Russian political scientists are actively discussing the detention of the famous businessman, politician and philanthropist Ruben Vardanyan by the Azerbaijani special services. Their statements on this topic are cited by Komsomolskaya Pravda. Experts are confident that the arrest of the former state minister of Nagorno-Karabakh is of a political nature. Public figures also fear for Vardanyan’s health in an Azerbaijani prison.
Last year, at the height of the armed conflict in the NKR, Vardanyan announced his move to the region in order to locally support its residents. It was important for him to become one of the people affected by military operations, so he made a difficult decision for himself – to renounce Russian citizenship.
For some part of Russian society, this served as a reason to reproach the philanthropist for trying to avoid Western sanctions. But to circumvent the restrictions, they usually choose a different direction: disgraced millionaires often go to European countries, and from there they begin to condemn Russia and its political leadership. Vardanyan does not fit into this scheme: he chose not the most obvious region to “escape sanctions.”
Journalist and publicist Sergei Mardan believes that speculation about Vardanyan’s refusal of a Russian passport “denigrates a man whose social projects have helped millions of people around the world.” “In the case of Vardanyan, refusing a Russian passport is a difficult decision for him and a forced step. One can hardly blame a person who came to the country during a military crisis for wanting to avoid sanctions. It was important for Vardanyan to be honest with the residents of the autonomy and show that he belongs, including from such a formal point of view as a passport and citizenship,” says Mardan.
In turn, the general director of the Center for Political Information, Alexey Mukhin, is concerned about possible health problems for Ruben Vardanyan in prison. “As long as such a person is in dungeons, where even the Red Cross is not allowed, the war continues, no matter how much Baku representatives say otherwise. And the formal absence of a Russian passport arising from bureaucratic reasons does not mean a loss of interest in Vardanyan on the part of Moscow,” writes Mukhin in his Telegram channel.
Co-founder of the National Fund for Regional Development Igor Skurlatov recalls that Vardanyan lived and worked in Russia for many years. His projects continue to operate in our country, and Vardanyan tries to support them even from prison. According to Skurlatov, it is Moscow that should help the detainee: Baku and Yerevan clearly will not agree on this.
Let us remind you that on September 27, Ruben Vardanyan was arrested by Azerbaijani security forces and taken to Baku. For political charges, he faces up to 14 years in prison.
Source: Rosbalt
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