CovertAction Institute

Secretary of the Communist Party in Armenia Says that Political Repression is Off the Charts Under Nikol Pashinyan Who is Becoming a Closer U.S. Ally

Warns that further dark times may await Armenians under Pashinyan’s rule

CAM correspondent Nicholas Reed spoke with a representative of the communist movement in Armenia, amid a critical geopolitical point where the government of Nikol Pashinyan is pivoting away from Russia and closer to the European Union. Pashinyan claimed victory in the June 7, 2026 election, the future of Armenia looks doomed to repeat past scenarios which took place in Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia.[1]

It's 2 a.m. Yerevan time right now. To answer the last question...I’m sitting on the couch at home. My wife and son are sleeping in the next room. And I swear, I’m scared, scared for a future my brain cannot even contemplate. Scared not just for my family, but for the entire country, and for all the people I know and love. Scared for my people, who have already suffered so much in their lifetime. I’m terrified of what could happen to my people again. Just 115 years later. Two days left until the elections. Tomorrow morning, the day of silence begins. And the day after tomorrow, no matter what my people do, no matter how they vote, the future seems bleak to me at best…

To begin, could you introduce yourself, tell us about your background, career and the experiences that shaped your political worldview? How would you define your current political position, and do you associate yourself with any party, movement or ideological tradition in Armenia or abroad?

Hello. I’ll answer each question separately. I’m the Acting First Secretary of the Central Committee of Komsomol and a member of the Communist Party of Armenia. I first joined the party four years ago and became a member a year ago. Before joining the party, I already had a certain knowledge of Marxism and a clearly defined ideological vector. However, my path was arduous. I’ve been interested in politics and history since I was nine or ten years old. And, of course, first and foremost, the history of my country and its people. It’s a very long history, spanning approximately 3,000 years. Studying such a long period of history, even from a nationalist perspective—the only one we had—certain patterns emerge that can’t be explained by anything other than dialectical materialism. Thanks to a blogger, Dmitry Puchkov, I learned about the ideological basis of communism. Historians of communist views often visited him at the time.

So, from then on, I began studying Marxism and the history of communist movements around the world in more detail. I was 15 or 16 years old at the time. And so here I am, 26. Ten years have passed, and my confidence has left no doubt, and my knowledge has deepened. There have been some ups and downs along the way. At times, I leaned toward nationalism, sometimes toward cosmopolitanism, but ultimately, I cast aside all these adolescent vacillations and chose the path that led me to the party.

The Komsomol line is orthodox Marxism. However, we allow room within the organization for alternative interpretations. This gives us the opportunity to work with diverse population groups and ideological leanings around the world. We are not afraid to listen to other interpretations of the goals of the communist movement, and we are not afraid to express our own interpretations. Under these circumstances, this is the best and most pragmatic approach. [...]

Secretary of the Communist Party in Armenia Says that Political Repression is Off the Charts Under Nikol Pashinyan Who is Becoming a Closer U.S. Ally - CovertAction Magazine Warns that further dark times may await Armenians under Pashinyan’s rule CAM correspondent Nicholas Reed spoke with a representative of the communist movement in Armenia, amid a critical geopolitical point where the government of Nikol Pashinyan is pivoting away from Russia and closer to the Europ...

Was Dimona Nearly Bombed in 1967?

Those living today are destined to experience a rare Triffin’s Dilemma moment, when one dominant but fading empire transitions uneasily to a more robust one.[1] The end of the Portuguese and Spanish empires can be understood as examples of such turning points, with the defeat of the Spanish Armada in the English (not Spanish) Channel in 1588 being emblematic.

Another imperial turning point occurred during the 1956 Suez Crisis (known as the Sinai War in Israel). That year, Egypt under its powerful pan-Arab leader, Gamal Abdel Nasser, nationalized the Suez Canal and blocked the Straits of Tiran. Britain, France and Israel united to try to regain control of the canal and overthrow Nasser. Israel preemptively invaded and captured both Sinai and Gaza, while Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev threatened to drop atomic bombs on London and Paris if the British, French and Israelis did not withdraw from Egypt. U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower refused to back the Europeans against Egypt and blocked an IMF bailout of Britain. The seemingly limitless British Empire thus expired, due primarily to its failing economy and currency. As Niall Ferguson put it in the April 10, 2026, (London) Times, “After Suez, there was no making Britain great again.”[2]

As a result of the fall of the British pound, the U.S. dollar became the global reserve currency, while the Soviet Union advanced to second place in power. The UN forced Israel to return its territorial spoils. It is worth noting that, just a year ago, U.S. Vice President J. D. Vance took the side of the losers in the 1956 hegemonic crisis when he said, “The British and the French were certainly right in their disagreements with Eisenhower about the Suez Canal.”[3] According to Triffin’s theory, Vance is certainly wrong in his geopolitical assessment.

The demise of the over-extended Spanish and Portuguese or Dutch empires did not take place in a nuclear context. In 1956 in Suez, however, the nuclear card was already on the table, not only through Soviet threats against European capitals but because Israel was already on its way to producing its own nuclear device. [...]

Was Dimona Nearly Bombed in 1967? - CovertAction Magazine Those living today are destined to experience a rare Triffin’s Dilemma moment, when one dominant but fading empire transitions uneasily to a more robust one.[1] The end of the Portuguese and Spanish empires can be understood as examples of such turning points, with the defeat of the Spanish Armada...

U.S. Military Bases Around the World Are Facing Growing Protest From an Emboldened Antiwar Movement

Global Women for Peace United Against NATO webinar spotlights protests against U.S. militarism that receives scant coverage in the U.S. media

In early April, an unidentified Irish man climbed onto the roof of a U.S. C-130 Hercules military transport vehicle parked at Shannon Airport in County Claire, Ireland, and sabotaged its wing and fuselage using a hatchet, causing $75 million in damage.

The heroic action was part of a wave of protests at Shannon Airport, which has functioned since the end of the Cold War as a transport hub for U.S. troops and refueling and transit spot for CIA and U.S. military planes, including ones that transported prisoners to Guantánamo Bay under the infamous rendition program.

Edward Hogan is a a regular participant in the protests at the Shannon Airport who was a featured speaker at a June 6 webinar hosted by Global Women for Peace—United Against NATO, which aimed to raise awareness about the widening protests against U.S. military bases in Europe and around the world.

A former member of the Irish defense force and UN peacekeeper, Hogan said that he has been arrested eight times in protests outside Shannon Airport, which are growing in scale because of popular anger at Ireland’s complicity in the Israeli genocide in Gaza and Iran War—along with previous illegal U.S. and NATO wars like in Libya, Afghanistan, Iraq and Serbia in the 1990s. [...]

U.S. Military Bases Around the World Are Facing Growing Protest From an Emboldened Antiwar Movement - CovertAction Magazine Global Women for Peace United Against NATO webinar spotlights protests against U.S. militarism that receives scant coverage in the U.S. media In early April, an unidentified Irish man climbed onto the roof of a U.S. C-130 Hercules military transport vehicle parked at Shannon Airport in County Claire...