102.Sam Vardanyan on the State of Armenia

On Wednesday morning (9/21), Armenia’s Independence Day, I sat down with Sam to discuss* the state of Armenia and the events which took place last week in Armenia and Yerevan. Including attacks by Azerbaijan on sovereign Armenian land and a subsequent visit by Nancy Pelosi- the highest ranking US official to visit Armenia since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Sam was at Yerablur on Armenia's Independence and was detained by police as was every other civilian at the cemetery, many of whom were parents of fallen soldiers and were beaten and dragged off by the police in anticipation for PM Nikol Pashinyan's ceremonial visit to the cemetery. Some of you will remember Sam from his appearance on the podcast in 2020 after fighting in the 44 day war for Artsakh when we first met in Yerevan shortly after he returned from the front lines near Shushi. Welcome back, Sam (Dustin, The Wind's first guest nearly two years ago) and thank you for sharing your knowledge and opinions. **Mostly I listened while he talked and Sam and he did a wonderful job explaining the current events, the region's history, and his all around thoughts on Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. Very happy to share this with Sam.