Closer look at Armenia's military history Desertions, defeats, and the fiction of heroism

Just take a look at who is speaking out… None other than Seyran Ohanyan, Armenia’s former Defense Minister, who has labelled Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s thoughts on a "nation-army" and "nation-victim" as "irresponsible and immoral." This refers to Pashinyan’s December 3 statement, in which he discussed his country's effort to overcome the concept of being a "nation-victim" by shifting to the idea of a "nation-army."

According to Pashinyan, this new focus is essentially a continuation of the previous "logic," since positioning Armenians as a "nation-army" inevitably generates opposition from other armies. Instead, he argues that it is more important for the state to adopt a logic that acts "solely in the interests of its recognized territory, for its own economic development."

In any case, these are internal "disputes" among our neighbours – let them sort it out themselves, whether they are victims, soldiers, or... We would have ignored Ohanyan’s statement altogether if he hadn’t emphasized that Pashinyan, with his remarks, "devalues the heroic past and victorious pages of Armenia’s history and its people." But the question is, isn’t this a bit laughable? What "heroic past of the Armenian people"? What "victorious chapters in Armenia’s history"? Or have we missed something? Wasn’t it Ohanyan who witnessed the disgraceful flight of Armenian occupiers from Azerbaijan’s historic lands in the fall of 2020? Or has he forgotten the results of the one-day local counter-terrorism operation in 2023? Could it be that he considers the Khojaly genocide, committed against defenceless Azerbaijanis, part of this "heroic past"? Or the refusal of Yerevan to provide minefield maps left by the occupying forces? Or perhaps he views the shelling of peaceful Azerbaijani cities in 2020 as a "victorious chapter"? It’s also possible that among the so-called "achievements of Armenia’s military strategy," Ohanyan includes the "impassable lines of defence" named after him, built on Azerbaijan’s occupied territories at the time. But weren’t these very lines of defence swiftly dismantled by the brave Azerbaijani army, led by Supreme Commander-in-Chief, President Ilham Aliyev, during the Second Karabakh War?

Flipping through the pages of these "unrepeatable great achievements of the heroic Armenian army," we find ourselves caught in a truly interesting whirlpool of Armenia’s "indomitable successes." On October 28, 2020, during the Second Karabakh War, Armenia’s parliament, in a special session, adopted a draft amendment to the country's Criminal Code. The amendment aimed to increase penalties for certain actions during wartime, including evasion of mandatory military service, training exercises, or mobilization. This was directly related to the mass desertion of Armenian soldiers. Why "mass"? Because it’s unlikely that Armenia’s military authorities would have amended the Criminal Code over the desertion of just one or two soldiers, or even a few dozen, in the midst of active combat.

This is confirmed by Armenian sources, which report that in October 2022, the head of Armenia's Investigative Committee, Argishti Kyaramyan, presented data on criminal cases related to "violations of military service order in the country's armed forces and other offences connected to military actions." The phrasing sounds elaborate, of course, and somewhat vague, but it's clear enough to understand that Kyaramyan subtly referred to the deserters. He revealed that "around 1600 criminal cases were initiated against approximately 12,600 individuals," adding that "883 citizens, including 78 officers (17 senior officials), were charged in these cases."

The issue of "army deserters" was further addressed in April 2023 by Armenia's First Lady, Anna Hakobyan, who stated that "during the 44-day war, the number of deserters from the Armenian side amounted to 11,000—military personnel, volunteers, and officers." In June of the same year, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan reiterated Kyaramyan’s figures during a commission meeting to examine the circumstances of the 44-day war.

It’s interesting to consider how Ohanyan will characterize the information presented above. Does he still view it as a demonstration of "heroism" or "self-sacrifice" by the Armenian people? And didn’t Ohanyan himself swiftly retreat from the city of Shusha in November 2020? Now, after having witnessed firsthand the brilliantly executed operation by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces to liberate Shusha, an operation that has already become part of modern military history in several foreign countries, Ohanyan still dares to speak of the "victorious pages" of the Armenian army? Perhaps it’s simply easier for Ohanyan to live by convincing, first himself and then the Armenian people, to believe in the "victorious chapters" of his country's army.

In this context, it is worth quoting what President Ilham Aliyev said in October 2023 after raising the State Flag of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Khankendi: "We have created such a powerful army that the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan can honorably fulfill any task today, and we proved that on the battlefield. We forced the enemy to sign the act of capitulation in just 44 days during the Patriotic War three years ago. At the same time, the counterterrorism operation we carried out last month that lasted only 23 hours showed our strength, and the enemy surrendered by waving the white flag."

Perhaps Ohanyan views this context as a demonstration of the "victorious pages of the history of Armenia and its people"?