Armenian Media Raise Questions Over Russian Citizenship of Prime Minister’s Brother

Armenian media outlets and opposition commentators are raising questions about Russian ties within the family of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, highlighting what they describe as a double standard in the government’s approach to national security and foreign influence.

According to documents cited by the Armenian outlet Ishkhanutyun, Prime Minister Pashinyan’s brother, Armen Vovayevich Pashinyan, holds Russian citizenship. The outlet reported that the materials in its possession point not only to Russian citizenship but to broader connections with Russia, though no official confirmation has been provided by Armenian authorities.

The reports have sparked public debate because members of the ruling Civil Contract party have, in recent years, repeatedly accused individuals with Russian links of acting as “foreign agents” or posing a threat to Armenia’s sovereignty. Against that backdrop, critics argue that the allegations raise uncomfortable questions for the government itself.

Journalist Lia Sargsyan, writing on Facebook, questioned whether the same standards applied by the authorities to political opponents are being applied to the prime minister’s inner circle.

“If the authorities have for years treated any Russian connection as grounds for suspicion,” she wrote, “a logical question arises: do the same criteria apply to members of the prime minister’s family?”

Sargsyan also asked whether Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS) had examined the matter.

“Has the NSS investigated the prime minister’s brother,” she wrote, “including whether he may have been recruited by foreign intelligence services?”

Neither the Armenian government nor the NSS has publicly responded to the reports or confirmed the authenticity of the documents cited.

The controversy comes amid heightened political polarization in Armenia, where accusations of foreign influence, particularly involving Russia, have become a recurring feature of domestic political discourse following the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war and Yerevan’s reorientation toward Western partners.