Levon and Armen Antanyan were brothers. They both died in the battles in Shushi. Levon was 27 years old, and Armen was 26.
Their sister, Milena Antanyan, told Aravot Daily in an interview that her brothers were like parents to her; they were caring and attentive. Armen and Levon were working in the police force. They were constantly in their positions from the first day of the war. They did not even leave their positions once for the first month to change their clothes.
The brothers also had their own side gig outside of their professional work; they fixed cars. Levon was known in his village for fixing engines.
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Milena said that the brothers had left their positions for three days before they died. Then, they went to the Karin Tak village of Shushi. They died on November 9th during the battles for Shushi.
Milena, barely able to conceal her tears, said, “My younger brother was near his tank, and the two of them were wounded in the morning of November 8th. The tank exploded when my younger brother passed by it. Levon saw how Armen fell, and they had wanted to retreat. Several of the soldiers in their detachment tried to retreat, but Levon did not go with them. He wanted to go and help his brother. He went and decided to help, but the others decided to escape. The car the soldiers attempted to flee in exploded. All of them were burned to ashes. My brothers received fatal wounds from saboteurs, and they both died on November 9th.”
Milena said that she and her family did not even know that her brothers went to Shushi. They thought the brothers were in Sevan. “We did not have any news from them for the first few days after they went. When they went a second time, we also did not have any news from them for the first few days. My younger brother called me for the last time. He said that everything was fine, and that he would call again, so we shouldn’t worry. That was on November 6th. They didn’t want us to be worried, so they told us that they were in Sevan. So, we thought they were in Sevan. Then, we found out that they were transferred to Karin Tak, and that is where they died.”
Milena said that they were initially told that one of the brothers was wounded. So, their father went to Shushi and tried to find his sons in the hospitals. He tried to get information from anywhere possible, but he couldn’t. Then, they found out that Armen and Levon died on November 9th. The brothers were taken to the Heratsi hospital, which is where their cousin was. He recognized both of their bodies.
Levon was married, and he had two children: Angeli and Smbatik. But the younger brother, Armen, was not married.
Their sister said that both of the brothers were very cheerful people. She has many happy memories with both of them.
The brothers were born and raised in Ashtarak. They lived as a large family in the Sasunik village near Ashtarak.
Milena said that her brothers were buried in their village pantheon next to freedom fighters Lyova Khachatryan and Geghaznik Mikayelyan. Levon was a great singer, and he especially enjoyed singing patriotic music. He was a relaxed person, but his younger brother, Armen, was more active.
We asked Milena how her brothers decided to work in the police force. Milena said, “They had a friend who was working for the police. They were not indifferent; they enjoyed state jobs. The friend advised them to join, and they were accepted. In reality, Armen was very tall, but Levon wasn’t, and they needed to provide information about their physical traits to the police. They quickly accepted Armen, but there were some issues that arose with Levon. He was accepted one month late. Their contract was three years. When it expired, they renewed it because they loved their job.”
Milena said that her brothers, who are nearly 10 years older than she is, were like parents to her. They shared everything together; they had even split a Snickers bar into three pieces. The brothers’ only goal was to make money and build a huge house so that their large and kind family could live together happily.
Tatev Harutyunyan
