{"id":7286,"date":"2026-01-15T11:01:06","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T08:01:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/armtribunal.com\/?p=7286"},"modified":"2026-01-15T11:01:06","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T08:01:06","slug":"duh-geroev-protiv-porazhenchestva-abadzhjan-andreasjan-vs-pr-plennye-pashinjana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/armtribunal.com\/en\/2026\/01\/15\/duh-geroev-protiv-porazhenchestva-abadzhjan-andreasjan-vs-pr-plennye-pashinjana\/","title":{"rendered":"Morale of Heroes Against Defeatism: Abajyan, Andreasyan vs. Pashinyan\u2019s PR Prisoners"},"content":{"rendered":"

Morale of Heroes Against Defeatism: Abajyan, Andreasyan vs. Pashinyan\u2019s PR Prisoners<\/h3>
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Azerbaijan has handed over four prisoners to Armenia, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n

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\u201cPrisoners Gevorg Sujyan, Davit Davtyan, Viken Euljekian, and Vagif Khachatryan were handed over to the Armenian side. They were taken across the Hakari Bridge and transferred to representatives of the relevant Armenian authorities, \u201d Sputnik Armenia quoted<\/a> Pashinyan as saying.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n

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At first glance, this step is being presented as a humanitarian gesture. However, viewing it solely through that lens means ignoring its political subtext. This was not merely an exchange or a handover of prisoners, but an attempt to embed the event into the authorities\u2019 election campaign. The parliamentary elections of 2026 are already shaping the behavior of Pashinyan\u2019s team, and every such episode is used to demonstrate the \u201ceffectiveness\u201d of his political course.<\/p>\n

Another, even more obvious aspect also deserves attention: the release of prisoners objectively works in favor of Pashinyan\u2019s domestic approval ratings, which aligns with Baku\u2019s interests. Therefore, Azerbaijan\u2019s move should be seen not only as a gesture of goodwill, but also as direct support by Ilham Aliyev for the incumbent prime minister\u2019s election campaign. Pashinyan is a convenient partner - one who consistently convinces his own population that there is no alternative to his political path, presenting all concessions as the price of \u201cpeace.\u201d<\/p>\n

These days, Pashinyan is bending over backwards to persuade the public that, within the framework of the so-called \u201cpeace agenda\u201d with Azerbaijan, there is no alternative to his continued rule. Any opposition force is labeled \u201crevanchist,\u201d any criticism is framed as a threat to peace, and any concession is presented as the only possible choice. Within this logic, the return of prisoners appears less as an act of justice and more as a tool of political legitimization woven into election campaign narratives.<\/p>\n

The current developments should be viewed precisely in this context. Particularly illustrative is the contrast between the images the authorities are actively promoting today and those they prefer to erase from the collective memory.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n

Between Robert Abajyan, Taron Andreasyan, and the Return of Prisoners: How the Government Cultivates Defeatism<\/h3>
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Every nation\u2019s history contains moments that become moral watersheds. For Armenia, the war itself appeared to be such a moment. Yet an even greater watershed proved to be the way the authorities learned to speak about war, defeat, and dignity. The language used by those in power shapes not only collective emotions, but also the boundaries of what is considered permissible to think. More and more often, these boundaries are constructed within the logic of capitulation.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n

The image of Robert Abajyan is not merely an episode from the Four-Day War of 2016; it is a testament to Armenian morale. A young soldier who found himself surrounded by the enemy made a choice not between life and death, but between dignity and humiliation. He did not surrender. He did not allow himself to become an object of someone else\u2019s will or cameras. He detonated a grenade, taking enemy lives with him. This act was not a cult of death, but an extreme assertion of freedom: you may defeat me physically, but you will never break me morally.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n

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After the defeat in the 44-Day War of 2020, amid deliberately cultivated apathy and fear - when Armenian society was methodically accustomed to the idea of inevitable humiliation - in September 2022, the public saw video footage that could not be fitted into the general narrative of defeat. An Armenian soldier rejected an Azerbaijani officer\u2019s offer to surrender and fought alone until the very end. His name was Taron Andreasyan.<\/p>\n