Film dedicated to Levon Hayrapetyan screened in Moscow

A documentary dedicated to Levon Hayrapetyan, a prominent Russian-Armenian businessman and philanthropist descending from Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh), has been screened in Moscow.

Entitled Levon Hayrapetyan: Imprisoned Freedom, the film features the businessman’s past life and the spiritual support he offered to heroes of the Nagorno-Karabakh liberation battle by initiating the Gandzasar monastery’s repairs in a time of crisis.

The film tells about Hayrapetyan’s contribution to Artsakh’s developments and improvement following the fierce war.

The great philanthropist’s nephew, Gurgen Hayrapetyan, tells about his deeds, emphasizing his role in “injecting” the spirit of patriotism in family members. 

“A fatherland is the most important thing in life, more important than even one’s own children and perhaps also parents. For if we do not have a fatherland, we will not have either children or parents,” Gurgen says, remembering his uncle’s words.

He says that the philanthropist was not afraid of making investments in Artsakh (as did many rich people) and fully dedicated himself to his homeland.

The film also features episodes from Hayrapetyan’s 60th birthday anniversary elebrated in Moscow, with Different famous public and political figures (including Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, merited USSR artist Mark Zakarov, and People’s Artist of Russia Alexander Shirvindt) expressing their opinion.

It further addresses the criminal case instituted against the businessman earlier this year. An inquest began after a former senator of Bashkiria, Igor Ismestev (who serves a life sentence for an especially grave crime) gave a testimony against Hayrapetyan, alleging his links to the sale of shares belonging to the company Bashneft.