Soft power in Armenia: Neither soft, nor powerful

Throughout much of the former Soviet Union, there has been a steady reassertion of Russian power and influence. For many of the countries of the so-called 'near abroad', this Russian resurgence has utilised a combination of traditional 'hard power', employing force and direct pressure, and tactical 'soft power', aimed at both undermining and overwhelming resistance.

However, it is precisely this absence of Russian soft power that exacerbates the crisis in Armenian-Russian relations and tends to confirm the perception that Moscow takes Armenian submission for granted. And it is this Russian arrogance that is the most dangerously counter-productive factor underlying Russian weakness in Armenia over the longer term.

• Primary Source

ECFR: ECFR Series: Russian soft power: At home and abroad http://www.ecfr.eu/debate/russian_soft_power_at_home_and_abroad

ESO: Background information: Armenians protest electricity prices http://www.europeansources.info/record/armenians-protest-electricity-prices/

ESO: Key Source: Eurasian Economic Union http://www.europeansources.info/record/eurasian-economic-union/

---