Armenians Demonstrate to Demand Moscow Close Russian Base at Gyumri, But Others Do So Because They Want It to Remain

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Aug. 24 – On August 23, a group led by Armenia’s In the Name of the Republic Party staged a demonstration outside the gate of the Moscow military base at Gyumri to demand that Yerevan insist that that base be closed. A day later, another group of Armenians held a meeting there to demand the base be kept in place.

            The 4,000-man Russian base near Armenia’s second largest city has been in place since the 1990s and currently operates under an agreement that gives Moscow the right to maintain it until 2044. Many Armenians have viewed it as a defender of their country; but Moscow’s failure to back Yerevan over Karabakh and the souring of relations with Russia has changed that.

            (On these protests, the first since Yerevan agreed to allow a US company to supervise a corridor between Azerbaijan and Nakhichivan via Armenia’s Syunik Oblast, see z-truda.ru/articles/raznoe/_v_armenii_nachalas_aktsiya_protesta_protiv_voennoy_bazy_rf_v_gyumri/ and anna-news.info/v-armyanskom-gyumri-proshel-pro-rossijskij-miting/.)

            The Gyumri base has long been controversial in Armenia largely because of the arrogance of Russian commanders regarding relations with Armenian civilians. But until recently, Yerevan remained supportive, viewing it as a useful balance to expanding Azerbaijani and Turkish power in the region.

            (For background on the Gyumri base and the back and forth in Armenia over its future, see windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2023/12/russian-militarys-arrest-in-armenia-of.html, windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2021/02/armenian-defense-minister-says-yerevan.html, windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2019/01/russian-army-get-out-of-armenia-gyumri.html, windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2018/12/armenians-call-for-russian-base-at.html, windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2015/01/moscow-agrees-to-try-gyumri-killer-in.html and windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2015/01/gyumri-events-could-spark-new-war-over.html.)

            As Yerevan and Baku edged toward a settlement and as Yerevan turned away from Moscow toward the West, including a rapprochement with Turkey, Moscow has become alarmed and earlier this summer beefed up the Gyumri base with more men and weapons (windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2025/07/moscow-beefing-up-russian-base-in.html).

            These two protests suggest that the survival of the Russian base at Gyumri is likely to move toward the center of Armenian politics. Moscow and some Armenians will certainly defend it; but an increasing number of Armenians appear to have decided that under new conditions, they have had enough and the base must go.