Azerbaijan resolute to mete out justice against separatist Vardanyan
Who and why advocating for Ruben Vardanyan?

ANALYTICS  04 October 2023 - 17:55

This is a very remarkable story. It makes sense to start talking about it from the moment when its main character received what he deserved, but which he clearly did not expect. So, on September 27, that is, on the third anniversary of the start of the 44-day war, as a result of which Azerbaijan has restored its territorial integrity and forced Armenia to surrender, a significant event occurred. Thanks to the vigilance of servicemen of the Azerbaijani State Border Service, Ruben Vardanyan, born in 1968, was detained, who illegally entered the country and “worked” as the so-called “state minister of the NKR”.

He was detained at the Lachin checkpoint while trying to escape from Azerbaijan to Armenia. Vardanyan was taken to Baku accompanied by members of the Rapid Reaction Force of the State Border Service. His journey to Baku was, whatever one may say, much less shameful and more comfortable than the previous one, when Vardanyan moved from Khankendi to Armenia in a vehicle of the Russian peacekeepers, hiding under their dirty laundry. But that's where the good news ended for Ruben Karlenovich. He was detained for 4 months. But in the end, he is facing a much longer prison sentence. After all, Vardanyan has been charged under three articles of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan - financing terrorism, participation in the creation and activities of armed formations or groups not provided for by law, and illegal crossing of the state border. Those accused of such serious charges have never been released at the request of the “indignant public”.

Moreover, in Armenia, of which Vardanyan is a citizen, many even now do not hide their joy at his detention. In particular, famous Armenian blogger Roman Baghdasaryan calls Vardanyan the son of a woman of easy virtue and dreams that Ruben Karlenovich will “die in a Baku prison”. Here is an example of the fact that Vardanyan does not have any serious support in Armenia. The same, by the way, was evidenced by the results of the elections to the Council of Elders of Yerevan, where Mane Tandilyan, supported by Ruben Vardanyan, representing the Country for Life party, whose logo depicts Armenia, Karabakh and the previously occupied seven regions of Azerbaijan, was unable to overcome the threshold for representation in the Council of Elders of Yerevan. To put it simply, she was “taken for a ride” by Armenian voters.

Who is then screaming, demanding the release of this rogue, who clearly overestimated his capabilities? First, of course, these are members of Vardanyan’s family.

“We, the four children of Ruben Vardanyan, appeal to world leaders, human rights activists and the media with a request for help in releasing our father from illegal imprisonment on the territory of Azerbaijan...” reads the appeal of the oligarch’s children.

Well, yes, world leaders have nothing else to do except deal with the case of Vardanyan, who was involved in a bunch of scandals. In particular, he was included in the list of warmongers by Russian opposition leader Aleksey Navalny. That is, the Russian opposition considers Vardanyan personally involved in inciting the Russian-Ukrainian war. Ukraine has the same opinion about this character and it has good reason.

In particular, at the end of July, the Armenian Arbat battalion, which was part of the Pyatnashka brigade, was defeated in the Donetsk direction of the front. Earlier, during the dispatch of the Arbat battalion to Ukraine, one of its leaders Hayk Gasparyan, who had previously received an award in the Russian Federation, proudly spoke about the experience he received as a member of the Wagner PMC. He and the Armenians gathered in the Arbat battalion were proud of the fact that they killed and planned to continue killing Ukrainians on their own land.

Who was named one of the sponsors of the Arbat battalion? That's right, Ruben Vardanyan. Let me also remind you that former GRU Col Igor Strelkov (Girkin), who led sabotage operations in Donbass in 2014, once made a very interesting confession about Vardanyan’s past. He said that Vardanyan is one of the sponsors of the former head of the so-called “DPR”, and now a member of the Russian State Duma, Aleksandr Borodai, one of the Ukrainian collaborators responsible for inciting separatism in Donbass and the annexation of Crimea in 2014.

Therefore, it is not surprising that the Ukrainian Peacemaker center included Vardanyan on its list and declared that he had committed deliberate acts against the national security of Ukraine, peace, the security of humanity and international law and order, as well as other offenses. So, as we see, even in Ukraine they can rejoice at Vardanyan’s arrest.

Let me also remind you that he was a co-founder, director and shareholder of Troika Dialog, one of the first Russian investment brokerage companies. In 2019, the global network of journalists (OCCRP) published an investigation into the Troika Dialog offshore network. Presumably, $4.6 billion was transferred abroad through it. It is clear that a person involved in such global fraud, whose personal fortune exceeds $1 billion, has serious connections in various countries of the world.

Thus, thanks to his dirty money, he created for himself the image of a “philanthropist” and “patron”, as well as a co-founder of the Aurora humanitarian initiative. The members of which are now screaming in defense of Ruben Karlenovich, demanding his release. They deliberately ignore his separatist activities, statements with calls directed against the Azerbaijani state, his promises to organize something like another Operation Nemesis, which is a direct terrorist threat to Azerbaijani and Turkish citizens.

Their “blindness” and “deafness” are understandable. For them, Vardanyan is the one who generously bestowed money. Thus, he had Western politicians, members of parliaments of various countries, journalists and political experts on his payroll. In particular, through his Aurora, he financed the Carnegie Foundation, journalist Thomas de Waal and many others. And now, naturally, they decided to reciprocate their “benefactor”. It is no coincidence that numerous voices are heard from the West in defense of the “philanthropist and benefactor”.

But in this regard, it makes sense to talk about American financier Jeffrey Epstein, who often attended Victoria's Secret fashion shows, hosted models in his home in New York and arranged for them to work. In 2003, Epstein gave $25 million to fund the celebrity and pop culture magazine Radar.

He has donated to former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, the Palm Beach Police Department and even Harvard University. But what happened in the end? In 2008, Epstein was arrested and found guilty on two prostitution charges. He was convicted of sex with a 14-year-old girl and was imprisoned for 13 months before being released as part of a plea deal when federal officials identified as his victims 36 underage girls to whom Epstein paid $50,000 or more as part of settlements - up to $1 million

And such examples when those who were considered “philanthropists”, “patron”, “connoisseur of beauty” ultimately turned out to be criminals are a dime a dozen. Ruben Vardanyan is one of those who is drowning in this pond right now. This was his conscious choice. Nobody forcibly sent him, at least from Azerbaijan, to Khankendi. Nobody pulled his tongue when he threatened Azerbaijan. Nobody forced him to finance separatists and militants. He did all this himself. And he himself bears responsibility for everything he has done. Until the end, despite the cries of those whom he generously gifted with money.

Caliber.Az