Arman Babajanyan: "Karen Demirchyan Told a Story Related to Moscow"

Armenian National Assembly member Arman Babajanyan writes on his Facebook page: "Just as Serobich preferred small Armenia, rejecting an influential imperial offer: After the recent filth caused by these rootless pro-Russian individuals, I recalled a story. I don't know how many know that in 1998, I was the coordinator of youth organizations for presidential candidate Karen Demirchyan's election campaign. We became quite close with Karen Serobich, and one time he shared a story related to Moscow.

The central authorities of the USSR, concerned about Karen Demirchyan's growing popularity, decided to offer him the position of Minister of Foreign Trade of the USSR. Serobich recounted that the motivation behind such an idea could be the rich historical legacy of Mikoyan and Armenian merchants. Such a position was not offered to anyone from outside, and from the very beginning, Serobich was not considered one of their own.

In short, without hesitation, Serobich declined the offer because, as he put it, he had many unfinished projects, including the construction of the Yerevan metro, and most importantly, he preferred to be a beloved leader among the people in small Armenia rather than a Minister of Foreign Trade for an entire empire with limitless opportunities and levers of influence."