Coup Atlas Research Database
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37109182024ConspiracyDissident coup

Armenia, 2024 — dissident coup conspiracy

Armenia (ARM)Western Asia, AsiaSeptember 18, 2024

Event Summary

This entry is coded 18 September 2024, corresponding to the 2024 Armenian coup attempt allegations. On 18 September 2024 the government of Armenia announced that the National Security Service (NSS) had thwarted a coup attempt by Armenians armed, trained, and financed by the Russian Federation. According to the Investigative Committee, recruits were offered monthly payments to travel to Russia, subjected to polygraph tests, and sent to a base near Rostov-on-Don associated with the Arbat battalion, an ethnically Armenian militia that had fought for Russia in Ukraine and been blessed by the Armenian Apostolic Church.

The plotters were told the purpose was to violently topple the government of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and install a pro-Russian one; the plot fell apart when several members refused and informed law enforcement. Three suspects were arrested and four were sought, including Serob Gasparyan, leader of the Sev Hovaz (Black Panther) militia and a critic of Pashinyan. Russia labelled the allegation fake, and Armenian officials did not present substantiating evidence.

The affair unfolded amid Armenia's pivot to the West and freezing of its participation in the Russian-led CSTO. The 18 September 2024 coding matches the announcement.

Researched Details

Researched

Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.

Target identified in Coup Atlas research: Pashinyan's NSS said it foiled the Russian-backed plot
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan (target)
Sev Hovaz militia leader Serob Gasparyan
the Arbat battalion (Russia-linked ethnic-Armenian militia)

Sources

On 18 September 2024 the Government of Armenia announced that the National Security Service had thwarted a coup attempt by Armenian Russophiles armed, trained, and financed by the Russian Federation.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia: 2024 Armenian coup attempt allegations open source ↗
Recruits were sent to the Arbat military base in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, an ethnically Armenian militia mostly of Armenians in Russia that had been blessed by the Armenian Apostolic Church to fight in Ukraine for Russia, and the plot fell apart when several members refused to take part and informed law enforcement.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia: 2024 Armenian coup attempt allegations open source ↗
Armenian law enforcement announced on 18 September that they had broken up a Russian-sponsored effort to foment an uprising aimed at overthrowing Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's government and installing a more Kremlin-friendly leadership, with three individuals in custody and four other suspects sought.
SOURCE REVIEWED Eurasianet: Armenia breaks up alleged Russian-inspired coup attempt open source ↗
One of the arrested plotters was Serob Gasparyan, leader of the Sev Hovaz militia and a noted critic of the Pashinyan government, and Russian officials as well as Gasparyan denied the allegations, with Moscow calling them fake.
SOURCE REVIEWED Eurasianet: Who's faking who? Armenia asserts Russia was behind coup attempt open source ↗

Editorial Note

Coded 18 Sep 2024 matches the announcement exactly. Verified as the September 2024 Armenia coup allegations (Russia-backed Arbat/Sev Hovaz plot); Russia and the accused denied it. Second Armenia record in the run (after Sep 2023).

Cross-Reference

Only one dataset carries it. One of the three reference datasets we check against carries this event; the others do not list it. That is not a contradiction — the datasets cover different periods and use different thresholds — but it means the record has had less outside corroboration.

Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:

Cline Center id
37109182024

How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.

Outcome and Target

Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Pashinyan's NSS said it foiled the Russian-backed plot.

Baseline coding: Plot discovered and disrupted before execution. Recorded leader fate: remained in office; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.

Baseline Dataset Citation

Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset, v2.2.2
Peyton, Buddy, Joseph Bajjalieh, Michael Martin, and Andrea Gerald. 2026. Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset. Cline Center for Advanced Social Research. V.2.2.2. February 17. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. doi: 10.13012/B2IDB-9651987_V10
⚑ This citation establishes the coded baseline record; use the claim-level sources above for the researched narrative.

Baseline Source-Document Entries

Eurasianet

“Armenia Breaks Up Alleged Russian-inspired Coup Attempt,” September 19, 2024

Hurriyet Daily News

“Armenia Says it Foiled Alleged Coup Attempt,” September 19, 2024

Newsweek

“Russia’s ‘Coup’ Dispute With Neighbor Heats Up,” September 20, 2024

Politico

“Russia Tried To Stage Coup in Armenia, Prosecutors Allege,” September 18, 2024

Wikipedia

This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →

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