Aram Gabrelyanov, the ethnic Armenian head of the Saint Petersburg-based Baltic Media Group, was barred from entering the country on his arrival at Yerevan’s Zvartnots international airport on Tuesday. He was due to deliver a lecture at a training course for Armenian journalists organized by Victor Soghomonian, a former spokesman for ex-President Robert Kocharian.
Immigration officers at Zvartnots reportedly told Gabrelyanov that his name is on a list of “undesirable individuals” drawn up by the Armenian government. The government has not commented on his inclusion on the blacklist.
Gabrelyanov, who is a staunch supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin, on Thursday blamed Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian for the entry ban. In a Facebook post, he pledged to sue Pashinian’s government and “force them to let me into Armenia.”
Gabrelyanov has for years harshly criticized Pashinian and supported Armenian opposition attempts to topple him.
At least two other prominent Russians -- pro-Armenian lawmaker Konstantin Zatulin and RT television network chief Margarita Simonyan -- were banned from entering Armenia last fall. They too are very critical of Pashinian’s administration.
Simonyan is one of the most influential figures in the Kremlin-controlled media. A senior Armenian official accused her and other prominent Russians of Armenian descent in October of disrespecting the South Caucasus country’s leaders.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that Moscow’s reaction to the travel bans is “negative.”
“Armenia is our great friend, ally, strategic partner,” Peskov told reporters. “And, of course, the level and nature of bilateral relations requires us to protect our bilateral relations from such cases. We hope that our bilateral relations will be free from such cases in the foreseeable future.”
Armenia’s traditionally close relationship with Russia has soured lately because of what Yerevan sees as a lack of Russian support in the continuing conflict with Azerbaijan.
At least four Armenian Diaspora activists from France and the Netherlands have also been denied entry to Armenia over the past year. They all are affiliated local chapters of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun). The party’s organization in Armenia was at the forefront of antigovernment protests staged by the country’s leading opposition groups in Yerevan last spring and summer.
