their place was. 

The issue of the army has become one of the key issues in the election campaign in Armenia. The current opposition, which has been deceiving Armenians with bravura fairy tales for decades, is trying to use this factor for self-promotion. In fact, in Armenia, only propaganda had a high opinion of its army. The same media outlets, which today feed amicably from the hands of Samvel Karapetyan, have painted an unsightly picture of the situation in the armed forces throughout the years of the conflict. Especially gloomy news about the army spread during the reign of the Karabakh clan. The Armenian army has never been an armed force, it has always been an armed gang, where anarchy reigned during the time of the field commanders of the First Karabakh War.

One of these highwaymen, draped in scrap metal called orders, the separatist Avanesyan, heads Karapetyan's security team and gives advice on building an army. Commenting on the Prime Minister's statements, he tried to save the face of the "iron ashots," saying that if the occupiers had had good air defense and fighter missiles during the 44-day war, everything would have ended differently and the Armenians "would have been able to achieve their goals." Samvel Karapetyan's campaign gang promises to remedy the situation by purchasing the most modern weapons for Armenia (with the money of this billionaire, presumably). And not only to buy, but also to produce the coolest air defense systems in Armenia itself.

As they say, dreaming is not harmful. Any fantasies about the militarization of Armenia that go beyond regional realities will have consequences. Both the Armenian government and its opposition camp should know this. Especially in the latter case.

By the way, the opposition really doesn't like Pashinyan's idea of holding a military parade on May 28. In response to the opposition's accusations, the Armenian prime minister promised to demonstrate all the modern military equipment that Armenia has purchased in the last couple of years. The parade will be dedicated to the 25th anniversary of Armenia's independence. The revanchists, who do not have access to such means of electoral PR, did not like this idea very much. Armenia's Independence Day itself is celebrated in September, and the opposition is beside itself with the fact that Pashinyan decided to show his acquisitions in advance. Given the new realities, everyone understands that the parade will not be a show of strength to the neighbors, it will be like a report from the ruling team on what it has done for the security of the country.

By the way, the revanchist opposition itself also used the army for self-promotion. For example, to improve his image, which was destroyed by the April fighting. In September 2016, Sargsyan and Co. staged a military parade to show the terrified Armenians that they were completely safe. It should be recalled that during the four-day war, a stream of residents of the occupied territories and deserters poured into Armenia. There was also a panic in Armenia itself. And Sargsyan wanted to show that he had it all figured out.

"Tornadoes", "Dots-U", even the notorious "Iskanders" were driven through the main square of Yerevan. At that time, no one explained to the proud citizens where Armenia got the funds to purchase this equipment, which costs more than the entire Armenian defense budget. Sargsyan and Co. claimed that they were preparing a surprise for their people to raise their spirits after the April disgrace. However, this argument raised the question of why the authorities did not use all this in April and allowed defeat. The answer was found by the Armenian media, which found out that in fact, modern technology does not belong to Armenia, but was borrowed from an ally in exchange for reducing the intensity of Russophobia. After the April defeat, as well as after the 2020 war, the Armenian society attacked Russia, which, they say, did not intervene and did not help.

The video of that parade can be found on the Internet. It shows all the emotions that prevail not only among the audience, but also on the government podium. When the Iskanders appeared on the square, the host of the broadcast literally screamed with overwhelming emotions, and those welcoming the parade, Serzh Sargsyan and Catholicos Garegin, almost fell out of the rostrum with delight. Seyran Ohanyan looked like he had personally designed and built the Iskanders in the basement of one of his villas.

Whether or not to hold a military parade is an internal matter for each country. However, Armenia is a special case. When trying to demonstrate strength, she must weigh her every word and every step. Militarization is not the path that can lead this country to a brighter future, and it should be very careful in its dreams.

The same applies, and even more so, to the revanchist opposition. With its searchlights designed to cloud the already clouded consciousness of the Armenian society with stories about ten thousand drones and other wonders.