Businessman and philanthropist Ruben Vardanyan has announced his decision to move to Artsakh and create the Artsakh Security and Development Front. He calls on Armenians from all over the world to join the struggle for Artsakh, as he considers it to be “the root of Armenianism.”
In a video message Vardanyan said he has renounced Russian citizenship in order to come to Artsakh as an Armenian citizen, “because it’s the right thing to do.”
In addition, Vardanyan appealed to Azerbaijan, urging them to stop “compressing the spring”: “We will not allow you to gradually force the Armenians out of here. It’s impossible,” he said.
Ruben Vardanyan expressed gratitude to the Russian peacekeepers in Artsakh. “I think that the mandate of the peacekeepers should be clarified, and the terms of their stay should be extended until we can ensure the security of the people of Artsakh on our own,” he added.
Vardanyan also drew the attention of the international community to the inadmissibility of ethnic cleansing.
Ruben Vardanyan’s video message dated September 1 was recorded in Artsakh near the Tnjri tree, one of the oldest trees in the world, which is over 2,000 years old.
Ruben Vardanyan and his family, together with a diverse group of partners around the world, have made more than $1.5 billion in commercial and philanthropic investments in key areas for human development – global education, healthcare, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), humanitarian issues, succession and philanthropy.
The best known of the projects are the investment company Troika Dialog, SKOLKOVO Business School, Phoenix Advisors and PhilinPhilgood in Russia, United World College Dilijan, the Foundation for Armenian Science and Technology (FAST), the Wings of Tatev cable car in Armenia and the global Aurora Humanitarian Initiative.
