More than 150 world figures – Nobel laureates, prominent business people, and former heads of state – have called for the release of illegally detained Armenians in Azerbaijan, including the humanitarian figure Ruben Vardanyan. Since “Aravot” has had no practical connection with Ruben and his related structures for over two months, I can freely write my opinion about him.
I highly appreciate Ruben’s activities in the Republics of Armenia and Artsakh. His investments and charities are exclusively “peaceful” in nature and aim to develop the economy, science, education, culture, and civil society. Can our conspiracy theorists, who even now say he is “Putin’s man,” say that the International School of Dilijan or the TaTever cable car (recently named the best in the world) are “Putin projects”? And, by the way, in defense of Vardanyan and other Armenian detainees, there is no Russian figure among the supporters of the letter.
We live in an atmosphere of widespread disbelief and cynicism. Under these conditions, it is challenging to believe that there can be “idealistic” motives for human behavior, and some individuals are willing to sacrifice comfort, well-being, physical freedom, and even life for the sake of the ideas they believe in. I saw him just like that during my brief personal interactions with Ruben. It is much easier to convince an ordinary philistine that everything is done for money, position, fame, or at someone’s behest.
So, in the case of Ruben Vardanyan, not only the pro-government propaganda of Armenia works, but also the simple psychological mechanism described above. More precisely, the first (propaganda) is based on the second (philistine’s thinking). People with a primitive inner world cannot believe that it is possible to live not with petty passions and intrigues but with higher ideas, and that is why they look for passions and intrigues everywhere. Most people can’t give up their miserable position or mandate, let alone imagine how it is possible to give up enjoying life in a hot corner of the world.
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Being in an enemy prison of any Armenian is a pain. In any case, it must be painful for Armenians. But, as we can see, foreigners suffer more.
ARAM ABRAHAMYAN
