\u201cAs the topic of relocated people is widely discussed, I often \u2014 and with sadness \u2014 think about a completely different \u2018relocant,\u2019 Ruben Vardanyan.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
A man who actually stuck his head into the inferno out of patriotism. He acted like a true patriot, not remotely (as you probably know, he was born in Yerevan). If the \u201cRussian oligarchs\u201d behaved like this instead of scuttling along the Moscow \u2014 London \u2014 Tel Aviv \u2014 Moscow route like rats, they would be seen in a different light. And for this patriotic act, for staying with his people to the end, Vardanyan is paying the price \u2014 he \u201cdrinks tea in jail,\u201d as the Azerbaijani side puts it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
That being said, I\u2019m not quite sure what the accusations are. He did not fight with Azerbaijan, did not command any armies, he wasn\u2019t at the root of the movement. He was a \u201cseparatist\u201d, probably just like any other Armenian, except maybe Pashinyan. He wasn\u2019t involved in the events from the 90s, which Azerbaijanis recall with pain.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Vardanyan came to Karabakh after the 2020 war with one goal in mind \u2014 to somehow improve the people\u2019s lives in terms of economics and infrastructure. He was a state minister for three months, and it would be quite odd to take revenge for this alone. Of course, maybe they just expect a \u201cransom\u201d from him, but even this is ludicrous for the early 21st century.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Formally, one would think that Russia doesn\u2019t need to stand up for Vardanyan. He renounced his Russian citizenship. However, his move was a gesture of loyalty to Russia \u2014 if a Russian citizen had taken an official post in the Artsakh government, this would have been a real issue. So renouncing citizenship was actually a very loyal act toward Russia.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Since the Karabakh situation was clearly played \u201cwith four hands,\u201d perhaps this is the real reason why both Armenian and Azerbaijani authorities are clearly in no hurry to push for his release.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
I don\u2019t know how much we can do now, even at the highest level. But we must do something. We must not forget Vardanyan. Now is the situation to do good without harming anyone.\u201d<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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