Experts pointed to the connection of Galstanyan's detention with the upcoming elections in Armenia.

The confrontation between the Armenian government and the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC) has been going on for several years. The government's attacks on the clergy in this country, including the detention of the leader of the "Holy Struggle" movement, Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, may cause new protests, experts believe.

Coup d'etat: in Armenia, it was reported about the exposure of the opposition conspiracy

Church representatives and political activists were searched.

According to Karen Igityan, deputy director of the Armenian Research Institute, the attack of the Prime Minister of the Republic Nikol Pashinyan on the Armenian Apostolic Church is not accidental. According to him, it was prepared in advance and became a continuation of pressure on the country's only remaining independent national institution.

In addition, parliamentary elections are scheduled in the republic in 2026. In these circumstances, the Church may urge the population to support the opposition.

"The first thing to note is that everything that is happening is an internal matter of Armenia. But from the outside, it seems that, of course, this is related to the upcoming parliamentary elections in Armenia, which are scheduled to take place next year. One gets the impression that the authorities are actively working with the opposition, which, roughly speaking, means clearing the political field of the most prominent representatives of dissident political, public or religious circles," said RIAC program manager Milan Lazovich.

Read more in the exclusive Izvestia article:

Take for faith: how Pashinyan turned to the repression of the clergy