In 2019, the world-famous Gucci fashion house brought Armine Harutunyan of Armenian origin, with its appearance not typical of models, to the podium, overturning the thoughts about the model world. Gucci who wanted a world where "perceptions of beauty were destroyed" remained in the agenda for a long time with his choice of model. These days, Armine Harutunyan is putting Gucci on the agenda of the media. She managed to attract attention by announcing that she joined the terrorist organization VoMA affiliated to Armenia and that they were preparing for war against Azerbaijan.
And who is Armine Harutunyan? What is the activity of the Armenian VoMA terrorist organization? Faktyoxla Lab. has investigated the issue.
In a video titled "Armenian model Armine Harutyunyan participates in the VoMA" military training course, Harutyunyan is shown practicing shooting with various firearms. In an interview with the Telegram channel of the VoMa terrorist organization, they said that they will attack Azerbaijan. Also, the organization made a statement regarding new provocations and attack attempts: "We are preparing for an unusual fight with Azerbaijan." (source)
First, let's focus on the identity and activities of Armine Harutyunyan. Armine Harutunyan was born in 1997 and grew up in Yerevan. She is from a well-known Armenian family. A source we came across on Dzen.ru actually gives us important clues in terms of deciphering Armine Harutyunyan's genetic code. So, according to Armenian sources, Armine's grandfather is from Eastern Anatolia, and he was the bodyguard of the bandit Andronik Ozanyan, who was especially ruthless against the Turks in that region at the beginning of the 20th century. His maternal grandfather is Khachatur Azizyan, a famous artist of Armenia.
All we learned about Armine's family was that her mother, a doctor by profession, always tried to support her daughter's creativity. She took her to gymnastics, choir and even ballet. Even when her daughter chose the path of creativity instead of medicine, her parents did not oppose it. After graduating from high school, Armine entered the Terlemezyan Art College. After graduating from college, Armine attributes the fact that she entered the theater institute, and after graduating from the institute, she started working as a graphic designer in the start-up design company "Betkonstrakt" in Yerevan, with the fact that she was always attracted by the world of art and always wanted to be a part of this world.
An event that happened in 2019 literally changed Armine's future life. Armine went to Berlin for the weekend to listen to the performances of her favorite German rock band. In her statement to the media, she says that she attracted the attention of the Gucci model scout in Berlin and was invited to the castings. Let's make a small point here. Many foreign sources write that she was introduced by a friend to the director of Gucci Maison only as an advertising graphic designer. That is, as she and her entourage say, she attracted the attention of Gucci scouts only after the first meeting. source
Armine, who was selected as the advertising face of Gucci and took her place among the "100 sexiest models of the year" with the strong support of the Armenian diaspora, was severely criticized by the Armenians themselves, saying that "as a model, you are promoting Armenian ugliness all over the world", and they turned “her beauty” into an object of ridicule on the grounds that it was out of standards. At this time, the representatives of the Armenian diaspora intervened in the matter and started looking for signs of "Armenophobia" in the incident. Armenian MP Sona Kazarian called those who mocked Armine "racists" and "enemies of women" and said that Armine's achievement “is a victory for all of us, so instead of criticizing, we should value her.”
The point is that such an unusual choice of a big brand like Gucci surprised not only Armenians, but also everyone interested in the world of fashion. The world's most famous TV channels, newspapers and websites expressed their opinion about this.
For example, the world-famous Forbes writes that Harutunyan, who appeared on the podium at the Gucci shows led by Alessandro Michele, caused an explosion of criticism in the Italian media and social media channels. “She became the target of negative and hateful comments that insulted her appearance and questioned her credibility as a model.”
Harutunyan's features are stern, with a long nose, thick eyebrows, and deep, dark eyes. The fact that her model beauty does not conform to the "normal" rules is a deliberate choice of Michele (Alessandro Michele-ed.), who has been favoring underappreciated forms of beauty in her shows for several years now, writes Forbes.
In her statement to La Repubblica, Harutunyan said that it is not the first time that she receives negative comments about her appearance, and although it hurts her, she is determined to ignore them. "It is better to be different than to conform to others, even if it is not understood by everyone," she said.
Armine Harutunyan, who claimed to have high heels and "extraordinary beauty", who was the personal bodyguard of her great-grandfather, executioner, terrorist Andranik Ozanyan, who came from an Armenian family whose hands spilled the blood of innocent people and children, who never hides that she is a staunch Armenian nationalist, her "successes" in the art world.
