Another Artsakh Story: Kristapor Ivanian

[MosJan]

Thank you !!!

 

Life has it’s mysterious secrets, I guess this is one of those, every time the bells ring in our native homeland, the sound of this bells find their way in to our harts, no matter haw farr we are from Home. Each time this bells start ringing Fedayi wakes up in our harts…

And everyone finds a way to fight, everyone fights in it’s own way

But the main think is to fight the right way and not to make mistakes , since mistakes can cast us the most darn thinks in life, since mistakes can teak away what has been achieved so hard by others and have been paid for with their life.

It’s up to us now, the new generation of Armenians to keep what has been left to us, our land, our culture, our history, Language and the church, so many of our fellow countryman have paid for this with their life, and now it’s up to us to save whets left of it and to pass this to our next generations, therefore we need to be careful, wise and not to waste our energy and resources in wrong fields and specially we have no need to open a new fronts to fight. We al know who we are and what we stand for, and we all know what our enemy is up to, lets be wise and not to fall in to ther traps. It's time for us to understand and find new ways. It's time to learn to manage our anger.

I'm not proposing to forget and go on with your lives. I'd just like to remind you that they have been, and will be, prepared ... you like to use them as punching bags! But they use you as a punching bag if you can not control your anger and if you cannot educate yourself ... then we have lost this "fight" .

 

That's what they are looking for ... most angry and weakest links - if they can manage to keep you angry all your life, they have won this "fight".

 

Movses

[A.R.]

Vrej wrote this and anoush posted it at my forum.

 

Here I would like to mention, the destiny of an other 'Diasporan', so particular Legend, that is hardly known outside Artzakh, even less outside Armenia.

 

Kristapor Ivanian, born in the 1920's, in Tiflis, then the biggest Armenian Town of the Trascaucasus....

He was born in a family of generals, serving the Tzars for more than a century, and his father being a Hero of the Russian Army during the liberation of Western Armenia, Garin, Gars...

 

For this reason, merged into the Russianised Nobelty of Tiflis, then the capital of the Russian Regime in the Transcaucasus, was Russian speeking exclusively. He knew virtually nothing of Armenia...

 

kristapor enteren the Military cavalery acadamy in Tiflis, natuarally, according to old family traditions...

Still young, he was remarked for his abilities, and sent to St petersburg/leningrad artillary academy...

WWII began, and the young Ivanian, stiil a cadet, was sent to the front.....

He unded as a commander of the Red Army Artillary units before Berlin!!

He was God knows how many times Hero of the USSR.

After the war, he served in different army HQ, became the commander of the USSR artillary and missile academys, commander of missiles in Ukraine...

Till the late 70s, when as a hero of the Soviet Union, he had the right to retire with biggest Honors, with a Datcha in St Petersbourg.

He was married to a Russian, and his sons and daughter were totally merged to the then Nomenclatura of Moscow,...

In 1988, he was already an old man, in his 70's, classified as 'history' by all, forgotten by all...

He heard of Artzakh vaguely, or so, as eny 'Grandpa' in Leningrad.

 

Till summer 92, when tings went very very bad for Artzakh.

The turks captured 45% of the territory, and were close to 10km nort east of Stepanakert.

Desperate, Vasken Sarkssian made a speech on Armenian and russian TV, calling all Armenian officers, no matter their location, to save the country...

 

In Leningrad, by chance, the Ivanian couple, in their datcha were looking the news....

The old General, stood up, and said to his old wife, that maybe he should go too, who knows, he might still be usefull,,??

 

Her wife laughed at him, saying, 'old man, you are sick, unable to stand 30 minutes on foot, (he had a prostate adenome), with no respiration, what you think those people would do from you?'

 

An hour later, he said, taking his jacket on his shoulder, as usual, at 19:00, 'wife I'm going to buy my cigarettes'...

 

As he was out, his wife caller their son, in a Moscow office, saying: 'you know, your father is going too old, know what, he said he was willing to fight... , maybe we must see a doctor?'

 

General kristapor Ivanian, 72 years old, hero of the USSR, gone to buy cigarettes, was reported missing in Leningrad....

 

Next day, at the eavening, in all the chaos and brouhaha of a small building, in Central Yerevan, where convoys were sent to Stepanakert, an old man, with 2cm glasses, a tiny brown, hand made jacket on his back , asked to be registered as a Volonteer, in russian!!!

The women behind the desk was lost, she asked him to wait next room...

At the end of the day, by chance an officer came to give instructions. He asked if there was still problems??

