On May 26, 2023, Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) and Dialogue, an NGO, held a round table discussion on mutual perception of the images of Armenia and Russia. Andrey Kortunov, RIAC Academic Director; Sergey Paltov, Deputy Director of the Fourth CIS Department (4CISD) of the Russian Foreign Ministry; and Yuri Navoyan, Chairman of the Dialogue Organization; spoke at the opening session of the event.
Other speakers included Sergey Markedonov, Leading Research Fellow of the Euro-Atlantic Security Center at MGIMO University, Editor-in-chief, Journal of International Analytics MGIMO University; Alexander Iskandaryan, Director of the Caucasus Institute, and Alexander Krylov, Associate Professor at RAS IMEMO; Ruben Safrastyan, Armenian National Academy of Sciences; Vladimir Novikov, Head of the Caucasus Department of the Institute of CIS Countries; Artem Yerkanyan, political observer of the Shant TV Armenia; Arshaluys Mgdesyan, political observer of the CivilNet Online TV.
On May 26, 2023, Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) and Dialogue, an NGO, held a round table discussion on mutual perception of the images of Armenia and Russia. Andrey Kortunov, RIAC Academic Director; Sergey Paltov, Deputy Director of the Fourth CIS Department (4CISD) of the Russian Foreign Ministry; and Yuri Navoyan, Chairman of the Dialogue Organization; spoke at the opening session of the event.
Other speakers included Sergey Markedonov, Leading Research Fellow of the Euro-Atlantic Security Center at MGIMO University, Editor-in-chief, Journal of International Analytics MGIMO University; Alexander Iskandaryan, Director of the Caucasus Institute, and Alexander Krylov, Associate Professor at RAS IMEMO; Ruben Safrastyan, Armenian National Academy of Sciences; Vladimir Novikov, Head of the Caucasus Department of the Institute of CIS Countries; Artem Yerkanyan, political observer of the Shant TV Armenia; Arshaluys Mgdesyan, political observer of the CivilNet Online TV.
The participants discussed in detail the scope of conceptions of the relations between the two countries, highlighted the key contradictions, gave an objective assessment of the current state of relations, and suggested their own ways to overcome the challenges in relations between Moscow and Yerevan.
Key Points
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Russian-Armenian relations continue to develop and strengthen. At the highest levels of power in both Russia and Armenia, the desire to maintain a strategic partnership and develop it is emphasized.
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At the same time, there are certain challenges in mutual perception at different levels: state, media, among the expert community, including simplified perception of each other by the parties, simplification of bilateral relations, somewhat distorted mutual perception, excessive personification of relations between the two countries.
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Participants noted a slight increase in skepticism regarding the development of partnerships between Russia and Armenia. However, this phenomenon in itself is not new; it has existed before. This is a feature of the political landscape of Armenia, which needs to be worked on. A part of the Armenian society has excessive expectations from Russia on the Karabakh issue.
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The change of power in Armenia in 2018 to some extent worsened the information field of the country. After 2020, the Armenian leadership tended to blame Russia and the CSTO for the defeat in Karabakh, some media picked up these assertions. The experts stressed that the pro-Western media in Armenia serve as a relay of Western propaganda.
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The perception of historical memory in the societies of Russia and Armenia remains unchanged, but there are attempts to change this situation. It is necessary to increase the joint efforts of Moscow and Yerevan to curb such attempts.
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A new trend in the Armenian press is the term "relocants" in relation to Russian citizens. However, the term does not have negative connotations. An important feature of the Armenian society is the almost complete absence of Russophobia at the household level.