True, with this choice, Alessandro Michele advertised the Gucci brand for free and was able to attract the attention of the whole world. Michele may be a good marketer and PR, but he is by no means a smart politician. Because, by choosing a model like Armine Harutunyan, he managed to put himself in a free discussion, but he forgot a particular tendency of her and the people she belongs to. This is a tendency to terror written in the Armenian genetic codes since centuries. Currently, thanks to Armine, the name of the Gucci brand is associated with the term "terror". Let's try to explain it.
What is VoMA? VoMA (Voxj Mnalu Arvest - "The Art of Survival") is a terrorist organization that organizes training for mercenaries. The organization was founded in 2014 by a former officer of the General Intelligence Service of the Ministry of Defense of Russia, Colonel Vova Vartanov of the special service, whose hand was in the blood of innocent people, whose participation in the "Khojaly Genocide" was confirmed, who was an instructor of the PKK and ASALA terrorist organizations, and who was wanted by the Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan.
Since its inception, the terrorist organization has stated that it aims to create a "ready rear support" and a "reserve army" to fight the "enemies" of Armenia. Garegin Nzhdeh was quoted on the terrorist organization's website about its missions. On the other hand, Garegin Nzhdeh is the founder of the "Tsegakron" movement, an organization with a strict nationalist and actual fascist ideology, and at the same time, an agent of both the "Wehrmacht" and the USSR KGB, who chooses terrorism as his practice.
From the announcements of the organization that chose a terrorist and a fascist as its ideal, it is known that the trainees and the leaders of the organization have connections with the ASALA terrorist organization. It was reported in the press that Vazgen Sislyan, the head of the "Van" operation of the ASALA terrorist organization, gave training to the participants in the camps.
Vazgen Sislyan, the perpetrator of the attack on the Turkish embassy in Paris in 1981, and the assassination of the Turkish ambassador in Budapest in 1991, is a Lebanese Armenian, lived in France for a long time, and is the secret leader of the ASALA terrorist organization in Europe. In 1992, he was awarded the title of "Hero of the Artsakh War" for his participation in the Khojaly genocide. Sislyan participated in the April battles as well as the 44-day war with his terrorist group. Currently, VoMA is responsible for the military training of the terrorist organization. source
Donations are made to the terrorist organization from different countries and different people. The website of the organization states that every month $13,000 is collected from subscriptions, $11,000 from one-time transfers from organizations and institutions, $9,000 through PayPal, $1,500 from Ruben Vardanyan's bank, SberBank (a total of $34,500). During the 44-day war, $88,000 were transferred to the VoMA organization in September, and $48,000 in October. In addition, the salary of full-time instructors is $7,000. VoMA pays special instructors $1,000-$3,000 to attract mercenaries to the border regions. source
In order to commit acts of terrorism against the Republic of Azerbaijan and its citizens, Vladimir Vartanov and others established a paramilitary organization called "VoMA" in the territory of the Republic of Armenia in 2014, using Internet resources to identify Armenian citizens of foreign countries, as well as members of ASALA, PKK and other terrorist organizations. By attracting them to the membership of "VoMA" and organizing their participation in military exercises, their formation in the form of a criminal association within the "Mountain-shooting reserve battalion" ("VoMA battalion") was determined. source
The creators of the project are sure that every citizen, as well as representatives of the Armenian diaspora, should undergo combat training in order to be ready to kill Armenia's enemies at any moment. "Preparing for wars and future upheavals is self-defense. Our ally is our army and we are reservists trained in Armenia," the organization's website states.
Armenian military expert Leonid Nersesyan in his article about "VoMA" and Armenian volunteer units in general (terrorist units-ed.) notes that volunteer units usually rely on civilian volunteers who want to participate in training in the evenings or on weekends. Some of these groups, including "VoMA" and "Tigran Mets", are also involved in intense fighting on the border with Azerbaijan. (source)
During our research, we discovered an article written by Vladimir Petunts, the editor-in-chief of the Russian website zham.ru, in 2019 about "VoMa's training in terrorist camps". Petunts, who wrote that professional Armenian terrorists conducted various trainings for these separatist groups from the US, Russia, Karabakh, and even "Javakhetia" (a separatist-prone region in Georgia where Armenians live-ed.), notes that Vartanov, the head of the terrorist organization he spoke in front of the trainers every day about the importance of living for the Motherland and invited the volunteers to cheer up. "VoMA" also has official requirements for the groups that are struggling to survive in combat conditions for 10 days: Armenian citizenship or belonging to the Armenian people, motivation for the trip and a sense of patriotism... According to Petunts, the main task of those who participate in the training camps of the terrorist organization is about learning to survive during combat operations, supporting comrades and helping the army to defend the country.
