Only a nation with strong national orientation can have a right of national self-determination.

Why we cannot be a worthy partner in our political relations with other countries? The reason perhaps is that we have been deprived of statehood for centuries. But why we have been deprived of statehood? Perhaps, we are a small country. Why we are a small country? Maybe we couldn’t have been a worthy political partner from the beginning. But it is over. We must stop underestimating ourselves. I think we need a very specific goal and our national collective vision on it. Isn’t that the most important thing for a nation?   

These thoughts broke into my mind while reading Oleg Kuznetsov’s article “The response to the Moscow explosions of 1977” published in Russian “Zavtra” newspaper before the presidential elections in Armenia. The article was so biased and deliberately written that it covered a very evident response.  However I can’t hide my trouble caused by that article which made me speak, but not with the author, just speak with you and with myself.

On one hand this extensive article is about preservation of human life and tolerance, and on the other hand - about terrorism – a criminal behavior to make the voice of this or that religious or political group heard at the cost of innocent human life.

But that is so only at first glance.

The Constitution of the USSR was to provide the opportunity for any country to voluntary join, as well as to withdraw from the Soviet Union via nationally determined referendum. But for those who wanted to leave the Soviet Union there were no “open days”, and all the fifteen republics lived in the huge Soviet family as compulsory volunteers. This unwritten law was firmer than any other law fixed in the legislative system of the Soviet Union.

In 1960s the National United Party of Armenia (NUP) tried to implement the above mentioned constitutional point to protect the legitimate right of Armenians’ self-determination. But Soviet laws are not always included in the system of the Soviet Union Central Committee, and our activity led for independence was considered illegal. Then the persecutions and arrests began. On this occasion, the world’s sensible forces raised their voices in defense of the rights of political dissidents. The Soviet Union had to answer them. But in the USSR it meant to avoid liability. And the superpower adopted the policy of throwing drugs into pockets of innocent, but for some petty reason pursued people accusing them of any invented criminal guilt, negligence or even terror. 

So happened in 1980 when it was six years since I had been carrying my punishment in Siberian prisons for being devoted to the ideology of national independence. Only a few days were left to my dismissal from prison when I was falsely charged for an attempt of escape. And they added three years to my punishment. I was again shocked feeling the pain caused by injustice. After that incident every time facing a big injustice I recall the Soviet Union security’s cynicism of 1980 towards me. In the camp set up for offenders for the first time I felt the rightness of my struggle and my political views became more stable.

A noble patriot, devoted and gifted Stepan Zatikyan was an ideal example for us, the members of National United Party. Even after having been accused of participating in anti-Soviet activities, having been arrested and having suffered imprisonment, the fighter for the independence remained steadfast in his principles. The state apparatus of the Soviet Union was anxious. They had to stop Zatikyan’s activity. The intention to put blocking on his activity was timed with the terroristic act of 1977 in Moscow subway as a result of which 7 people were killed and 37 were wounded. Hakob Stepanyan and Zaven Baghdasaryan were arrested (Armenian dilettante terrorists - as it was written in the article by Kuznetsov) who later allegedly confessed that his commander was Stepan Zatikyan. Zatikyan was arrested in Yerevan and after the intensive closed-door trial they three were executed. After this incident, among many others, academician Andrei Sakharov also raised his voice publishing his open letter “Appeal to international society” blaming the KGB (Committee for State Security) for the blast in Moscow subway, which was a planned operation to take revenge with the dissidents not taking into consideration the security of  people. Kuznetsov qualified this letter by academician Andrei Sakharov, who had rendered an incalculable service for the Soviet Union, as hysterical. He defined Zatikyan as forefather of global hatred, Islamic extremism and religious terrorism, and his “terroristic act” as the motive for making the ideological conflict between the USSR and the USA an antagonism between these two geopolitical systems, as well as the messenger of state-partial ideological collapse of the USSR. Zatikyan’s ideological belief is described in the article as “the Armenian nationalism-chauvinism”, whereas Zatikyan was not a nationalist but fighter for independence. The fighters for the independence lived and worked not only in the peripheries. There were also many Russians among the fighters for independence.

The extensive article of Kuznetsov which is full of series of accusations also touches upon the Armenian officials of the USSR who are supposed to support the elements of the Armenian anti-Soviet activities. Being well aware of all these events, I declare that the Armenian KGB agents were even more catholic in their behavior than Pope. 14 trials took place in Armenia during one year. This is an evident example of the Armenian agents’ unprecedented commitment to the “center”. Evidence is the fact that they were carefully concealing from the Armenian people the existence and functioning of Zatikyan and all other fighters for independence. I am sure that even today many of us still do not know Stephan Zatikyan, moreover Hakob Stepanyan and Zaven Baghdasaryan are generally unknown to the public, but in that notorious article our society is blamed for praising their terrorists. And this is the case, when the Safarov’s villainous story is still hot and when the world witnessed how a whole nation praised and glorified a villain who killed with an axe an Armenian soldier sleeping in bed. Meanwhile such a crime cannot be forgiven even in the criminal world. In the criminal world killing a sleeping man is considered as “shameful” and it is immediately followed by lynching.  

