Russian propaganda squad targets both Azerbaijan and Armenia Expert opinions on Caliber.Az

Known for his sincere hostility toward Azerbaijan and for persistently implanting in the minds of Russians the idea that the Turkic world represents a "threat" to them, Konstantin Zatulin, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, recently took aim at the Prime Minister of Armenia as well.

In particular, he stated that Nikol Pashinyan has "lost his bearings," and his policy "has already gone beyond the limits of what can be considered 'internal affairs.'"

"There is an attempt to suppress any word of protest or opposition in its infancy, doing so ahead of next year's parliamentary elections. All this is undoubtedly orchestrated by the head of government, who has lost his bearings and, as it seems to me, no longer understands what is reasonable or acceptable in relation to religion and the church," said the deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs.

Could statements like these from the talkative populists of the Russian PR machine have a real impact on public opinion or negatively affect the peace processes in the South Caucasus? Foreign experts and political analysts shared their views on this question with Caliber.Az.

According to Georgian political analyst Tengiz Javakhadze, figures like Zatulin, who pop up like a jack-in-the-box at the right moment and place with attacks and accusations, are artificially created personalities, and their rhetoric should not be taken too seriously.

“As the saying goes, someone barks, but the caravan keeps moving. When we again hear the demagoguery of propagandist Zatulin on one issue or another — but inevitably touching on his favourite topic of ‘threats to Russian society,’ which he has proclaimed himself to defend — we see the whole process as staged. Today, an entire squad of Russian propagandists has been deployed simultaneously against Azerbaijan and Armenia, considered by Moscow as ‘out of control.’ In particular, Pashinyan’s independent policy has become a thorn in the Kremlin’s side in the South Caucasus, and people like Zatulin are needed to fog the minds of ordinary people in Armenian and Russian societies.

Zatulin and his ilk always lie, mislead, and confuse people, using a cocktail of fabricated facts and circumstances woven together with their populist nonsense. Specifically, today they push the narrative that Pashinyan ‘sold out’ to the Turks. All because the real peace in the South Caucasus poses the number one threat to Zatulin’s masters and their ilk,” concluded Javakhadze.

In turn, Kyrgyz political analyst and PhD candidate Umar Mutaliev noted that Zatulin’s bias has become proverbial; practically everyone knows who he is and whose interests he represents.

“Even in Russia, the majority of intellectuals and the conscious part of the population perceive Zatulin as a clown reciting long-rehearsed phrases on command. He is seen the same way in the Central Asian countries — no one takes him seriously.

Recently, Zatulin has almost become a laughingstock, having been declared persona non grata in Armenia and effectively banned from entering by Prime Minister Pashinyan himself. That is, the propagandist who for many years lobbied Armenian interests in Russia and the CIS [Commonwealth of Independent States] has become an unwanted figure in Armenia itself. This situation can only be called comical, especially against the backdrop of Zatulin’s well-known statements, where he beat his chest calling himself a defender of the Armenian people. How did it come about that Zatulin developed such a strong dislike for the democratically elected prime minister of the country? It’s all because the Russian deputy himself is a hostage of his fake, hypocritical rhetoric dictated to him by the Kremlin,” Mutaliev stated.