Tigranuhi Hovhannisyan does not wish to speak about her husband, Artur Karapetyan, in the past. Artur is one of the sons of Armenia who died in defense of the homeland during the second Artsakh War, leaving behind his 2-year-old daughter, 4-year-old son, and dear wife.
Tigranuhi cried when she spoke about her husband. Artur was born in 1990 in Ashotsk. When he graduated high school, he went to serve in the army. Then, he became a contract soldier. Tigranuhi said that he loved his job. They had the opportunity to leave Armenia and live elsewhere, but Artur was against it.
“Last year, I don’t know why, it was almost as if I predicted something. I kept saying, ‘Let’s leave Armenia,’ although I had grown used to him being home for 15 days and at the base for 15 days. I would tell him to leave his job, but he would say that he loves his work, his uniform, his home, and his friends, and he didn’t want to go anywhere. He even had offers to take other jobs, but he rejected them. His friends in combat say that Artur was a hero at the frontlines. They would call him Monte. He gave all the soldiers spirit, and he was a great shooter. The first day of the war was mainly fought with guns, and he shot first. The soldiers told me that he was happy in the beginning that they were able to shoot at the enemy, but then he grew sad, saying that those people also have mothers, but he understood that there was no other way because this was a war, and if he didn’t shoot them, they would shoot him. He was a very caring person, a worthy son to his parents, and his father’s right hand,” the hero’s wife said.
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Tigranuhi said that as soon as the war began on September 27th, Artur gathered his belongings and went to the frontline. “He told us to come say goodbye to him because he might not come back. I had a bad feeling, but I didn’t show it. I told myself that everything would be ok, that he would come back for sure, and that’s how we bid him farewell. But that goodbye was different from the others… when the car left, I watched him go for a long time until he was out of sight… Before he left, he said that he loved all of us, and that we should be proud. He said that if he doesn’t come back, I should tell our son who his father is. I told him not to talk like that. He said he knows where he’s going, so he might not get to say those words again.”
Tigranuhi spoke to Artur for the last time on October 19th. “He called me that day and told me to pray. My daughter started to speak when the war began, and Sona’s first word’s were ‘Our Father.’ When Artur would call, I would tell him that Samson and Sona are praying for you. He would call my daughter a doll, and he loved her in a different way, although our son, Samson, was our pride. He told me to go to church with his doll. We quickly went to church, prayed, and went home. He died at around 3 that day. We learned that his car exploded when he was driving to another position. There were 21 people in the car, and 18 of them died. We waited with hope for ten days that perhaps he wasn’t in that car. We didn’t want to believe it. We kept lying to ourselves.”
The hero’s wife said that they had many dreams that turned to dust because of the war. For example, they dreamed of buying a house and baptizing their children, but those dreams did not come true.
Tigranuhi said that her children miss their father very much. “My son understands, but he doesn’t realize what happened. When we go outside and see someone in uniform, he starts looking for his father. My husband’s friends came to our house for New Year’s and they were wearing their uniforms. My son asked me why his father didn’t come, but his friends came… My children are waiting for him. They take their father’s pictures and kiss them because they miss him.”
Gohar Hakobyan
