Vardanyan's nomination and devaluation of Nobel Peace Prize
Martin Sherman's article

POLITICS  02 May 2024 - 17:30

Reputable foreign media, commentators and journalists continue to fairly criticise the nomination of Ruben Vardanyan, an Armenian oligarch and former "state minister" of the defunct separatist junta in Karabakh, for the Nobel Peace Prize.

The matter was particularly covered by political scientist Taras Kuzio in his article recently cited by Caliber.Az. He noted in his article that "Vardanyan's nomination is perplexing". In addition, Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada deputy Oleksiy Honcharenko, commenting on Vardanyan's nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize, stressed the inadmissibility of giving this award to a person on the "Peacemaker" sanctions list, which includes persons threatening the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

Earlier, 18 MPs of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine protested against the nomination of Ruben Vardanyan for the Nobel Peace Prize. They sent a corresponding appeal to the Nobel Committee.

In turn, this topic was also touched upon by journalist Martin Sherman in an article published on the American website Newsmax.

A rarely publicized fact is that one of humanity's greatest warmongers, Adolf Hitler, and arguably his greatest facilitator, Neville Chamberlain, were both nominated for the prize in 1939. Soon afterward, the two played central — albeit very different — roles in precipitating the bloodiest war ever in the history of mankind.

Another odd — albeit less drastic — event was the decision to award the peace prize to President Barack Obama, who had done precisely nothing to win the prestigious prize, having been in office only eight months in office when it was awarded. Indeed, Obama went on to become the first two-term president ever to have the U.S. embroiled in war for all eight years of his presidency. During his tenure, Obama launched military strikes against seven countries and, according to U.S. intelligence sources, created the potential of an armed clash with China and Russia "for the first time in decades."

But if granting the prize to Obama for next to nothing seems perplexing, conferring it on Yasser Arafat for co-signing the calamitous Oslo Accords was positively perverse. After all, the Palestine Liberation Organization chairman maliciously misled his interlocutors, plunging his own people, never mind Israel, into decades of misery and mayhem, with his selection as a prospective Nobel laureate bringing disrepute to the lofty institution.

No Francis of Assisi

Some might see echoes of the self-same "incongruity" in the recent nomination of Russian-Armenian billionaire Ruben Vardanyan.

Indeed, it appears that Vardanyan, despite his purported record of humanitarian activities, is no Francis of Assisi. His biography, which could charitably be characterized as "checkered," includes significant portions that are undeniably "murky."

Born in Armenia in 1968, Vardanyan moved to Russia to attend Moscow State University, graduating in economics in 1992. Later he trained and studied at several preeminent financial institutions in Europe and America. Following graduation, Vardanyan became heavily involved in the Russian financial sector, co-founding a profitable investment bank, Troika Dialog, and amassing a family fortune estimated at over $1 billion.

As time passed, disconcerting reports began to emerge regarding the underlying nature of Vardanyan's commercial enterprises — jarringly discordant with what one would presumably associate with a worthy Nobel Prize candidate.

In March 2019, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) issued a report indicating that Vardanyan's financial organization was at the center of a billion-dollar money-laundering scheme, allegedly using a network of offshore companies and his Armenian contacts, as a hub for "dubious" financial activities. According to the OCCRP, the scheme allowed clients to channel money out of Russia, conceal assets abroad, and launder money. Likewise, it provided cash to Putin associates and connected oligarchs, while enabling masking of the illicit origins of their cash.

Following the publication of the OCCRP report, more than 20 MEPs called on the EC president to investigate Vardanyan, who allegedly made a huge fortune through companies under Western sanctions.

In 2022, Vardanyan was "dropped" by Russia into the Karabakh region to increase Russian influence in the Caucasus. Although he had previously denied having political ambitions, he was quickly appointed "state minister" of "Artsakh". While in this "post" Vardanyan did not so much promote the peace process and coexistence with Azerbaijan as he did fan the flames of discord and hostility in the region, which is somewhat inappropriate for a potential Nobel Peace Prize winner.

Finally, an assessment of Vardanyan's worldview cannot be complete without mentioning his warm ties with the Iranian regime.

Ruben Vardanyan is currently under arrest in Baku on charges of financing terrorism and other offences. He was detained by Azerbaijan in September 2023.

Sinwar as Next Peace Laureate?

Although a swirl of claims and counterclaims shroud the Vardanyan episode, it is clear that his nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize has raised much indignation and alarm as to the criteria that merit such candidacy. Given the current international climate, one might be excused for raising concerns that one of the next nominees may well be Hamas butcher Yehya Sinwar.

Caliber.Az