

Then, in 2020, Azerbaijan - backed by Turkey - regained control of big swathes of the lost territory, while the Karabakh enclave remained in the hands of ethnic Armenian separatists.
Within months of Vardanyan's arrival Azerbaijani authorities blocked the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with the Republic of Armenia, subjecting the region's population to severe food shortages.
Vardanyan renounced his Russian citizenship and became the de facto prime-minister of Nagorno-Karabakh, which Armenians call Artsakh. He used his name, contacts and the ability to speak fluent English to raise the awareness of the plight of Karabakh Armenians.
"My father did more interviews with international media in three months than all the other Nagorno-Karabakh presidents in 30 years. The amount of attention this was receiving from the Western media clearly irritated Azerbaijan," his son David Vardanyan told the BBC.
There had been speculation that Vardanyan had moved there to avoid international sanctions imposed on Russia's billionaires with links to the Kremlin.
The government in Baku considered his decision to take up the position as illegal.
His son insists he was driven by the desire to help local Armenians.
"We had an argument on our last family holiday, I was completely against his decision, which was putting the entire family at risk. He said he would not be able to live with himself knowing he did nothing for the Armenians of Karabakh."