Azerbaijani Official Walks Through Dilijan as Ruben Vardanyan, Who Invested $236 Million in the Town, Remains Jailed in Baku

There was a striking irony in Dilijan today.

As Azerbaijani presidential aide Hikmet Hajiyev walked through the Armenian resort town alongside Armenian Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan, the visit unfolded in a place whose modern transformation is closely tied to Ruben Vardanyan — an Armenian philanthropist who is now serving a 20-year prison sentence in Azerbaijan.

Photos and videos of the visit showed Armenian officials hosting and accompanying Hajiyev through Dilijan as the two sides held talks on advancing the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process. The scene drew attention from some public figures who noted that much of the town’s international reputation was built through projects funded and supported by Vardanyan, who remains imprisoned in Baku.

Mesrop Arakelyan, co-founder of the Country to Live Party, pointed to the contrast.

“Armen Grigoryan, the Secretary of the Security Council and a native of Artsakh, was proudly walking through Dilijan today with Azerbaijani presidential aide Hajiyev. In a city where Ruben Vardanyan, now imprisoned in Baku, invested $236 million, turning Dilijan into one of Armenia’s main calling cards,” Arakelyan wrote on social media.

Over the past two decades, Vardanyan and his wife, Veronika Zonabend, have played a central role in reshaping Dilijan into one of Armenia’s most recognized centers for education, tourism, and community development.

Among their most prominent initiatives is UWC Dilijan, the international boarding school that opened in 2014 and brought students from dozens of countries to Armenia. The couple also supported the Dilijan Community Center, the Dilijan Development Foundation, and numerous infrastructure, tourism, and social projects that helped elevate the town’s international profile.

As a result, Dilijan evolved from a quiet mountain resort into one of Armenia’s most recognizable destinations — a transformation widely associated with Vardanyan’s vision and investment.

Yet while an Azerbaijani official was being welcomed and guided through the town this week, the man credited with helping transform it remains behind bars in Azerbaijan.

Vardanyan, 58, was detained by Azerbaijani authorities on September 27, 2023, while leaving Nagorno-Karabakh for Armenia through the Lachin Corridor. In February 2026, a court in Baku sentenced him to 20 years in prison.

—

Support independent reporting from the region by subscribing to The Armenian Report. Our team is funded solely by readers like you.