Commandos: struggle for survival

PanARMENIAN.Net - After a military service in Afghanistan, Germany, Czechoslovakia and Belarus, he arrived in Yerevan to teach in the Academy of Agriculture.

“I did not take part in the national movement. Having served in Germany and Afghanistan, I knew the dark side of revolutions. But all wanted independence, which smelled of war,” Ter-Tadevosyan says.

The 1990ies were marked with a huge flows of anti-Armenian publications. While Armenians were defending their homeland, Azerbaijan kept attacking and putting the blame on the Armenian side.

“In 1990 Azerbaijan has published a map showing Zangezur and a half of Sevan as its territory. The motherland was in danger and it was our duty to defend it,” he goes on.

Led by this duty, Arkady Ter-Tadevosyan joined Sasuntsi Davit detachment to defend near-border villages from constant fire of Azerbaijani militants. When the situation in Karabakh deteriorated, he went there to train soldiers.

One of the most risky operations during the Karabakh war was the liberation of Shushi. Many people may not know that it was called a “Wedding in Mountains”.

“We were not fully ready for the operation, but Shushi had to be liberated. In response to Defense Minister Vazgen Sargsyan’s warning, I said: if we liberate Shushi, we will organize a wedding in the mountains,” Commandos recollects.

“With the increasing number of victims among the civilian population, the soldiers realized that each day of delay could be fatal. The heroism of these people astonished Ter-Tadevosyan.

“It was the real struggle for survival,” he says.

Karabakh means much for Arkady Ter-Tadevosyan. It has become his native country, where he spends at least a week each month.

“My dream came true when I was a guest at 700 wedding parties in Karabakh,” he says.

Asked about resolution of the Karabakh problem, Commandos emphasizes: “The people of Artsakh have already resolved this problem and they live independently.”

Currently, Arkady Ter-Tadevosyan is training specialists for the Armenian armed forces.

Azerbaijanis are poor warriors. They surrender to panic and escape, as it was in Shushi, he is certain.