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“In the last decade Ruben Vardanyan has stepped away from business and has been involved in philanthropy. His humanitarian projects are still working in many countries, including Russia. Vardanyan was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for preventing a humanitarian catastrophe in NKR. And for the fact that in times of crisis he sincerely wanted to help his people looks at least plausible. Some will find this position naive, but I believe that there are still enough ideological people in the world. Vardanyan is definitely one of them. He was the only wealthy Armenian who responded to my call to save Karabakh. He abandoned everything and came there. Hero. Freedom to Ruben!”

“Armenian-born Ruben Vardanyan has lived in Russia for a long time and has done a lot for our country. In recent years, he moved away from business and concentrated on charitable activities: the philanthropist developed humanitarian initiatives and, in fact, founded the Institute of Social Entrepreneurship in the Russian Federation.

His renunciation of Russian citizenship and his relocation to NKR caused perplexity to many. Although Vardanyan himself did not hide the reasons. His sole purpose was to help the people of NKR survive the war and blockade. And do it from the perspective not of an outsider, but of an insider.

Even after his departure, the philanthropist continued to participate in Russian projects and in fact remained a member of the society of Russia. Therefore, today his fate deserves at least the attention of the Russian authorities. And as a maximum – active participation at least in the form of publicity”.

“I like Ruben Vardanyan very much for a number of reasons. First of all, everything is clear to me, what a person does in life, his values, his deeds. But what brings me closest to Ruben is his philanthropy and his desire to spend his energies and funds for the development of our society in Russia, as well as in his homeland in Armenia. I know of very few such examples. Ruben is now going through a difficult and dangerous journey, I really hope these sacrifices are not in vain. I believe that he can make it. We look forward to seeing you and many more good and helpful things to come! God save you!”

“Ruben Vardanyan has proven himself to be an unabashed supporter of peace not only in our region, but also in the entire world. He is a world-renowned philanthropist, businessman and co-founder of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative, which supports peace making, education and medical care for people around the world”.

“A man who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for helping people during the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan remains in custody. Vardanyan prevented a humanitarian catastrophe in Karabakh by organizing many social projects in the region supporting the peaceful population.

Vardanyan’s letter, read by his wife at the Aurora award ceremony (Vardanyan is one of its founders), says: “I have decided to be together with those who need help and help them in any way I can. I’ve been completely isolated from the outside world for eight months now, and I have a lot of time to think. And I do not regret my choice at all”.

“Thousands of Armenians spoke about their readiness to stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Karabakh, but only a few did it. This is not a stone in the garden of those who did not move – most of them helped, supported and did what they could. Thank you. But Vardanyan came there. And stayed. It is hard to imagine that a financial grandmaster, who is able to calculate everything several steps ahead, did not consider a failure. He knew for sure where and why (and with whom) he was going. He took a risk, realizing that even if he wins, he will have to wait for champagne for a long time. To hell with champagne and black caviar, when in Stepanakert you live in a blockade: there is no light, no heat, no bread, no help either. Yerevan is somewhere far away, Moscow is even farther away. And here comes the special forces, all in black, handcuffs on hands, head in the floor, one hundred and twenty thousand Karabakh people have to go to Armenia, Vardanyan and several other NKR officials – to sunny Baku. Yerevan is “gracefully” silent. The public response oscilloscope is serenely calm, no spikes. What is happening with us Armenians? Or already happened?!”

“A couple of weeks ago I traveled again to my beloved Armenia with my son. We familiarized ourselves with the school in Dilijan, founded by Vardanyan, because it is the place where Misha would like to study (though it would not hurt to enroll there first). And there, in that school in Dilijan, I thought how cool it is when a person is far-sighted enough to create an international school on the territory of poor, half-destroyed Armenia. Students from all over the world come to this international school to get to know and love Armenia and Armenians, to soak in this culture, warmth and hospitality, and then return back to Uruguay, Brazil, Australia, Denmark, Russia, Ukraine, Portugal, Egypt, Zimbabwe. Yes, believe it or not, there are students from all these countries studying in Dilijan and telling people about small, wonderful, sunny Armenia. This is how Ruben decided to popularize his country.

I also learned that in recent months he has found money to pay tuition in Dilijan for a dozen refugee children from Nagorno-Karabakh. Probably, if I had a seven-flowered flower today, I would spend one petal on returning freedom to Ruben Vardanyan”.

“In Russia, it is Ruben Vardanyan who is credited with creating the institute of social entrepreneurship. His charitable initiatives are known not only in Russia and Armenia, but all over the world. For example, one of Vardanyan’s projects in Russia is Philin Philgood, a service for professional philanthropy, which has won over 25 major industry awards. Since 2014, the company has helped a hundred Russian charitable foundations and NGOs to solve social problems. In addition, the philanthropist has donated large sums to the Dr. Lisa Foundation and consulted on management issues for other foundations, including “Gift of Life”.

In September 2022, Vardanyan moved to Nagorno-Karabakh, where he agreed to take the post of state minister of the unrecognized republic. However, he only stayed in this position for a few months. But while in public office, he continued his humanitarian work and was active in helping the locals. The territorial development agency “We are our Mountains” founded by him did everything to alleviate the hardships of war time and blockade for the Artsakh people”.

“Ruben Vardanyan is a graduate of Moscow State University, a talented businessman, and has been among the top richest people in Russia since 2011. At different times he has served on the boards of directors of major companies. He spent a lot of energy and money on charity and paid a lot of attention to helping Armenia.

