He borns in Armenia ( within the former Soviet Union ) , November 17 , 1961 . A biggest part of his career he passed in the ancient Russian city of Leningrad , now called St. Petersburg . Vardkes began to pursue his studies at the Art School in the city of Artashat , under the tutelage of a renowned painter Hamlet Arshakyan , between 1975 and 1979 . Then continued his training at the Academy of Applied Arts , located in Yerevan , capital of Armenia , during the period between 1979 and 1981 . Closing this stage , he decided to move to Leningrad and finished his studies at the High School of Applied Arts of V.I. Mukhina ( St. Petersburg , Russia ) , between 1985 and 1989 . Since 1990 Vardkes is a member of the Association of Independent Painters of Leningrad.