The Share of Thieves, Pashinyan and delusional fantasies from Moscow

The theme of the bizarre musical fountain in the Armenian city of Gyumri — the one that decided to play "Thieves’ Share" — suddenly started gaining traction.

And guess what? The narrative is being pushed by pro-Russian channels, led by Armenian opposition figure Mika Badalyan, who works for Russia Today.

A mentally sound person might reasonably ask: what is there to promote in this story at all? But it turns out, with enough effort, anything can be turned into a conspiracy. The opposition is now accusing the Armenian authorities of having a "share" in the fountain — claiming it was a deliberate provocation orchestrated by the government.

Gyumri is the only city in Armenia where the mayor belongs to the opposition. The mayor himself blamed the incident on some “hackers,” but his friends in Moscow came up with a more creative version. According to them, the “share” was played from the fountain by the authorities as part of a plot to discredit the mayor and stage a mini coup in a single Armenian city.

And no, they’re not joking.

In fact, watching Armenian politics unfold is endlessly fascinating. Someday, perhaps, a medical student will study these processes, compile a clinical case study on all involved, and defend a doctoral thesis in psychiatry.