From October 9 to 11, 2020, “Media Advocate” initiative monitored the publications of 5 leading Russian media outlets to find out how the Russian media covered the actions unleashed by Azerbaijan. The following media outlets were monitored: “Lenta ru”, “Gazeta ru”, “Ria Novosti”, “Regnum”, and “TASS”.
“Lenta.ru” published 52 articles, 18 of which were the publications of the Azerbaijani side, 12 of the Armenian side, 22 were calls, statements of different countries and structures, as well as comments of state officials and experts. 16 out of 22 materials are neutral, 3 are pro-Armenian, 3 are pro-Azerbaijani.
“Gazeta ru” published 103 articles, 32 of which were the publications of the Azerbaijani side, 36 of the Armenian side, 35 were calls, statements of different countries and structures, as well as comments of state officials and experts. 30 out of 35 materials are neutral, 2 are pro-Armenian, 3 are pro-Azerbaijani.
“Ria Novosti” published 178 articles, 48 of which were the publications of the Azerbaijani side, 76 of the Armenian side, were calls, statements of different countries and structures, as well as comments of state officials and experts. 48 out of 54 materials are neutral, 2 are pro-Armenian, 4 are pro-Azerbaijani.
“TASS” published 138 articles, 37 of which were the publications of the Azerbaijani side, 46 of the Armenian side, 55 were calls, statements of different countries and structures, as well as comments of state officials and experts. 45 out of 55 materials are neutral, 2 are pro-Armenian, 8 are pro-Azerbaijani.
“Regnum” published 95 articles, 26 of which were the publications of the Azerbaijani side, 27 of the Armenian side, 42 were calls, statements of different countries and structures, as well as comments of state officials and experts. 41 out of 42 materials are neutral, none is pro-Armenian, 1 is pro-Azerbaijani.
Russian media covered the Stepanakert bombings. It is mentioned that residential houses were destroyed, many citizens lost their homes. The Russian media once again states that the Azerbaijani side has targeted the peaceful civilian population. It is mentioned that many of the residents of Artsakh refused to leave Artsakh.
The President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev stated that the Azerbaijani side had captured the city of Hadrut. Minutes after that announcement, Alexander Kots, a special correspondent for the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper, posted a picture of Hadrut on his telegram channel, in which he is with the author of the WarGonzo project, Semyon Pegov. He captioned the picture as follows: “Who conquered Handrut?” This picture, in fact, refutes Aliyev’s statement. This is reflected in the Russian press as well.
The Russian media continues to follow the movement of terrorists brought to the Artsakh border and publishes facts regarding it. This time the Russian media wrote that 400 terrorists were brought from Syria to fight against Artsakh.
The statement of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, according to which the intervention of third countries on the Artsakh issue is not in the interests of regional stability, was also published in the Russian media.
