DISINFO: The West aims to incite a conflict between Russia and the Caucasus

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about an allegedly aggressive West playing a destabilising role in the Caucasus, attempting to destabilise post-Soviet countries, encircle and isolate Russia.

The claim was made in the context of rising tensions between Azerbaijan and Russia.

Pro-Kremlin outlets frequently promote the idea that the Caucasus is exclusively within Russia's zone of geopolitical dominance and attempt to discredit any other cooperation between Western countries and Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. This is an attempt to deny these countries their right to decide for themselves the political orientation.

Relations between Russia and Azerbaijan were strained in late June 2025 following the deaths of two ethnic Azerbaijani men during police raids in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg.

Yerevan has been seeking to reduce its dependence on Russia and exploring closer ties with the EU. The bill, signed into law by the Armenian President on April 4, 2025, formally declares Armenia's intention to begin the process of becoming an EU member. Russia has cautioned Yerevan that the West is trying to drive a wedge between Armenia and Russia. However, Prime Minister Pashinyan has publicly stated that Armenia does not intend to sever ties with Moscow. In recent months, there have been signs that the two sides want to diminish the existing tensions.

Since the launch of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, pro-Kremlin outlets actively deployed groundless disinformation narratives that the US, the EU, or even Ukraine are aiming to change power in Georgia and drag the country into the war with Russia, to open a ‘second front’ against Moscow and to ease the situation for Kyiv on the Ukrainian front.

Moreover, pro-Kremlin outlets have been warning for a long time of an upcoming ‘colour revolution’ in Georgia in order to pre-emptively shape the information space ahead of what were foreseeable and likely protests against the ruling party, already shaken by previous massive demonstrations against the so-called ‘Foreign Agents Law’. The topic was covered in detail in our analysis.

The article provides no evidence to support the claim that any of the numerous and disparate events happening in these countries have the ultimate goal of targeting Russia.

These events indeed stem from internal political, social, or economic challenges unique to each country. Claiming that they are coordinated as part of a singular anti-Russian operation reveals a worldview rooted in extreme self-centrism. According to this narrative, no political activity in Russia’s neighbourhood can be organic or legitimate unless it aligns with the Kremlin interests.

Moreover, this narrative erases the agency of millions of people in these countries who are engaging in democratic protests, institutional reform, or national debate. It infantilises entire societies by suggesting they are incapable of independent action and must therefore be puppets of hostile Western forces.

Read similar disinformation cases claiming that Political developments in post-Soviet states are foreign plots against Russia, that Some forces in Europe are seeking to destroy Russia's relations with Armenia and Azerbaijan, that Anglo-Saxons might be undermining Russia’s relations with Armenia and Azerbaijan, that Armenia’s Ukrainization ongoing through biolabs, NGOs and submission to West, that The Georgian government has been forced to open a “second front”, that The main goal of the West is to destabilise the Caucasus and create new hotbeds of tension, that NATO is creating military and political tension in South Caucasus, or that West seeks to turn the South Caucasus into an arena of geopolitical confrontation.