April 14, 2026 - AFPC Junior Fellow Alexander JP Lutz interviewed on a podcast with the Turan Research Center. [link]
Description: For most of modern Armenia’s history, the Armenian Apostolic Church was seen as a guardian of national identity. But in 2026, it has become something else as well: one of the most powerful institutional levers Moscow still has inside the South Caucasus. As Armenia moves toward a pivotal June election, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is facing pressure from every direction — the Kremlin, pro-Russian oligarchic networks, senior clergy, and foreign actors determined to stop Armenia from moving further away from Moscow’s orbit. At the center of this struggle is a 1,700-year-old church whose spiritual authority, Soviet-era intelligence legacies, and political reach now sit at the heart of one of the region’s most consequential geopolitical battles. This video breaks down how Russia has used religious institutions across the post-Soviet space, why the Armenian Church has become such a critical battleground, how oligarchic money and clerical activism are shaping Armenia’s domestic politics, and why the outcome could determine not just Armenia’s future, but the balance of power across the South Caucasus. Featuring exclusive interviews with Turan Research Center Senior Fellow Alex Grinberg, Political Scientist Rafael Sattarov, and American Foreign Policy Center Junior Fellow Alex JP Lutz. Based on an analysis by Alex Grinberg, Senior Fellow at the Turan Research Center. �� Read the full Turan Research Center analysis: https://www.turancenter.org/analysis/...