The women ended the list: 'Commander, there is an old fool next by, he's wainting for hours, and still refuses to leave...'

 

The officer, impressed by the age, went to persuade the old man.

He still refused to leave...., asking the commander to call his General!

No matter the arguments, he still began to shout loudly, ordering in Russian: 'call your general and tell him that Kristapor Ivanovitch Ivanian is a volonteer for Artzakh'!!!

 

there was an othr officer next stage, who came in and asked:

'Are you the K. ivanian of the Artillary books?

i studied in the academy, on your theory books!!!'

 

Next Morning, the old men was in the office of the President of the republic, with the minister of Defense..., all were fullof emotion, and general Ivanian was appointed as military aid of the President, supervising the Armenian Army...'

 

Things were going from bad to worse, and the old man was angry with the President, for giving him 'office work'...

 

One morning, he was reported missing...

The same eavening, there was a massive attack on Hadrut front, things were going into chaos, orders were given to evacuate....

 

in all that hell, when in a panick mood, the last field canon was being taken back, an old man apeared in front of the track, on the Highway to Fizuli.

Took the mortars and asked to help him...

The boys were annoyed.

They had orders to retreat, but this Strong head old man was refusing to leeve'...

 

no matter all their talk, finally, in respect to his big age, they decided to stop for some minutes, and help the old fool...

 

General Kristapor Ivanian, ex-Hero of the USSR, ex-Theorician of Soviet Artillary Academies, ex-Aid of the President of the Armenian Republic, turned into a simple artillary officer, ordering, shouting in Russian....

 

And the enemy was stopped!

Soon the turkish fire was less and less acurate, less and less intensive....

Soon the little field cannon of the 'Missing' regiment registered new, captured material, Grad missiles....

 

Kristapor Ivanian, member and adviser of the NKR HQ, was assigned to create, from zero, NKR army's military academy, in a destroyed village, now named after him IVANOVKA.

While fighting on 4 fronts, the NKR began forming new, 17-18 year old tank and artillary officers..., next to the frontline.

One day the boys were in classes, learning in books, and next day, when situation tense, they were in practice, liberating Aghdam or Fizuli...

 

War ended, for the first time after 1041, ani's fall, an armenian Army liberated lands...

 

Gen Ivanian, called home, ex-Leningrad now St Petersbourg, to inform his whereabout....

 

The Government of the NKR, offered a big datcha, next to the Presidential palace to his 75 years Heroe, now Second in Command of its Army....

 

The russian wife installed in Stepanakert, but the old general refused comfort..

While he asked his whife to cultivate vegetables and poultery in their garden, to avoid expenses for the state, he went to live in his Division's HQ, near the frontline..., turning Home, Stepanakert, once a month only....

 

Gen Ivanian was Given the most difficult section of the front, the montains and forests of Chahoumian and Mardakert....

He was used to sleep 3-4 hours a day, the rest touring his positions...

He was atheist as the original communists, knew virtually no Armenian, established soviet style discipline in his troops, imposed law and order, has build bunkers and garnisons, with soviet style harshness (the builders were given short terms, with at the end, the obligation to give best quality bunkers, if not, may God help them...)...

 

He was feared as a'Stalin' in all Mardakert, at 75, sick with uretral and cancer problems, but checked all by his eyes...

 

He knew knothing of 'comfort/luxury'.

lived in the same places as his officers, his men....

eated virtually the same as they did,a 'loligov tzevazegh' a day, a piece of bread and a cop of tea...( in 96, things were not as good as now for food).

I had the honor to share his officer quarter bank for a short period, and I can't forget that old, severe, Russian speeking, but so emotional and good-heart man, sharing the cold, humid, icy morning ceremonial garnison 'nakhajachs' with 20-30 year old mens....

I can't forget the first day I was introduced to him. that 'Stalin' man, tears in his eyes, because he saw a young Diasporan, 'present to give a hand' to thoose forgotten 'SAVAGES'...

Let alone the comic, while 2 different Diasporan's seving the same nation, were obliged to communicate with hands, or a Artsakhian parpar translator...

 

He had 2 Artzakhian horses, he used to tour the montain forest positions 2 or tree times a week..., and believe me its easier to say than to do, in such hard terrain, mines everywhere, and the enemy 100-150m away....

 

He served till his last day of life, past 75, to secure security for his old people....

 

Yess Mam, he was one among thousands famous in closed circles, unknown to their nation abroad Heroes, and no matter what an Ontario based or Fresno installed individual could say, these 'SAVAGE HOOLIGANS' gave us our right to live...