“Ruben Vardanyan lived and worked in Russia for many years, was engaged in charity work here and supported dozens of humanitarian projects. 11 months ago, Azerbaijani security forces seized the philanthropist while he was trying to enter Armenia from Artsakh and sent him to a pre-trial detention center on spurious charges. Armenia’s reaction (although, rather, its absence) is also surprising: it is as if official Yerevan does not notice the man who supported Armenians in NKR materially and morally during a difficult period for this country. During these 11 months, Armenia has not stood up for the social entrepreneur and has not actively supported him.

A logical question arises: why does not Russia stand up for the philanthropist in distress? Yes, it would be reasonable to remind Vardanyan that he once renounced his Russian citizenship. But this act had an important reason: the social entrepreneur gave up his Russian passport before moving to Artsakh in the midst of the military conflict. He did not want to involve Moscow in an already difficult situation.

The fact that his Russian educational and humanitarian projects continue to operate in our country also speaks in favor of the fact that Vardanyan did not sever ties with the Russian Federation. Despite the fact that their author and ideologist has already been in Baku’s prison for 11 months.

I am convinced that Vardanyan’s visionary and entrepreneurial talents could now be successfully used to normalize various conflicts and build strong interstate relations”.