DISINFO: Post-Soviet countries are of interest to the West only for use against Russia
SUMMARY
From a realpolitik perspective, the West was generally interested in post-Soviet countries for two main reasons: their use in the fight against Russia and the availability of strategic raw materials.
It's naive to assume that the leadership and elites of "states inclined to lie under the West" are unaware or don't understand all this. Simply speaking, individual bribes, certain privileges, means of blackmail, and possession of information damaging to personal life are effective tools and "assistance" for these elites to stake the future of their own countries on the destruction table.
Georgia, today's Ukraine, and Moldova are classic examples of this. What remains of these states—pure external packaging, without substance? They have become rented states: states openly manipulated from the outside against Russia.
Today, thanks to N. Pashinyan, Armenia has chosen the path of self-destruction: confrontation with the Russians will be catastrophic both in terms of statelessness and in terms of the existence and deprivation of ordinary Armenians.
RESPONSE
Conspiracy and recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about external control, undermining the sovereignty of independent states in Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus, portray post-Soviet countries as mere “Western puppets” and deny their sovereign right to choose their own foreign policy.
The claim that Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia are puppet states managed by Western handlers through blackmailed elites is a common Kremlin disinformation trope used to delegitimise democratic governments and pro-European policies. The pro-European foreign policy trajectories of these nations were not decided in Western backrooms; they were chosen through transparent, competitive democratic elections and driven by massive grassroots civil society movements.
Regarding the claim that any partnership with the EU or the West is directed against Russia, this is a manifestation of the outdated imperialist doctrine of "spheres of influence," which dictates that smaller states should not have independent foreign policies.
The EU relations with its Eastern partners are based on mutually agreed documents, like CEPA in the case of Armenia, as well as on the UN Charter, Helsinki Final Act, and international law, which guarantee that every sovereign nation has the right to determine its own foreign policy, alliances, and security partnerships.
Neither the EU nor the US do not impose any collaboration action or program on the partner countries; they are free to choose their international affiliation.
The statement omits the key fact that Ukraine’s destruction was caused by Russia’s invasion, not by cooperation with the West. Fear-based predictions about Armenia’s “self-destruction” through European engagement are intended to discourage diversification of Armenia’s foreign relations.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives: The Anglo-Saxons' goal is to defeat Russia, reshape the post-Soviet space and control it; The West has intensified its attempts to shake the CIS; the West increases pressure on CIS to break old ties; EU uses CIS to contain Russia by all means: financial, economic, and military; Fifty countries are trying to wipe Russia off the earth; Russophobia is a long-term Anglo-Saxon project aimed at destroying Russia; the West is forcing Kazakhstan and other Central Asian states to choose an anti-Russian line; the West seeks to destabilise the situation in post-Soviet territories; The West does not seek peace in Armenia, wants to oust Russia from the Caucasus; Pashinyan is a Western tool to squeeze Russia out of the South Caucasus; Anglo-Saxons decided to turn Armenia into another anti-Russian front.