When Azerbaijan blocked the only road that links Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia, Russia was expected to help. But Russian President Vladimir Putin said there are "no problems with Armenia." Now Armenia is looking away from Russia, and toward the West.
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00:00 Borscht and palmeni. Russian influence can be found on every corner here.
00:06 All over Yerevan, the Armenian capital, there are Russian restaurants and you can often
00:11 hear the Russian language. And no wonder. Russia has historically been considered a
00:16 close political ally and friend of Armenia's. But that is changing.
00:23 On the streets of Yerevan, you only hear good things about ordinary Russians.
00:29 Thousands of them live here now. Many came after the war in Ukraine started. Young Russian
00:35 men fled the country before they could be sent to war. They didn't need a visa to
00:40 enter Armenia.
00:46 We welcomed the people with open arms who fled Putin's regime and who fled the war
00:51 in Ukraine. We can now distinguish very clearly between the people in Russia and the Russian
00:57 rulers. Russian rulers are evil. They are evil in a way that harms us and constantly
01:04 puts us under pressure.
01:10 To understand where the change of heart comes from, David Stepanyan takes us to Nagorno-Karabakh,
01:16 a region that both Armenia and neighbouring Azerbaijan have been fighting over for decades.
01:22 Several years ago, this struggle escalated into war.
01:27 At the time, Yerevan was hoping for military aid from Russia. But nothing came of it. Azerbaijan
01:33 gained control.
01:36 The Armenian government has since recognised Azerbaijan's sovereignty over Nagorno-Karabakh.
01:41 But the ceasefire has been fragile. For nine months, Azerbaijan has blocked access to the
01:47 region from the Armenian side via the so-called Lashin corridor.
01:54 Nagorno-Karabakh starts right behind me. We can't go any further. The road is closed.
02:01 Over there is also where an absolute state of emergency begins.
02:07 That is according to eyewitnesses who also gave us this footage from the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh.
02:14 Long lines outside stores selling rationed bread. Empty shelves in pharmacies and grocery
02:21 stores.
02:22 We are told that only ambulances are allowed through. People are cut off from the outside
02:28 world.
02:34 Back on the other side, this aid convoy has been waiting to pass since July. Armenians
02:40 say Russian troops are stationed in the region, but they only watch and allow the blockade
02:45 to continue.
02:48 Azerbaijan officials say that is a lie. They say it's possible to enter from Baku on their
02:54 side. According to them, there is no blockade.
02:57 On these pictures, I would encourage you to have a fact-checked approach because we are
03:04 living in the area of fake news and disinformation, unfortunately. And we also, unfortunately,
03:10 see a lot of elements of the staged activities.
03:13 And how does Russia respond to the accusation it's abandoned Armenia? President Putin claims
03:19 it's the country's own fault.
03:22 What are we supposed to say about it? If Armenia accepts Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan,
03:27 it's not our fault.
03:31 For David Stepanyan, Putin's words sound cynical. He's convinced Moscow is deliberately weakening
03:37 Armenia. Russia's war against Ukraine has only strengthened his belief.
03:44 Once we understood what Russia really wants in Ukraine, we knew we had to commit to Ukraine,
03:49 because they are fighting for all of us today. If Kiev falls, then a new Soviet Union will
03:55 emerge. That's what Putin is hoping for.
04:02 David Stepanyan believes his country must seek new allies in order to completely detach
04:08 itself from Russia.
04:09 [BLANK_AUDIO]