The Kremlin-linked bot network Matryoshka has launched a new disinformation campaign against Armenia amid a growing dispute over the country’s possible rapprochement with the European Union. Fake videos styled as reports by Western media outlets and statements from foreign politicians are spreading on the social network X (formerly Twitter), according to the latest findings by the Antibot4Navalny project, which monitors the attacks.
The trigger topics for Matryoshka were Russia’s recent ban on imports of Armenian fruits and vegetables, as well as Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s statement that supplies would be redirected to other countries, including many in the EU. The main narrative of the disinformation operation is that Armenia has no friends except Russia.
How Russia launched a trade blackmail campaign against Armenia
Russian pressure on Armenia has intensified in recent months on the economic, political, and informational fronts. Russian agencies formally cite sanitary, phytosanitary, or technical concerns to justify the restrictions, but the measures coincide with a sharp deterioration in relations between Moscow and Yerevan, as well as Armenia’s efforts to strengthen its ties with the European Union.
Starting June 3, Rosselkhoznadzor, Russia’s agricultural watchdog, restricted imports of potatoes, eggplants, apples, pears, quince, and dried fruit from Armenia. The restrictions will remain in place until a new mechanism is developed to monitor the safety of supplies — i.e., they will remain in place indefinitely. Russian authorities had earlier imposed restrictions on other Armenian goods, including flowers, Jermuk mineral water, wine, and brandy.
Starting from May 30, Russia also restricted imports of a significant share of Armenian fruit and vegetable products. Almost immediately after the restrictions were introduced, Russia’s state-run RIA Novosti news agency published an article headlined, “Armenia will lose almost all strawberry exports if it loses the Russian market.” The article was part of a broader information campaign intended to demonstrate Armenian producers’ dependence on the Russian market and to emphasize the possible economic consequences of Yerevan’s further rapprochement with the EU.
The measures are especially painful for Armenia due to the fact that the Russian market remains one of the key destinations for Armenian exports. The bans affect not only individual companies, but entire sectors, including agriculture, alcohol, and flowers.
The new wave of pressure coincides with Armenia’s parliamentary election campaign, with voting scheduled for June 7. At the same time, Moscow has intensified its political warnings. On May 29, the leaders of Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) members Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan said Armenia must choose between continued participation in the Russian-led bloc and a path toward joining the European Union. Their statement cited risks to the economic security of EAEU countries purportedly caused by Yerevan’s European course.
Pashinyan responded by saying Armenia would continue working within the EAEU until a choice between the EU and the EAEU becomes unavoidable. He said such a decision should ultimately be made by the Armenian people in a referendum, but that it is too early to discuss one.
At the same time, Russian and Belarusian authorities began publicly warning Armenia about a “Ukrainian scenario” — a Kremlin propaganda term for what Moscow portrays as a Western-backed path from European integration to political unrest, loss of sovereignty, territorial conflict, or full-scale war. Vladimir Putin and Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko have drawn a direct parallel between Ukraine’s path toward European integration and the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, implying that Armenia’s rapprochement with the EU could lead to similarly catastrophic consequences.
One video falsely quoting Queen Mary University of London professor Philip Cowley claims that “European leaders outmaneuvered Nikol Pashinyan brilliantly by luring him in.” The video claims the Armenian prime minister expected to receive billions of euros from the EU for visa liberalization but in fact received a “mere” 2 million.
Another fake video claims Pashinyan “literally had a meltdown” after learning the size of European funding. It cites a nonexistent comment by Timur Olevsky, the head of The Insider’s newsroom, falsely attributing to him a statement that such projects should cost at least 50 million euros.
A separate series of videos focuses on Armenian exports to Europe. One claims that France’s food authority, DGAL, found unacceptable pesticide levels in Armenian fruits and vegetables and that such products supposedly cannot be sold in any EU country.
The video about strawberries appears to be the most absurd. It claims French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot was forced to deny reports that France had purchased Armenian strawberries. The video’s authors fabricated a statement in which he allegedly says that “there are no agreements in place regarding Armenian strawberry imports to France” and accuses the Armenian authorities of spreading false information.
There is no evidence that any of these quotes, statements, or reports are authentic.
What is Matryoshka?
Matryoshka is a Kremlin-linked network of bots, trolls and coordinated anonymous media resources that specializes in mass disinformation campaigns. Its signature tools are short vertical videos made to look as if they were produced by authoritative Western media outlets, universities, government agencies, and international organizations. The videos are launched simultaneously on X, Telegram, Bluesky, and in closed group chats. The network’s preferred tactic is to seize on a real news event and build a fictional narrative around it, using real names, brands, and organizations.
This is far from Matryoshka’s first attack on Armenia. As The Insider previously found, a large-scale pro-Kremlin influence campaign is unfolding ahead of the country’s parliamentary elections. In recent months, the network has spread hundreds of fake videos about Pashinyan and Armenia’s European course.
An investigation by The Insider showed that the propaganda newspaper Wyoming Star, distributed in Armenia, is backed by Alexander Ionov, a professional denunciation activist linked to the FSB. Part of the Russian information operation is coordinated by political strategist Andrei Perla of the Social Design Agency, a Kremlin contractor previously seen in disinformation campaigns in Europe, the United States, and Latin America. According to Antibot4Navalny, by early June, Matryoshka’s Armenia campaign had become the largest in the project’s history, surpassing even its operation against Moldova.
