“Vardanyan helped to work Russian charitable foundations and NGOs to work, financially supported dozens of humanitarian initiatives, invested in the development of Moscow State University and other higher education institutions. And all this whole time he did not forget about his Armenian origins and was concerned about the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh.

In 2022, concern for the fate of his compatriots took over: Vardanyan left for the Nagorno-Karabakh, where devastation prevailed and military operations almost never ceased. And in order to avoid being perceived in the region as a Kremlin stooge, he had to renounce his Russian citizenship.

Apart from the immediate assistance to local residents – from organizing a free canteen to solving housing problems – the philanthropist held the post of State Minister of the unrecognized Republic for about three months. As we can see, this appointment later turned into a disaster for him. Since his arrest, Vardanyan has spent more than a year behind bars, and the trial has still not held.”