I was once again reminded of an episode from Ara Tadevosyan’s recently published book. He writes:
“How did it happen that Ruben Vardanyan renounced Russian citizenship? Who advised him or instructed him to take that step? Who sent him to Armenia in that context? Who sent him to Nagorno-Karabakh, for what purpose, with what guarantees, assurances, or promises? And who, in the end, said: ‘Well, you know what, we don’t really know who he is, because he is, as it were, a citizen of another country?’
These rhetorical questions were posed by Nikol Pashinyan on August 31, 2024.
Ruben Vardanyan’s response from Baku prison, by the way, was quite fitting: “Each person judges the actions of others based on their own life models and principles.”
But why did this episode come to mind on April 24? What is the meaning behind those “questions”? I think the answer is clear: since it was Putin who assigned, sent, and later “deceived” him (in Russian, слил), then we—Armenian authorities—are supposedly not responsible for this citizen of the Republic of Armenia, for his life or his safety.
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This scheme repeats itself across the board. Since the people of Artsakh are supposedly “wealthy,” and/or “fled instead of fighting,” and/or chose the “wrong government” in Artsakh’s final days, and/or trusted the Russian peacekeepers too much—then let them live in Armenia however they want, or better yet, let them go to “their own Russia.”
The same logic—which, in this case, overlaps disturbingly with the Turkish narrative—also underpins the Pashinyan government’s “concept” of the genocide. That is: since the Armenian citizens of the Ottoman Empire, allegedly instigated by the Russians, betrayed the empire and sided with its enemies, Talaat and Enver supposedly had no choice but to commit genocide.
To call this “concept” anti-historical, anti-national, and anti-human would be an understatement. It is a pathology—and, sadly, an incurable one. Worse, it’s a contagious disease that deepens our national identity crisis and furthers internal division.
Aram Abrahamyan
