"A Sail in the Blue Sea" - Interview with Armen PETROSYAN

The article, published in issue No. 6 (9), is devoted to an interview with Armen Petrossian, head of the world-renowned PETROSSIAN house, the largest importer of Russian and Soviet caviar to France and the USA. The material was prepared by the publication's special representative in France, Bella Shakhnazaryan, and reveals the history of the family business against the backdrop of the Armenian diasporic fate.

Introduction and context
The author presents Armen Petrossian as the heir of two great Armenian families — the Petrossians and the Mailovs — whose activity for more than eighty years has been connected with the development of the caviar market in the West. Today the company controls 15% of world sales of black caviar, owns a factory near Paris, and a network of boutiques and restaurants in Europe and the USA.

Historical foundation of the family business
The text traces two lines of the business's origin:

• the paternal line — Mushegh Petrossian and his brother, natives of Agulis, who fled the Armenian massacres via Tabriz and Tiflis to Paris, where in the early 1920s they first introduced France to the delicacy through their collaboration with César Ritz;
• the maternal line — the Mailov family from Baku, who began sturgeon fishing at the mouth of the Kura as early as the beginning of the 19th century and became the largest producer of caviar in Tsarist Russia.

The company's development and the role of Armen Petrossian
Special attention is given to the contribution of the interview's subject himself, who took the helm of the business after passing through all stages of the work — from delivery driver to commercial director. Under his leadership:

• a factory with a capacity of 500 tons of production per year was built near Paris;
• a restaurant was opened in the historic Alwyn Court building in New York;
• the network of boutiques in the USA (New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas) was expanded;
• the Paris restaurant was awarded a Michelin star.

Key themes of the interview
The interviewee dwells in detail on the formula for business success, which he sees exclusively in hard work and constant involvement in all aspects of management. Considerable space is devoted to reflections on Armenian identity: in Armen Petrossian's view, the values of the Armenian "collective subconscious" — generosity, keeping one's word, concern for the family's reputation — determine the ethics of doing business and distinguish Armenian entrepreneurs. The theme of family as the foundation of life and business success is addressed separately, as are the hero's personal passions — the protection of sturgeon species, collecting, and reading classical and historical literature.

Conclusion
The key conclusion of the interview is that the success of the PETROSSIAN family business, which has continued for more than a century, is determined not so much by commercial strategy as by the continuity of moral principles inherited from Armenian ancestors, and by the inseparable connection between the concepts of family, labor, and reputation.