But the Armenian people are lucky; Kuznetsov understands and does not blame the Armenians. After all, the Armenians do not have the real heroes and they had to glorify the terrorists. This writer is dilettante even in his meanness, because even the lie, no matter how deliberate it is, should be at least plausible. In his article Kuznetsov also blamed the Russian people for tardiness to give a real rating of the Armenian terrorists. According to the writer this tolerance of the Russian people towards the Armenian terrorists comes from the slaughter of Russian tsar’s family by bolshevism. The writer does not take into consideration that the state policy of the Soviet dictatorship also derived from bolshevism which is now evidently condemned in his article and which was strictly refused by Zatikyan and the others. “An ox fallen, butchers are gathering”. One of such butchers is Kuznetsov who criticizes the Soviet regime and bolshevism. But what he would have done in the Soviet years when every righteous word and writing against Soviet tyranny was considered a crime, and the author was thrown into jail for dissidents?

In those years I had met many such people as Kuznetsov gifted with superb inclination toward political power. They were sold everywhere.

Thirty four years have already passed since then. Stepan Zatikyan and “dilettante terrorists” are shot. Why Kuznetsov does not calm down? It turns out that he has a suggestion presented in the article by the example of Great Britain, when Oliver Cromwell’s body was taken off the grave, burnt and the ash was blown into the air as a sign of society's moral purification and state security’s reinforcement. Why Kuznetsov, an archenemy to bolshevism and supporter of new Russia, does not pay attention to the body of bolshevism’s father Vladimir Ilyich, which would be easier to burn as there is no need to take it off the grave. But the story is not only about Cromwell. There is a much more important factor that troubles the article writer who has published his writing on the threshold of the presidential elections in Armenia. One of Zatikyan’s friends and supporters Paruyr Hayrikyan not only has never been scourged, but even has nominated his candidacy in the presidential elections in Armenia. In the case of Hayrikyan’s election the neighboring Azerbaijan would start a war and would return Artsakh to Armenia. And Armenia would have to reconsider its relations with Russian Federation as a country of terrorism and nationalism in the eyes of the international community.

In fact, this statement is a warning shot addressed to the presidential elections in Armenia. The same weapon shot a bullet towards our presidential candidate Paruyr Hayrikyan. I demand to include Oleg Kuznetsov as a respondent in the assault case against Hairikyan, as I think the commander of this operation is an Azeri. I consider the Russian political forces were unlikely to have such a fear related to Hayrikyan’s election as president. 

Russian press has not written any word against this ordered misrepresented article in which the Armenians are described as ungrateful and extremely dangerous nationalist mass. No word was written about our religious affiliation and centuries-old political beliefs. Meanwhile, the Armenians for many centuries and especially during the Soviet era have served their talent and genius in welfare of Russian people. In that boundless country there is no field in which the citizens of our small country would not have their creative contribution. During the World War Armenia has given 300-350 thousands victims, more than any other country in correlation with total number of our population. Later thousands of Armenians became victims of terrorism in Siberia. After the collapse of the Soviet Union every year nearly 900 Armenians were killed in Russia.   

After the independence of the previous Soviet countries Russia excused debts of more than hundreds of millions to different countries except for his strategic partner Armenia. Later this powerful country realized a more diplomatic rather than financial operation in Armenia for its own interests. As a result, today the Russian government decides even the diameter of Iran-Armenia gas pipe.

All this facts show that we are not a political partner for Russia. Until we have not recognized this truth a scoundrel, such as Kuznetsov will take the state function to assign to a whole nation to apologize for glorifying Stepan Zatikyan, Hakob Stepanyan and Zaven Baghdasaryan, otherwise Russia will reconsider their relations with the newly-elected president of Armenia.

“Russia has sufficient sources of influence on Armenia and Armenian Diaspora operating businesses in  our territory to make Armenia apologize but it is better that the Armenian side should be willing to do it”. Kuznetsov ends up with his article. This was a cautionary shot. Meanwhile our businessmen are not tolerated just for sympathy. It’s because Russia itself benefits from the Armenian businesses. The same is in all other cases.

We, Armenians are well aware of political cynicism. Our partner Russia has blamed us for different sins, such as extremism, chauvinism, terrorism. Every time we are naive to think that our northern friend is in misunderstanding and we begin to give additional explanations. Meanwhile, there are no emotions in diplomacy, there is no choice of means and the only true diplomacy is the one which brings profits to the country. That’s why the Armenians have never been good diplomats. We do not go on compromises only towards each other. We do not have a definite goal, our collective ideology about any goal, our national orientation which should be directed only to us. Here is our response to the warning shot.

Otherwise, we will continue our survival as a people with no orientation.

Razmik Markosyan 

P.S.  The newspaper "Izvestia", an organ of the Soviet government, published information about the blast in Moscow metro station informing that 7 people were killed and 37 injured only 25 months after the explosion.

Zatikyan ‘s family was informed about the verdict made on trial of Moscow station blast only several days after the execution. 

In 1978 400 cultural figures and journalists were present at the protest against the court verdict organized in front of the Russian Embassy in Paris. 

In Lyon a requiem was served in memory of Stepan Zatikyan.

During the last talk with his brother Zatikyan told that his only sin was that he had left two children in this world.

Stepan Zatikyan’s guilt has not yet been proven.