Suren Shaboyan is a native of the village of Drmbon in the Martakert region of NK. In 2022, he entered the Faculty of Management of the Armenian State University of Economics and in the same year was drafted and entered service in the Artsakh Defense Army. He served in a 120-millimeter mortar battery.
“On September 19, 2023, we were in positions and we had already been warned in advance to be ready. I was on duty from 4 am, finished at 8 to rest, at 9:20 Captain Vardanyan approached us and said, “Guys, get up, the fight is starting…”
After the explosion of the first shell, I jumped to the net that covered the mortar, threw it aside and, without waiting for an order, started my war. From the first minute, a barrage of mines began. The forces were unequal and for the three mines we fired, we received several dozens. But that couldn’t stop us: we had a homeland and we had relatives who were heartily waiting for our return, and the oath we had taken before our parents. It was as if we were in hell: the air was saturated with the smell of gunpowder, shells were falling from the sky, drones were overhead,” recalled 21-year-old Suren, who, after the war, continued his university education in Yerevan and decided to write a book and tell about the path his compatriots had taken, and about his and his comrades’ determination to fight to the end.
In 2024, Suren Shaboyan’s novel “421/731: Life in Your Embrace” was published, in which he presented his fight for life and death in a direct and simple style. Suren was supposed to serve 731 days, but his service was interrupted by the war and he served 421 days. By the way, our interlocutor is the grandson of Suren Shaboyan, the former head of the village of Drmbon in the Martakert region, who presented the cases of the deportation of Drmbon residents on Forrights.am.
“From the very beginning of the war, the Turks entered the villages. It was impossible for people to stay there. Martakert was completely surrounded, the residents of the nearby villages had been forced to leave their homes. There was almost no defense in the Haterk direction and the front line was breached. We held the positions in our sector as long as possible, and the enemy definitely suffered more casualties. When we realized that the positions in front of us no longer existed, Aram and I hugged each other and promised to fight to the death. Each of us had our own task and we fought like that for hours without stopping. According to our calculations, we should be able to hold out for 10-15 minutes. It was simply unbelievable; we were so close to death. Then we found ourselves surrounded. The order was to wait until the entire population left. With the order to retreat from our positions, we arrived and deployed near the khachkars of the village of Kichan. From there we continued the fighting. When the drones attacked, we entered the forest,” recalled the young Artsakh man.
A ceasefire had already been established, but Suren could not contact his family in the village. He constantly thought about his parents, who were also unable to find their place. One of his military friends somehow called his family and informed them that their position had been destroyed, and Suren’s father, upon receiving the news, arrived at his son’s location.
“Early in the morning of September 20, my friend called out, ‘Shaboyan, look who has come.’ I turned around and saw my father and uncle coming up. My family, especially my mother, were very worried. My father took a video of me for my mother to see that I was alive, then kissed me and left. Then, within a few hours, our village was evacuated; the Russians had warned that the Azerbaijanis were coming in tanks. From our position, we could see how our villagers were being evacuated, but we still did not realize the dire seriousness of the moment: that we were losing our home and homeland. But after crossing the Hakkari bridge, I experienced deep pain. My war ended after crossing the bridge… The rest was humiliation, homeland deprivation, and exile. That pain is insurmountable and let it not befall the rest. When we were crossing the Hakkari bridge [the border], one of the RA border guards asked, ‘Why are so many people leaving?’ I said, ‘Are you kidding?’,” Suren said indignantly.
After the war and forced deportation, he continued his studies at the university.
Many people asked Suren why Artsakh was depopulated, how it all happened. “I decided to write down what I saw: the blockade of Artsakh, the war, the deportation, the unbreakable will of the Artsakh people, and the subsequent events. Those people who say that the people of Artsakh did not fight, did not struggle, probably do not even understand what battles there were or how the enemy attacks their parents, children and relatives with weapons. That is why I decided to write a book and inform as many people as possible about the events. My aunt, Ani Mangasaryan, who also published a book (“Ani’s Notebook”), seeing my feelings, encouraged me to write. I understood that this is also an opportunity to present the truth to people,” added our interlocutor.
Suren intends to write a second book this year and tell about the deportation of his compatriots, the efforts they made in a war situation, the medical facilities overflowing with wounded and the unspeakable difficulties, the people of Artsakh who fought under the threat of death. And according to him, if after presenting so many stories, writing books and articles, they still say Artsakh people did not fight, that would be a sickening phenomenon.
Suren is currently a second-year student at the ASUE Faculty of Management. He will be studying abroad for the next few months on an exchange program. Regarding the return of Artsakh residents, the young man noted that he has a goal, not a dream. In his opinion, no one will fight for Armenians, and living with Turks is impossible, and, by learning from history, we must create an Armenian dream, become stronger, and unite around one idea.
Zara Mayilyan
