KIEV - Gen. Wilhelm Martirossian and Heinrich Altounian are two Armenians of diametrically opposed backgrounds whose popularity has skyrocketed since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the birth of an independent Ukraine. One is a career officer who has served his motherland well. The other has fought everything the Communists stood for, and was exiled to Siberia along with other dissidents. Gen. Martirossian is the Chairman of the State Committee in charge of social welfare for the 700,000-strong Ukrainian armed forces. This means housing, the relocation of Ukrainian soldiers from other parts of the former Soviet Union, pension plans for retiring officers, health care and "everything else which deals with the soldier as a human being and not just a war machine." The six-foot-something Martirossian has done so well that many refer to him as the darling of all Ukrainian mothers whose sons are in the military. He is like a big brother looking after the soldiers. The husky 53-year-old officer is amused with the characterization. "I am the man with the biggest headache in the army. If the army is to be cut in size, it's Martirossian's headache. If the troops need anything, it's also Martirossian's headache," he joked during an interview at his humble office in central Kiev. The grandson of a priest from the Shahoumian region of Nagorno-Karabakh, Gen. Martirossian was born in the town of Kirovabad. He joined the Soviet army fresh out of a tenth-grade Armenian education and was sent to Yerevan to serve, first as a soldier from 1959-60, and then as a junior officer from 1963 to 1968. His service in Armenia was followed by more training at the Leningrad Military Academy followed by rapid promotions. For 13 years, he served as a brigade commander in Manchuria along the Soviet-Chinese border. One of the most decorated officers of the Soviet military, Gen. Martirossian has been stationed in Ukraine since 1985 and is widely recognized for his role in organizing the independence movement within the Ukrainian armed forces. His leadership of a group of liberal officers is well remembered. Gen. Martirossian was also one of the first officers to raise the banner of Ukrainian allegiance as the Soviet Union began falling apart. At a time when Russia and Ukraine were arguing over who controls what portion of the vast Soviet army, Gen. Martirossian sided with the Ukrainians. He could have gone to the Russians, but he did not. His decision did not go unnoticed, and the name Gen. Martirossian, the Soviet Armenian, was in the headlines. He was now the "darling" of the Ukraine. He was soon given a commission to investigate the abuse of new recruits into the armed forces, a sensitive and highly explosive social issue. Still in charge of the same commission, and holding a Cabinet-level post, Gen. Martirossian reflects on the last days of the "Soviet Empire", its mistakes, miscalculations and adventurism. As an elected member of the Supreme Soviet from the western Ukrainian city of Rovno, he was sent to Nagorno-Karabakh in 1989 by former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to investigate charges of Red Army involvement and human rights violations in the enclave. "I am the primary author of the early reports on Azerbaijani atrocities in Nagorno-Karabakh and human rights violations against the Armenian people there. I was sent to Gedashen and Martunashen and reported on what was done to the Armenians there." "For the Azerbaijanis, I was public enemy number one. They even put a price on my head and distributed leaflets demanding my execution. On some of our fact-finding missions, we had to use three different armored personnel carriers to camouflage our movements. On one occasion, they fired at my helicopter to prevent me from reaching Stepanakert," Gen. Martirossian said. Despite his findings, the Soviet leadership remained aloof. "I was disillusioned. Our (former Soviet) leaders were not sincere. Gorbachev may have been a cautious politician, but those around him were adventurists," he said. Martirossian, whose 83-year-old father fled from Kirovabad under Azerbaijani pressure and now lives in Ukraine, says "some Armenians should also be blamed for the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh." "If some of our people were wiser and more far-sighted, Nagorno-Karabakh today would have been like the Crimea where a majority of ethnic Russians live in peace and prosperity within a Ukrainian framework. At least there would not have been any bloodshed. I don't know how to say this, but I think today's victories on the ground are temporary because we don't know what will happen tomorrow," Gen. Martirossian says with the sober voice of an officer who has witnessed the rise and fall of the military fortunes of the former Soviet Union. Maybe because of his military background Gen. Martirossian is convinced that a peaceful solution is the key to the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh. "I've always been a soldier, but a soldier of peace," he says pointing to a small dove tattooed on his hand. "I am proud of my role as a peace advocate." He smiles when asked if he would consider moving to Armenia to help his countrymen. "They can get many defense ministers in Yerevan, but there is only one Gen. Martirossian in Ukraine. I think I can do more from here than from there," the officer says without elaboration. "I am the son of the Armenian people and the father of Ukrainian children," he said. Gen. Martirossian is married to a Ukrainian and has two daughters, and a grand-son named Arthur. If Gen. Martirossian has reached the peak of his military career in the free and independent state of Ukraine, fellow Armenian Heinrich Altounian has done just as well in the complex framework of post-independence Ukraine. Born in Tbilisi, Georgia, Altounian - one of the most vocal and active members of the Ukrainian Parliament - marked his 60th birthday in April, reflecting on his early years in the Soviet military, his life in Soviet jails, and his constant battle for democracy and freedom. "I do consider myself an Armenian, but unfortunately, people like me are sometimes ignored by the authorities in Armenia. If given a chance, we can play a greater and more effective role," he said through an interpreter. "There is nothing personal in this. For some reason or another, Armenia is looking more toward the west than its old extended family - Russia, Ukraine, etc." "Armenia is a Christian nation surrounded by Moslems. When there is no movement towards us from Armenia, we in the Ukraine cannot reciprocate. Armenia cannot survive with just Western help," he said. Altounian, who has lived in Kiev since 1944, entered the political stage through the treacherous doors of human rights when the slightest sign of dissent meant time in the Soviet labor camps of Siberia. He was elected to the Ukrainian Parliament in 1990 from the city of Kharkov. "My father was a military man and my grandfather was a devoted socialist. It was natural for me to follow in their footsteps, first as an officer, and then as a dissident," Altounian says with a broad smile. A "veteran" of Soviet jails and exile in Siberia and Tataristan, Altounian started learning Armenian in a prison camp from fellow inmates including Ashod Navasardian, presently a member of the Armenian Parliament. "I did go through a transformation while serving time in exile. I thought about my ethnicity so I began studying the alphabet. "Just think: The Soviet military has produced four Armenian Marshals, and not a single Azerbaijani officer of that high a rank. As anti-communists and dissidents, dozens of Armenians were arrested and put in prison. I do not recall a single Azerbaijani dissident or political prisoner in the early years of our movement." "Armenians have always been wise, and I hope common sense will prevail and a negotiated settlement is found to the problems of Nagorno-Karabakh. This war must stop," Altounian said.
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Armenia: Fighting for Survival
