Analyst: Ararat Mirzoyan publicly admitted cooperation with NSS, yet remains in office

A recent disclosure regarding the alleged Soviet-era intelligence ties of Catholicos Karekin II’s brother has raised concerns over the politicization of historical documents and potential threats to national security, political analyst Suren Surenyants said.

Civic.am, a news outlet affiliated with the ruling Civil Contract party, published a document obtained from the National Security Service (NSS), claiming that Archbishop Yezras Nersisyan, the brother of the Armenian church leader, was recruited by the Soviet KGB in the 1980s.

“At first glance, this may appear as a revelation of ‘dark pages’ from the past. However, the political, legal and institutional context suggests a targeted political application, if not a vendetta against specific individuals and institutions,” Surenyants wrote on Telegram on Saturday.

He noted that the timing of the publication coincides with escalated tensions between the government and the Armenian Apostolic Church, arguing that the document’s release cannot be considered coincidental.

Surenyants emphasized that even if the document’s authenticity is accepted, “the collaboration of a Soviet citizen with the KGB in 1986 cannot legally be considered a crime. Under the totalitarian system of the time, such behavior was not only legal but often compelled.”

He further highlighted a perceived double standard: “It is also striking that one of the current government’s top officials, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, publicly admitted to cooperating with the NSS, and yet continues to hold office without any political or moral consequences. This clearly shows that the issue is not about reckoning with the past but about selectively targeting certain individuals and institutions.”

Surenyants warned that politically motivated disclosures of intelligence cooperation risk undermining public trust in the NSS. “The most serious consequence concerns the NSS as a state institution. Revealing alleged agents or collaborators for political expediency damages the credibility and effectiveness of the service. Any citizen may hesitate to cooperate, fearing political reprisals in the future.”

He contrasted this selective targeting with the lustration processes applied in Eastern European countries, which were comprehensive and legally regulated to free society from systemic influences of totalitarian regimes. “Here, the action is local, selective and politically motivated,” he said.

“This so-called revelation serves neither historical justice nor public interest. It is a political instrument aimed at increasing pressure on the Armenian Apostolic Church, discrediting independent institutions and drawing security agencies into internal political calculations. This approach is dangerous not only for the Church but for the state itself,” the analyst concluded.