Reserve officer Garnik Mnatsakanyan, 50, was born in the village of Shosh, Askeran region of NK. He graduated from the local school in the early stages of the Artsakh movement and immediately joined the struggle for survival. In the 1990s, as part of the Shosh village detachment (commander Arkady (Ago) Harutyunyan), he participated in the liberation battles of Artsakh, including the liberation of Shushi. He was awarded a number of medals. In 1993-98, Garnik studied at the Chelyabinsk Higher Tank Command School, returned and served in the Ivanyan Tank Regiment of the Republic of Armenia as a platoon commander. In 1999, he served as a company commander in the Tsor military unit until 2021, holding various positions.
“2020 During the 44-Day War, I was the commander of a tank battalion. After the Four-Day War, this war was expected sooner or later. The enemy had tried to find our weak and strong sides. The strong side was artillery, which they had to fight with UAVs. Already in September 2020, we understood that the resumption of the war was close. On September 27, I was in our village, Shosh, when the first shells fell on the air defense bases located between us and the village of Avetaranots. We attributed the explosions to some mistake, but soon they called from Tsor, confirming that it was a war. From Tsor, we traveled by tanks through the streets of the city to our deployment site, Ughtasar. It was quiet for a week, we were in a state of waiting, then we were supposed to carry out a combat mission in the Fuzuli region, but after some time the order was canceled. Then we reached Jebrayil by tanks through Hadrut and immediately entered into combat operations. After the unit commander Artur Ohanyan was wounded, the operation failed. After regrouping, we received other tasks, but they were always changed by the order of retreat. On October 15, we were in a blockade near Horadiz for three days. Somehow escaping the blockade, we performed various tasks. Until November 4, we were in defensive positions in Karin Tak. The situation was serious. On November 8, my family called from Yerevan and informed me that my older brother was in the intensive care unit and his condition was serious. After hearing the news, I rushed to Yerevan to return in two days. But, during this time, happened what happened. After the ceasefire was announced, I returned to Artsakh on the same day. I don’t even want to remember those days,” the officer bitterly presented.
According to the reservist officer, all the enemy’s actions were aimed at capturing Shushi. By February 2021, when he retired, he had equipped and strengthened the existing positions. As for the resumption of the war in 2023, Garnik, like many others, thought that as long as the Russian peacekeepers were in Artsakh, it would not start until 2025 [when the Russian would withdraw, if the peacekeepers’ agreement was not renewed]. He even renovated his apartment in Stepanakert. In 2023, Garnik was the commander of the Stepanakert militia battalion.
“On September 19, they called me in the morning and informed that there the war was about to start. These were the difficult days of the blockade; there was no food in the city, and the positioners were given small amounts of food. We manage to eat khashlama with the boys, after which the shelling began. I immediately climbed to the positions near the bends of Shushi. Everything was visible from the height. There were battles in our position above Shushi. During that time, the company commander Boris Balayan was wounded and the ambulance could not reach, then I started receiving information about the wounded in the nearby positions. We had no news from the commander of the militia platoon Artur Aghajanyan (Arjuk); there was no communication. Then it turned out that Arjuk was killed. Boryan also died in the hospital,” the reserve officer told about his comrades-in-arms with emotion.
Boris Balayan was a participant in the Artsakh war of the 1990s and was awarded the RA “Battle Cross” medal at the age of only 17. Artur Aghajanyan, Arjuk, was also a participant in the Artsakh war and fought to the end as militiaman, sacrificing his life with other militiamen for the sake of the homeland. The remains of them and other martyrs were only possible to be removed from the positions on September 22. The bodies of Boris Balayan and Artur Aghajanyan are buried in the Yerablur military pantheon.
“During the one-day war, I lost positions 842 and 843. We had four victims. The enemy’s losses were incomparably greater. Only at position 842, near the cross, there were 25 enemy corpses. They came to one position with 50 people, more than 2 times more than us in number. It was an unequal battle. There was also a nurse and 2 female signalmen at the positions, whom we were later able to remove through the forests. But we were waiting until the end for help to arrive from Armenia. We could not imagine that they would let the enemy enter Stepanakert,” Garnik said indignantly.
According to him, they had already been informed through communication that Karmir village, Sznek, and Sarushen were under enemy control. It also turned out that five people were left in a cave under Shushi in one of their positions and could not move forward or backward. At night, they called Garnik and informed that after Arjuk was killed, they had retreated from their position and found themselves in a hopeless situation and could not get out without a rope.
“But we are ordered to get out of our positions. The Russian peacekeepers were also forced to put down their weapons and leave. Everyone, disappointed, thought about reaching their families as soon as possible, because the Azerbaijanis had entered the first house in the Krkzhan district and planted a flag, but had moved away because of our shooting. And we had to save our five militiamen. So we reached the city and delivered a rope to them with a drone for them to get out through the area. We directed them along the river. They finally managed to overcome that part of the mountain with the help of a rope and pass 4 km’s under the enemy’s nose unnoticed during 15 hours,” the commander said.
On September 24, the population of Artsakh began to evacuate. There was no alternative. Garnik also evacuated his family in his car. They took only the necessary items with them and the television, which was wrecked on the road.
“After crossing the Hakari Bridge, I took a deep breath. We organized the funeral of our fallen friends in Yerevan. Now we live in Hrazdan, RA. I teach the subject of Preliminary Military Training at school. After two months of work, the school team took 1st place in the PMT competition. As for the return, it will be possible only by force, by means of weapons. No state will guarantee our security. I see no other option. And the sooner, the better,” concluded the reserve officer.
Zara Mayilyan