Russian State Registry Data on Narek Karapetyan’s Citizenship Edited, Factor Reports

MOSCOW — Data related to Narek Karapetyan, the top candidate of the “Strong Armenia” alliance and a member of the party’s council, has been edited in Russia’s Unified State Register of Legal Entities, Factor TV reports.

According to Factor TV, a newly obtained certificate now states that Karapetyan is a citizen of Armenia, not Russia.

The change was made late on May 20. National Assembly Speaker and Civil Contract parliamentary candidate Alen Simonyan also posted about the matter, saying the document had become unavailable at one point and was later edited.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin also addressed the issue of Karapetyan’s citizenship, stating that Karapetyan had never held Russian citizenship.

Karapetyan himself, responding to a question from a Factor TV journalist on May 20, also insisted that he has never had any citizenship other than Armenian citizenship.

“Lawyers have applied to the Russian Embassy, most likely so that a response can be provided,” he said.

No official explanation has yet been given as to why Russia’s Unified State Register of Legal Entities previously listed Karapetyan as a Russian citizen. It remains unclear whether the listing was the result of an error or negligence. Instead of providing clarification, the Russian official spoke about alleged anti-Russian disinformation efforts.