The Russian outlet The Insider has published an investigation into how the now-defunct department of the Russian Presidential Administration for Interregional and Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries operated. Its sphere of interest included both Armenia and Azerbaijan.
The Azerbaijani track was overseen by GRU officer Valery Chernyshov. Moscow received “background reports” on well-known officials, military officers, and public figures from the republic.
Within the department, secret reports were also prepared for Dmitry Kozak, which were then presented to Putin. The Kremlin was concerned about the near-total absence in Azerbaijan of organizations capable of promoting Russian interests as a counterbalance to Turkey.
“It is advisable to strengthen the presence of Russian NGOs in Azerbaijan. Reviving existing structures or creating new ones could become an instrument of ‘soft power.’ The focus — border areas, youth, student organizations, education, the Russian language, cultural projects, and journalism forums,” one of the secret reports stated.
Emissaries from Staraya Ploshchad began frequent visits to Azerbaijan; conferences and journalism schools were organized in Baku. Former employees of the department admitted that “hundreds of millions of dollars were spent on ‘friendship with Azerbaijan,’ but it all looked like ‘balalaika diplomacy.’”
The rupture came in early 2025, after Moscow concealed the circumstances of the AZAL plane crash and the brutal death of the Safarov brothers in Yekaterinburg. Baku’s reaction was harsh: the Kremlin’s propaganda outlet Sputnik was shut down, and official events with Russia were reduced to a minimum.
The Armenian track was supervised by another GRU officer, Dmitry Avanesov. The Insider obtained reports from a “mole” in the Armenian government, who informed Avanesov even about the movements of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. In those materials, he appeared under the operational codename “Beard.”
Secret reports sent to Moscow noted that “pro-Russian narratives in Armenia are promoted mainly by pension-age politicians,” while the youth ignore them. To strengthen influence, it was proposed to finance “new and creative figures.”
