The shameful finale of the banned "resident"

Ruben Vardanyan hardly saw his future like this. The Russian billionaire, who considered himself the master of life before the outbreak of the war in Ukraine and sanctions against Russia, found himself in a situation where his billions turned out to be completely useless. Ruben Karlenovich shouldn't be offended by anyone for this. He ran into something he had been fighting so hard for the past few years. He chose a path that could only lead him to this outcome. It is clear that those who sent him to this address promised Karlenovich something else. But he, who believes in the omnipotence of money and his patrons, believed it.

It is well known about Ruben Vardanyan's former life. The whole world knows about his fraudulent schemes as a Russian entrepreneur thanks to the investigations of foreign journalists. He was not sentenced in Baku for these shady deeds. Let Russia itself and the partners of the Vardanyan business abroad deal with those dark matters.

The billionaire went to jail for 20 years for another, even more "meaningful" activity. It cannot be said that Vardanyan entered politics only in September 2022. In one way or another, he intervened in it for many years, being a financier of Armenian separatism. Arriving in Khankendi was a fatal mistake of the "resident". It is not known who exactly encouraged him to take this step, but it is no secret that he arrived in Karabakh, more precisely, in the area of responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping contingent with certain instructions and goals.

The verdict was passed on serious charges. He did not manage to escape with a slight fright. And it is a lie that his guilt has never been proven, as Vardanyan himself, his family and his defenders claim. The indictment is very extensive, and it provides facts, names, dates, and figures in every detail. Every charge has been proven, and every article of the Criminal Code charged against this person of Armenian nationality relates to his real deeds.

Another thing is that Vardanyan, his family and his defenders do not consider all this a crime. From the very beginning, Vardanyan's case is presented as "political persecution," and Karlenovich himself is presented as a "political prisoner" allegedly punished for "dissent." It is claimed that he had nothing to do with the war, did not kill anyone, and all the accusations are "revenge" on the part of Baku.

Ruben Vardanyan's family has already stated that they consider the verdict unfair and intend to seek its cancellation by appealing to world leaders, international and human rights organizations.

I would like to remind you that Vardanyan's lawyers and relatives have been conducting this activity for two years, and they have not been able to achieve any results. Considerable forces and huge funds were involved in this campaign. While the world had almost forgotten about the other defendants, the name of the Russian billionaire was constantly being mentioned in parliaments and international organizations. The reason is quite trivial - others did not have the financial means to buy European parliamentarians and human rights defenders. The Vardanians spared no expense.

In principle, one can understand the desire of Vardanyan Jr. to rescue his father. It's natural. But the relatives of the failed politician had to take care of his well-being before he got involved in the separatist adventure not only financially, but also with his vast figure. What he was promised for this is anyone's guess. But there is a very plausible and largely consistent with reality version about plans to replace Nikol Pashinyan with Vardanyan. Vardanyan tried to be at home in Karabakh, remembering some ancestors who had lived there almost since the time of the dinosaurs. The example of Karabakh criminals Kocharyan and Sargsyan, inspired by the guardians of Armenia to take power in Yerevan, seemed relevant to some. Vardanyan, like these two, had to move to the leadership of Armenia from the separatist chair. For this, he needed the appropriate merits.

Ruben Vardanyan was a fan of Moscow. It's no secret to anyone. The accelerated renunciation of Russian citizenship is part of this plan, since according to the Constitution, a citizen of another country cannot be the head of Armenia. The documents were checked, and Vardanyan was "dumped" in Khankendi. He illegally entered the territory of Azerbaijan under the cover of Russian peacekeepers and went to conquer the separatist "throne". Vardanyan did not come to Karabakh at all because of his heart and not because of his principles, as the family claims. He was seen as someone who would be able to buy the love of the people and overthrow Nikol Pashinyan. But for most Armenians, he remained a Russian oligarch, even giving up his Russian passport.

In Karabakh, Vardanyan immediately joined the big game. The current heads of the regime were confused and frightened by the military defeat and were very much waiting for Moscow to send not only peacekeepers, but also instructions on how to proceed. The instructions arrived in the format of a whole Ruben Vardanyan. With him came the financial resources necessary to continue armed resistance to the legitimate authorities. The separatists were doing well in the RMK's area of responsibility. In the first two years, the peacekeepers behaved like masters, the Azerbaijani side was not allowed into their "patrimony", while the separatists were quietly supplied with weapons and manpower from Armenia and other countries, and foreign lobbyists visited the RMK area of responsibility without notifying Baku.

Over the course of two years, from September 2022 to September 2023, Ruben Vardanyan turned the RMK zone into a playground for his games. He managed to do what Araik and Bako had no money for - to buy the world's media. Not only did the Russian media expectedly write about his activities, he became the hero of BBC and CNN articles and broadcasts, and the American company EDELMAN was involved in his PR. Gradually, Vardanyan became the face of Karabakh separatism. He traveled to villages, agitated the population to continue opposing Baku, demanded that they not agree to proposals for reintegration into Azerbaijani society.