A man who had everything in life risked everything for his beliefs.

Vardanyan’s appearance in the republic [Artsakh] has become an international news flashpoint: history knows few examples of billionaires exchanging their comfortable lives for an adventurous position in an unrecognized republic at war.

A unique oligarch of the entire post-Soviet space: having amassed a billion-dollar fortune, he did not have luxury yachts and huge houses, but went where he was in real danger. He didn’t leave until the very last. He stayed with the people. Unfortunately, our military was unable to prevent his arrest”.

“He is a peacemaker, a man of formidable scope and vision, amazing loyalty, kindness and generosity. All of Ruben’s activities have always been of a constructive creative nature. And of course, with this kind of activity by Ruben, the situation [Varadyan’s arrest] is not just absurd – it’s upsetting. As for the decision of the Nobel Committee [to nominate Ruben Vardanyan for the Nobel Peace Prize], it is absolutely deserved, thoughtful”.

“Vardanyan was one of the most famous figures of Artsakh and knew no fear. He was brave and spoke honestly. And this is always a big threat to genocidal regimes because they operate on the basis of propaganda rather than truth. Vardanyan spoke a harsh truth for Azerbaijan: the Artsakh people have the right to self-determination, which is accepted and must be recognized by international law. Moreover, Ruben Vardanyan has a global reputation in the field of humanitarian activities, he is respected at the global level”.

“Wherever and however many times I was there [in Armenia], I kept coming across stories about Vardanyan: ‘Have you been to Dilijan?’ Have you seen what international school Vardanyan has opened there?’ or ‘We are sitting in a restaurant, celebrating! They received the Aurora Prize, which Vardanyan established’. Vardanyan spent all his time in Stepanakert for the last couple of years and spent countless amounts of his own money to feed, treat, and support people who were soon to leave their homes and become refugees. In my opinion, at some point it became obvious to the whole world that the exodus of Armenians from these territories was inevitable, that there would be thousands of refugees. Vardanyan thought so too. But he stayed there with his people in a totally desperate situation and continued to help. Ruben Vardanyan is an incredible romantic, a man of donkikhot nobility, the pride of Armenians all over the world and, I think, the great pride of all mankind. And now, having committed no crime, Vardanyan sits in prison in Azerbaijan and is accused of financing terrorism, creating and participating in the activities of illegal armed groups. The fact that the world has gone mad is no news to anyone, but I keep thinking it’s treatable…”

“Ruben Vardanyan deliberately invested money in solving acute social problems, developing education, and supporting the preservation of cultural values. His projects include, for example, Philin Philgood, a company that facilitates the work of dozens of Russian charitable foundations and other NPOs. Vardanyan continued to be engaged in charity even in the post of the State Minister of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, as for him the people he tried to help were always at the top of the list. Let’s hope that Baku will hear the voice of reason and agree with the calls for liberation, which are sounding louder and louder”.

“He was a philanthropist and humanitarian of international stature and is known for the decades of work he did with his family, done regardless of who the charitable programs were aimed at. The beneficiaries of his charitable programs have been from different nations and religions. We hoped that the Azerbaijani state should not have qualified Ruben Vardanyan as it happened. This was a big blow to the global humanitarian community. For this reason, this action has displeased all those concerned with humanity and human rights”.

“In his short term as the state minister [of Artsakh], Vardanyan had little time to accomplish anything. In all his interviews and statements he was tactful, not belligerent, did not promote any ideas of revanchism and spoke about Karabakh more from the point of view of the need to protect its Armenian population and heritage. I came to Stepanakert for the last time when Vardanyan had just been appointed. This was just weeks before the blockade and the closure of the Lachin corridor. Karabakh people have always been mistrustful of the aliens, and after losing the war they were even more withdrawn and gloomy. The last 40 years have taught them that people from the outside will turn out to be temporary at best, and at worst will abandon them at the worst possible moment, like the Soviet internal troops, like the Russian peacekeepers. Vardanyan’s arrival in Karabakh was viewed philosophically: “It can’t get any worse, but maybe he will succeed. And in those circumstances, as a state minister, nothing was expected of him. But Vardanyan made a breakthrough elsewhere. Probably never during the entire existence of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic has any Karabakh politician – president or commander – been quoted by the world press as often as Vardanyan. He was a world-renowned speaker of a tiny region lost on the map. Apparently, this is what determined his place in Baku’s “black list”.

“He [Vardanyan] launched a lot of social and charitable projects. I’m telling a story he told himself. When his picture appeared on the cover of Forbes magazine, that’s when he and his wife [Veronica Zonabend] decided it was time to talk to their son, he was 14 years old. They sat him down across from them and said, “You see, we’re not leaving you this money. Because there are so many projects to do. That’s where we’re going to spend the money”. To which their son said an extremely clever line, “I get it. Just don’t leave me debts”.

“For the people of Karabakh, Ruben Vardanyan is not just an official who held the post of state minister for some time, but a man whose devotion to his people was never doubted. During the worst times of the blockade, he saved from hunger those who could not survive on their own. He opened a free canteen and replenished the food reserve of the region. He organized cultural centers. He supported the elderly and children. The Azerbaijani authorities declared him a criminal for this activity and detained him on September 27 last year. It is not clear why Azerbaijan is stalling and for what geopolitical purposes it plans to use Vardanyan’s arrest. In any case, the most advantageous position now for the image of Aliyev and Azerbaijan is to pardon the former state minister. It will play much better for the country’s reputation on the world arena”.