One of the correspondents of Sputnik Armenia participated in one of those trainings and described the trainings as follows: "Self-defense", "first aid", "aiming", "target shooting" skills can all be acquired during the combat-shooting training organized near Yerevan. The journalist uncovered a point here without being aware of it. So, he wrote that children are also involved in shooting training. She says: “It turns out that 15-year-old Susan is the most experienced of the participants. According to the girl, such training is important, but it should be long-term.
There is nothing surprising here. The point is that VoMA, like ASALA, Hezbollah and other Middle Eastern terrorist groups, is known for providing weapons and combat training to minors. From the information posted on the official telegram channels, it is known that before the 44-day Patriotic War, they were trained in the occupied Kalbajar.
In addition, in May 2018, information was spread that a group of people were detained by the Security Service of Armenia for criminal acts. It is known that some of the detained persons have completed the courses organized by Vova Vartanov. The Armenian mass media wrote about this: "New information has been revealed about the members of the group detained by the Armenian security service, who entered into criminal cooperation with the intention of creating an atmosphere of fear in Armenia. Some of those detained participated in paid courses run by "The Art of Survival". The founder of "The Art of Survival" is Vova Vartanov, who founded the first subversive intelligence unit. In this regard, Armenian journalists appealed to Vartanov. He said that Hnel Hovhannisyan taught shooting training to those involved in the courses.
According to experts, the terrorist organization "VoMA" created by Vova Vartanov, a former intelligence officer, skilled in sabotage, is a prototype of Russia's "Vagner" Private Military Company. There are enough matches to confirm this point. Let’s note one fact.
In July of this year, news spread that "VoMA" fighters formed a special Armenian battalion called "Arbat" and joined the battles in Ukraine. Despite the fact that "VoMA" has kept the name secret, it is known that the mercenaries are "VoMA" fighters, trained in the military terrorist camp of Vartanov. The official source of the news was the American Institute for the Study of War. source
On July 3, 2023, the article published on the Hayastan.news website of Armenians contained pictures of mercenaries. When examining the persons in the pictures, interesting issues emerge.
The person in the photo is Hayk Gasparyan (Abrek), the commander of the "Arbat" battalion. It turns out that Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the "Wagner" terrorist group, chose Gasparyan to be sent to Ukraine from the correctional facilities in the Rostov region.
Wagner's creator awarded him with the medal "For the capture of Soledar". At the same time, Telegram channels, including those connected to Wagner, called Hayk Gasparyan "the first ex-prisoner to receive a state award."
In an interview with Russian pro-Armenian propagandist Abbas Juma, Hayk Gasparyan said that he is also from Karabakh, but he could not participate in the battles because he was imprisoned during the war, and said that he would participate in the war if it starts again.
The post by official Telegram channel of the Armenian terrorist organization "VoMA" about Hayk Gasparyan wasn’t left out of our attention, either.
Finally, let's return to the participation of the Gucci beauty in training. As a result of the investigation, it became clear that the Armenian face of Gucci participates in the training of "VoMA" not the first time.
Thus, it can be seen from the material prepared by Victoria Pisarenko, reporter of Sputnik Armenia on December 12, 2022, that during that period, more than 1,000 women took shooting and self-defense courses organized by the "VoMA" terrorist organization. From the report prepared, we learn that not only housewives and representatives of various fields, but also famous figures of Armenian show business participated among the cadets. We learn from the article that model Armine Harutyunyan worked with the famous brand (Gucci) and participated in the 10-day courses of the terrorist organization "VoMA" called "The Art of Survival."
Armine said that first of all she wants to acquire physical and tactical training skills, as well as learn the basics of first aid in practice. We learn from the article that she showed enthusiasm and unwavering perseverance during training. (source)
Let's take a small note here and say that Armine Harutunyan posing in Bershka shoes as the face of Gucci company is an indicator of Armenian loyalty.
Conclusion:
-Armine Harutunyan, a staunch Armenian nationalist who was chosen as the advertising face of Gucci with the support of the Armenian diaspora, participates in the training sessions of the terrorist organization "VoMA" and does not hesitate to threaten Azerbaijan;
- It is regrettable that Gucci didn’t react to the fact that a terrorist organization took part in training sessions twice while it was the advertising face of the Gucci company;
- The fact that Armine Harutunyan's great-grandfather was the bodyguard of Andronik Ozanyan, who killed innocent people in Anatolia, and the model's statements to the press about nationalism show that the Armenian character does not change at all;
- The fact that the "VoMA" terrorist organization, in which Armenian model Armine Harutunyan participated in the training camp, still maintains its presence on the territory of Armenia proves that Armenians are definitely not interested in ensuring peace in the region and that the terrorist organization is supported at the state level.
