Social investor and entrepreneur Ruben Vardanyan thinks we should all answer a simple question – is it important for us to be Armenian?

“If yes, how much? What are people ready to sacrifice for being Armenian? Can they give their lives for the homeland?” Ruben Vardanyan said during Rearrange with Narek Amirkhanyan podcast.

“Years ago, I asked myself, is it important for me to be Armenian or not? My answer was yes. What does it mean – should I be proud that my grandfather and father were Armenians, or should I dance Armenian dances well – which is the criterion that prompts me that I am Armenian. It is a very difficult question.

I think the strongest love is when I am ready to give my life for another person, your family, your homeland. If you are not ready for it, it does not mean you do not love, but this is the highest criterion of love. I have decided long ago that it is important for me to be Armenian,” Ruben Vardanyan said.

He noted that the defeat in the 44-day war gave us an opportunity for change, as it is much easier to make changes in times of crisis and more difficult when everything is normal.

“This is why the victory in the first war was a trap for us. We said “we won” and did nothing. But if now after the war we fail to pick up lessons and understand what to do to become stronger… this is the issue everyone faces,” he said.

Ruben Vardanyan noted that after the 2020 war the choice was very clear for him.

“I should have either left “my comfort zone” and try to do something to change the situation in order to become stronger again, or I should have said that I am a businessman of Armenian origin but “a person of the world” who remembers his Armenian roots but that’s the end,” he noted, adding that he has chosen the first option.

“Is it important for you what kind of Armenian your child will be, in what environment he/she will live, with who he/she will communicate. This is the decision you should make now,” Vardanyan stressed.