CIS on Groong Podcast

Benyamin Poghosyan - Police Brutality, Violence, and Repressions, Armenia Azerbaijan Talks, Armenia Russia Relations | Ep 337 - June 16, 2024

Tue, 18 Jun 2024 00:15:00 -0400

Police Violence and Repressions

June 12 came and went. It was billed as a sort of culminating point and the date when Bagrat Srbazan’s assurances, that he needed 96 hours to remove Pashinyan, expired.

It proved to be a bloody day. On that day, the Pashinyan regime proved that they’re willing to use unprecedented force to suppress the protesters. Up to a hundred people sought medical attention after the police lobbed dozens of stun grenades at the protesters, many of them protesters.

Benyamin Poghosyan - Police Brutality, Violence, and Repressions, Armenia Azerbaijan Talks, Armenia Russia Relations | Ep 337 - June 16, 2024

Tue, 18 Jun 2024 00:15:00 -0400

Episode Summary

Police Brutality, Violence & Repressions. Armenia Azerbaijan Talks. Armenia Russia Relations.

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Benyamin Poghosyan - Genocide Denial by the Armenian Government | Armenia Azerbaijan Talks | Iran Amidst Conflicts | Political Prisoners | Ep 324 - Apr 14, 2024

Wed, 17 Apr 2024 00:15:00 -0400

Armenian Genocide Denial

Every week Pashinyan seems to push the envelope on the narratives that challenge historical realities and themes related to Armenian identity. This is done in a way that would put George Orwell to shame.

“It’s the Russians’ Fault”

First, he opened the week by giving a “lecture” to students, which he records and shares on Tiktok nowadays, where he essentially blames the Russians (or the Soviets) for repatriating to Armenia descendants of the Armenian Genocide. He further blames Russia for stoking the nascent movement to recognize the Armenian genocide in Soviet Armenia. Of course, during the entire time he does this, he doesn’t actually use the term “genocide” a single time.

Benyamin Poghosyan - Genocide Denial by the Armenian Government | Armenia Azerbaijan Talks | Iran Amidst Conflicts | Political Prisoners | Ep 324 - Apr 14, 2024

Wed, 17 Apr 2024 00:15:00 -0400

Episode Summary

Armenia Azerbaijan Talks. Iran Amidst Conflicts. Political Prisoners.

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Benyamin Poghosyan - Shahramanyan Annuls Artsakh Dissolution | Insecurity without Borders | Pashinyan in St. Petersburgh | Year-end Predictions | Ep 300, Dec 31, 2023

Sat, 30 Dec 2023 00:15:00 -0400

Artsakh President Annuls Dissolution of Republic

Three months after Azerbaijan’s invasion of Artsakh Republic and eviction of its remaining 100,000 population, president-in-exile Samvel Shahramanyan has allegedly annulled his declaration of dissolving the republic on January 1, 2024, which he had made under duress, to save more civilians from brutal torture and murder.

There are a number of serious caveats to this story:

First, the original document claiming to be that of dissolution of Artsakh has never been officially published, Shahramanyan made the declaration in the middle of a brutal invasion and with hundreds of Armenians being killed.
Even if this document was indeed what it is purported to be, legal analysts claim that it is invalid, since besides being made under duress, the executive branch cannot legally make a decision to dissolve all other branches of government and terminate a country like it’s a defunct business.
The news about the annulment comes from his adviser, Vladimir Grigoryan and not Shahramanyan himself. The following day, Grigoryan issued a statement indicating that what he said previously was his own personal opinion, and by the way, he is no longer Shahramanyan’s adviser. Many speculate that this was a result of the strong backlash from Civil Contract reps, which we’ll talk about below.

Questions:

Benyamin Poghosyan - Shahramanyan Annuls Artsakh Dissolution | Insecurity without Borders | Pashinyan in St. Petersburgh | Year-end Predictions | Ep 300, Dec 31, 2023

Sat, 30 Dec 2023 00:15:00 -0400

Episode Summary

Artsakh President Annuls Dissolution of Republic. Insecurity without Borders. Pashinyan in St. Petersburg. Year-end 2023 Predictions Review. Predictions for 2024.