Vardanyan's activities were not limited to campaign campaigns. Under the guise of charity, he was engaged in fundraising for the purchase and delivery of weapons from Armenia under the protection of the RMK. One of the war criminals complained later that Vardanyan could have spent his millions in Karabakh, but he invested several tens of thousands from his own funds, and collected all the rest of the money from the population. They gathered, in particular, through an organization created by Vardanyan called "We are our Mountains." The funds raised were used to purchase firearms, their components, ammunition, explosives and devices, military weapons and equipment that were illegally transported from the Republic of Armenia along the Lachin road. Soon Vardanyan was already making decisions in Khankendi. According to the case file, he compiled lists of leaders and members of the so-called "self-defense units", which in reality consisted of professional military personnel, and paid them a monthly salary. Yerevan has already stopped financing the separatists, and here Vardanyan had a great opportunity to show himself the master.

Vardanyan financed the arming and training of illegal separatist formations. And how can the defense's argument that he didn't hold a gun and didn't kill anyone be perceived in this case? He didn't kill himself, he financed the killers. Since when has terror financing ceased to be a crime? Thanks to his activities, the situation around the perimeter of the RMK zone continued to remain tense, with the Armenian side constantly staging shooting provocations. This, as expected, was supposed to cause panic among the Azerbaijani population and push the Azerbaijani side to take tough steps.

The separatist who complained about Vardanyan's stinginess was not fully aware of the situation. In fact, Vardanyan invested, and not to a small extent. Terrorist training camps operated on his money. He sponsored "We are Our Mountains," which, from May to August 2023, together with the Ruben Vardanyan Foundation, Dilijan Community Center, the Aznavour Foundation and the IDEA Charitable Foundation, raised two hundred thousand dollars to provide and train an armed separatist gang.

Having arrived in Karabakh, Vardanyan immediately began to advance in the "service". Already in early November 2022, he received the position of "Minister of State". But soon his comfortable vacation in the mountains came to an end. In December of the same year, an action of eco-activists began on the Lachin road, completely confusing the maps of Yerevan, the separatists, the diaspora, and Moscow. It was a brilliant strategic move by Baku, which blew apart all the plans and roadmaps of external actors. 

Vardanyan had a hard time. By that time, he was making decisions in Khankendi, albeit behind the scenes. Along with the "salvation of Artsakh," he also led the accelerated looting of the Karabakh subsoil. It was this robbery that became the reason for the action, which blocked the road for the delivery of weapons to the separatists. After the start of the action, the fraudster Ruben Vardanyan visited the mine with an important look, He talked with the Armenian mining company, inspected the territory and stated that the conditions of the Azerbaijani side on the cessation of production would not be accepted. The Russian billionaire again tried to hide behind concern about employment, although in fact he was worried about his own income. This was his huge mistake and the beginning of the end of the separatist games in the RMK zone.

After the start of the action on the Lachin road, Vardanyan became the face of the "starving" Karabakh. He appeared on the airwaves endlessly, recorded videos, misinforming the international community. Under his leadership, food was hidden from the population of the RMK zone. Later, after the liberation of Karabakh, they were found in large numbers in warehouses.

Due to the current situation, Vardanyan decided to draw a new roadmap. He went back to the villages with agitation and called on the Armenians to "hold out until April," stating that "we need to fight." Vardanyan was not satisfied with the idea of peaceful restoration of Azerbaijan's sovereignty in this territory. A terrible squeal was raised about the "blockade", "famine", old men allegedly dying in the streets and children allegedly dreaming of candy. The "minister of state" himself tried the hardest on this path, becoming the "conscience of the Karabakh people."

It is noteworthy that, in contrast to Vardanyan's call to "fight" and "hold on" (according to instructions), Arayik Harutyunyan, meeting with the residents of Karabakh, spoke about the need to avoid a new war by all means, which would be the end for the separatists. And this is despite the fact that, according to him, there were more weapons in Karabakh than in Armenia.

The separatists managed to arm themselves to the teeth in the two years preceding the anti-terrorist operation, thanks to Ruben Vardanyan. Although he started working in this direction almost immediately after the Second Karabakh War. It is known that as early as December 2020, he sent a man to Khankendi who delivered money from the Author's fund to the Kurdish mercenaries stationed there.

After Ruben Vardanyan was detained on September 27, 2023, many interesting facts were found in his mobile phone and tablet. If he had known that the Russian side would not be able to "evacuate" him from Azerbaijan, he would have destroyed the gadgets. But he did not believe that such a thing could happen. And the gadgets stayed with him. Over the phone, Vardanyan negotiated about various criminal plans on the territory of Azerbaijan, the purchase of weapons, UAVs, and all this, including the names of accomplices, passed into the hands of the investigation.

Ruben Vardanyan did not receive a life sentence, as the prosecution demanded. He was given 20 years. This is evidence that Azerbaijani justice does not pursue the goals of revenge and punishment at any cost. Punishment is imposed only in accordance with what has been done. Yes, he didn't kill, shoot or blow up himself. And that's why it's only 20 years old. So it's all fair.