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Originally posted by Il Cattivo:
Has anyone else heard that the Armenians are piling on with the Russians? What in the hell would the Armenians being doing there?

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Originally posted by 220-9er:
Just another false flag attack. Nothing new and I doubt there will be any significant response from other governments to this.
I suspect Uncle Joe will send them a stern warning.

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Originally posted by RogueJSK:
Armenia is a member of the "Collective Security Treaty Organisation", basically a quasi-NATO-esque group of former Soviet militaries, led by Russia.

Consists of Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.

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Kazakhstan Crisis Exposes Flaw At The Heart Of Vladimir Putin's Authoritarian Model
Roland Oliphant, The Telegraph, Jan. 5, 2022

For post-Soviet autocrats, the almost complete collapse of state authority in the face of nationwide protests in Kazakhstan is the stuff of nightmares. One of Kazakhstan's neighbors will be watching with particular apprehension. Vladimir Putin takes a hard line on revolutions in Russia's former Soviet neighbors. He tends to veiw them as CIA-run special operations directed at removing his allies, and which might one day be aimed at him. That explained his fury at Ukraine's 2014 Maidan, and his backing of Alexander Lukashenko, the dictator of Belarus, against mass protests following a fraudulent election in 2020. But events in Kazakhstan reveal a particular fragility at the heart of his model of authoritarianism.

Of all the post-Soviet autocrats, Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan was long considered the most successful. He presided over a relatively wealthy and stable post-Soviet economy that, like Russia, did well out of gas, made its elite extraordinarily rick, and successfully suppressed dissent. Even his 2019 semi-retirement - in which he relinquished the presidency to a trusted ally, but kept his hands on the reins of state by staying on [as? - IC] "Father of the Nation" - was considered the model for ageing autocrats looking to safely step away from day-to-day politics. Possibly, many commentators suggested, it provided an exit strategy for Mr. Putin himself.

On Wednesday, as crowds stormed through cities across the country demanding "shal ket" - down with the old man - that reputation was shattered. That does not mean that Moscow is about to intervene. There is a chance that president Kasymzhomart Tokayev, with a combination of concessions and coercion, will ride out the protests yet. It is unlikely to slip out of Moscow's orbit even if the current government falls, although Moscow will be anxious to ensure the successor does not quit pet projects like the Eurasian Economic Union. Nor would it be wise to predict trouble in Russia on the basis of the uprising across the border. The grievances that saw crowds storming government buildings in Almaty have deep and specific Kazakh roots.

Mr. Putin has also built deep defenses against any such occurrence in Russia. He has jailed or forced into exile all notable leaders of organized opposition. He keeps his security forces will trained and well paid. And he has sought to honor a Soviet-style social contract that offers stability and wages in exchange for political quietism. The presidential administration in Moscow also keeps a hawkish eye on opinion polls and focus groups to give it fair warning of shifts in public mood.

Some pro-Kremlin outlets were already referring to a "Maidan" on Wednesday - a reference to Ukraine's revolution that in official Russian eyes epitomizes foreign interference. Whatever happens in the next few days, Moscow will be watching closely.