Certain Russian Circles, It Seems, Cannot Forgive Me: Armen Darbinyan

The former Prime Minister of Armenia, Armen Darbinyan, wrote on his Facebook page: “Certain Russian circles, it seems, cannot forgive me for my dignified national posture regarding Azerbaijan’s aggression. Let me remind you, during the hottest phase of the war and the national disastrous losses, I publicly opposed Dmitry Medvedev and Dmitry Peskov, implying that Armenia and the Armenian people expect a partnership approach from Russia, not just a mediator's role.

It is possible that those public statements were overly emotional and did not take current geopolitical developments into account. But they were sincere and based on an unwavering faith in Armenian-Russian fraternal relations and their irrefutability.

I have not been forgiven for my open letter directed at Margarita Simonyan, where I demanded respect for the political choice of the Armenian people. And now, these circles, which evidently act against both Russian and Armenian-Russian cooperation interests, have spent nearly two years trying to discredit both my and the Armenian-Russian University’s good reputation and authority.

I should add that there are forces and figures within both past and present Armenian authorities who gladly collaborated in the same direction. In particular, through their efforts, during Serzh Sargsyan’s presidency, a completely ridiculous and utterly baseless rumor concerning our university's alleged 'pro-Westernness' became a public topic.

The university, which is rooted in the best Armenian and Russian educational traditions, has had a tremendous positive impact on our educational system, serving as an exceptional example of academic freedom and significantly enhancing the reputation of Russian education in our country; yet it has been accused of 'insufficient Russianness.'

It pains me to note that these circles succeeded in misleading the Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov (details of his meeting with the Armenian parliamentary delegation have been widely disseminated in our media). The failed raid by the NSS against the university and me a year ago was part of this same campaign.

And now, a new offensive: according to the information I have received, based on an application from the Russian Prosecutor General's Office, Armenian partners have either initiated or will soon initiate a completely unfounded criminal case regarding supposed violations of tender conditions or regulations by the university. Moreover, to add more horror to the situation, a decision has been made to assign the investigation to an anti-corruption body.

These 'smart' individuals do not understand they are playing with fire. All the prosecutors of the world could unite, but they will not be able to conjure up corruption against either me or the university, and everyone knows this; thousands of alumni of the university and every academic will testify to this.

The 'case' is entirely fabricated and contrived. Their goal is singular: to achieve my resignation or dismissal at any cost. My goal is also singular: to protect the university's and my own good name and reputation by all available means.

Of course, I will resign, as it is impossible to ensure the university's future victorious trajectory in the face of the shortsighted and damaging behavior of some representatives of the founders of the university; we are the best in both the country and the region (for example, we have completed our competition with Azerbaijanis with a total victory, leaving Baku State University behind us by two hundred points in international rankings).

They still have to ask and repent for me to stay. However, I will only resign after this contrived case is closed and I receive an apology. Beyond my resignation, I will multiply my efforts to defend our state's sovereignty and restore the dignity of the Armenian people. God bless.”