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Benyamin Poghosyan - Status of Armenia-Azerbaijan Negotiations | Armenian Diplomacy in the West | Relations with Russia | Ep 296, Dec 3, 2023

Mon, 04 Dec 2023 00:15:00 -0400

Armenian Azerbaijani Negotiations

In the past two weeks since our last Week-in-Review show, the state of Armenian Azerbaijani negotiations appears to shift on a daily basis.

At this point it’s clear that Aliyev thinks he’s gotten the maximum out of western mediation so he’s now trying to shift the negotiations either to a direct format with Armenia, or one mediated through some regional player.

This past week Armenia forwarded its latest draft proposal in the talks, and indicated it is willing to continue negotiating with Azerbaijan, and deputy Prime Ministers Mher Grigoryan and Shahin Mustafaev met “on the border” (Kazakh and Ijevan districts) for discussions on border delimitation.

Benyamin Poghosyan - Status of Armenia-Azerbaijan Negotiations | Armenian Diplomacy in the West | Relations with Russia | Ep 296, Dec 3, 2023

Mon, 04 Dec 2023 00:15:00 -0400

Episode Summary

Armenian-Azerbaijani Negotiations. Armenian Diplomacy in the West. Relations with Russia.

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Hrant Mikaelian - Erdogan Cabinet | Azerbaijan Postpones Meeting | Economic Developments | MPG Poll on Pashinyan Rating

Tue, 13 Jun 2023 18:06:59 +0400

Turkish Cabinet Appointments

The elections in Turkey are over. We’re looking to do a deeper dive into this topic with a turkologist, but Hrant, since it’s fresh on our mind…

Erdogan’s first visit will be to Azerbaijan btw.

Turkey
- Hakan Fidan, former MIT chief, appointed FM
  - Used the Ottoman term for foreign ministry in his speech Harciye versus Dışişleri
  - Is being groomed as replacement for Erdogan
- Ibrahim Kalin, former Erdogan spox, appointed intel chief
  - I believe his thesis was on relations with Armenia

Question:

Hrant Mikaelian - Erdogan Cabinet | Azerbaijan Postpones Meeting | Economic Developments | MPG Poll on Pashinyan Rating

Tue, 13 Jun 2023 18:06:59 +0400

Episode Summary

Erdogan Reshuffles Cabinet, First Visit to Baku. Latest Developments in Armenia-Azerbaijan Negotiations, Baku Postpones. Economic Developments, More Subsidies to IT Sector. MPG Poll: Pashinyan’s Rating is Falling.

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Rally in Stepanakert | Sullivan Plan | CSTO Security Council Convened | Trilateral in Sochi | Pashinyan in Tehran

Wed, 02 Nov 2022 03:00:00 -0700

Stepanakert Rally

On Sunday, in the lead-up to the October 31 meeting in Sochi, and while Artsakh president Arayik Harutyunyan was also in Moscow, there was probably the largest demonstration rally in Stepanakert since the independence movement began in 1988, an estimated 40,000 Artsakh citizens flooded the main city square to demand that Artsakh’s independence and sovereignty not be compromised through any deals that the government of Armenia signs with Azerbaijan.

Rally in Stepanakert | Sullivan Plan | CSTO Security Council Convened | Trilateral in Sochi | Pashinyan in Tehran

Wed, 02 Nov 2022 03:00:00 -0700

Episode Summary

Massive Stepanakert Rally. The Sullivan Plan. CSTO Security Council Convened. Trilateral Summit in Sochi. From Sochi to Tehran.

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2022 Census | Astana | Iran | Cyber Attack | Remembering TsOR Unit | Ep 169 - Oct 16, 2022

Mon, 17 Oct 2022 20:24:15 +0000

Census In Progress in Armenia

The third decennial post-Soviet census is currently in progress in Armenia, and there’s been so little public advertising and information about it that almost nobody is thinking about it. Awareness and support of the census is, of course, a major factor in its success and the ultimate quality of its data.

The census is being actively conducted from October 13 to 23, and our guest is a close follower of it.

2022 Census | Astana | Iran | Cyber Attack | Remembering TsOR Unit | Ep 169 - Oct 16, 2022

Mon, 17 Oct 2022 20:24:15 +0000

Episode Summary

Census in progress in Armenia. Meetings in Astana. Developments in Iran. Armenian websites compromised. Remembering the TsOR artillery unit.

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