Russia has few allies among its former territories. Of the former Soviet states, very few remain on good terms with the Federation. Armenia is one of those few, and it is notable for being the only democracy to unilaterally side with Russia over the West. However, it can be argued that Armenia’s ties to Russia are born out of necessity. Azerbaijan, a close ally of Turkiye and a tense but definitive ally of the West, currently controls the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, an area that is home to a large number of ethnic Armenians. Nagorno-Karabakh has traded hands throughout the years but was assigned to the Azerbaijan SSR under the Soviet Union. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the independent state of Azerbaijan continued to claim the region. Armenia and Azerbaijan have clashed repeatedly over the region, most recently (and notably) in 2020. During the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, both sides committed repeated war crimes against one another and repeatedly abused prisoners of war. Post-war skirmishes continued intermittently until year’s end. Further complicating matters is the fact that Nagorno-Karabakh is surrounded on all sides by area populated primarily by ethnic Azeris. Often the cause of tensions were Azeri incursions on the Lachin Corridor, a road connecting Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh set up by Russian peacekeepers after the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War. Armenia’s status as a Russian-allied democracy is unique and Armenia’s ties to the borderline pariah state will have interesting implications for the future.