Armenia among top-10 friendly nations with Russia - NIIRC

ArmInfo.Armenia has entered the top 10 countries friendly to Russia, according to the  National Research Institute for the Development of Communications (NIIRC, Russia), which presented the Friendliness Rating of Communication Regimes in Post-Soviet Countries.

"Ten countries entered the friendly group: South Ossetia, Abkhazia,  Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Armenia,  Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan.

Five countries retained their unfriendly status: Moldova, Lithuania,  Latvia, Estonia, and Ukraine. One country, Georgia, remained  'conditionally friendly/conditionally unfriendly.' It is noted that  the friendliness score increased in nine countries, while it  decreased in eight," according to the Institute's analysis.

The key points of the report: communication regimes are becoming  subsystems of political governance, defining the rules of access to  public information and meanings. It is noted that "friendliness" is  becoming a tool of power, rather than an emotional characteristic.  "Rules and procedures are more important than rhetoric: symbolic  friendship does not compensate for the limitations of language,  media, and institutions.  Multi-vectorism is becoming the norm:  European, Turkish, and Chinese tracks are strengthening.

In unfriendly countries, communications are securitized and become  part of national security.

The Russian language remains, but its presence is declining; in  unfriendly countries, it is used as a tool for political struggle.

No country has succeeded in completely ousting Russia from the  communications space," the report states.

At the same time, the importance of this monitoring of communications  regimes is emphasized, as it is a tool that allows Russia to see the  real picture, not just a political window dressing. It shows where  its channels of interaction are functioning, and where barriers and  restrictions are emerging; which ties remain stable, and which are  under threat, from humanitarian and educational to media; and where  the risks of fragmentation, loss of trust, and growing internal rifts  are increasing. This study enables the flexible adaptation of foreign  policy to the demands of societies in the region; the more precise  selection of instruments of interaction, from alliance formats to  targeted pragmatic communications; and the avoidance of strategic  mistakes in the face of growing competition for meaning and  influence.

For countries in the region, this is a diagnostic of their own  decisions: how the media environment is changing; how open or closed  is the humanitarian space; and whether early signs of internal schism  are emerging. It helps national governments understand the  consequences of their policies and adjust them before problems become  irreversible.