Soviet and Armenian politician Demirchyan Karen always enjoyed the respect and love of his people. After the collapse of the USSR, he retired from political activity and only at the numerous requests of the residents of Armenia decided to return to power and took the post of speaker of parliament, which turned into a tragedy for him. In 1999, during one of the meetings of the RA National Assembly, a group of terrorists seized the parliament building and opened fire on the entire hall, in particular on the presidium. One of the bullets inflicted a mortal wound on the former first secretary of the Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. Thus, Karen Serobovich Demirchyan died at the age of 67 from a bullet of terrorists.
Biography
The great Armenian politician Kamer Serobovich Demirchyan was born in April 1932 in Yerevan, the capital of the Armenian SSR. His parents were from Western Armenia. Both orphans who were able to escape from the Turkish massacre. They met in the orphanage of Alexandropol (now Gyumri). Both were from intelligent families, from which they passed beautiful genes. They had sons Kamo and Demirchyan Karen (his date of birth is April 17). From childhood, the future first secretary was distinguished by hard work and curiosity. In addition, he stood out among his peers with his external data. He studied "excellent" and graduated from high school with a medal. 26 commissioners. Then the guy continued his studies at the Yerevan Polytechnic Institute. K. Marx. And he was able to overcome this height with honors - a red diploma. Karen received a degree in mechanical engineering.
Labor activity
After college, he was sent to work in Leningrad. Here he very soon became the head of a design team in one of the institutes involved in the defense industry of the Soviet Union. Then he was waiting for a transfer to the capital of the country. However, Karen Demirchyan refused this and asked that he be transferred to his hometown. In Yerevan, he first received the post of master in an electrical plant, and then - a process engineer. Thanks to his knowledge and hard work, the young man made a successful career and soon became the head of the foundry. Here he worked for 10 whole years. Everyone loved Karen, from workers to superiors. He always respected even laborers. There was not a single person in a huge team who would not remember him with special warmth, and sometimes with gratitude.
Party education
Along with work at the plant, Karen Demirchyan studied at the Higher Party School. This was a prerequisite for a future career. Thanks to the diploma he managed to become the director of his native plant. Over the years of its work, this enterprise has managed to reach new heights. And for Demirchyan, it became a kind of “runway” to new heights.
Social and political activities
In 1962, the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Armenian SSR, Yakov Zurabyan, turned to the Center with a request to allow the construction of a memorial in memory of the victims of the 1915 genocide, or rather, the Armenians who died during the First World War. It was then that Karen Demirchyan, whose family was directly related to those tragic events, expressed his readiness to contribute to the construction of the memorial. In 1971, he received a promotion and became the 2nd secretary of the city committee of the Communist Party of Yerevan, and after 3 years - already the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Armenian SSR, that is, the first person in the country.
He was a staunch supporter of the reforms and did everything possible to raise his country to a qualitatively new level of development. Those who came to Armenia in those years immediately noticed these changes. The time of his leadership was a heyday for Armenia. He was the first head of the Armenian SSR, who publicly declared his position regarding the events of 1915, i.e., the Armenian genocide in Ottoman Turkey. Karen Serobovich was also the first to rise to the monument in memory of the victims on April 24, 1977 and lay a wreath. Then he conceived of a grandiose construction on the same hill as the memorial. Soon, the center gave permission to create the Tsitsernakaberd sports and concert complex.
Case of life
He regarded this construction as with his own child. He was interested in everything that was connected with him. When the building was completely rebuilt, Karen Serobovich Demirchyan (photo posted in the article) was happy as a child or as the proud father of a newborn in front of the door of the hospital. However, a few days later a fire broke out over the building of the complex. Many considered this to be almost a terrorist act.
The first secretary of the Communist Party stood and watched the firemen fight the fire, and tears of resentment came to his eyes. Then a hunched woman came up to him and, holding out several notes, said that she was ready to sacrifice her pension for the restoration of Tsitsernakaberd. Even more moved, Karen Demirchyan leaned toward the old woman, thanked her for her kindness and said that the state had enough money for restoration, and he promised her to do it as soon as possible, right on Victory Day. And he kept his promise. At a concert dedicated to May 9, the same grandmother was sitting next to him in a box.
The beginning of the Karabakh movement
In the late 80s, when a wave of nationalist movements took place in the USSR, statesman Karen Demirchyan (you see his photo in the article), already known in the center as a nationalist, was forced to leave the political arena. During the Karabakh war, he led the Arm-Electron plant and, as always, was universally respected. In 1996, during the presidential election in Armenia, the republic was divided into two camps - supporters of the first president Levon Ter-Petrosyan, who is running for a second term, and Vazgen Manukyan, the former prime minister of the country. Both sides did not want to make concessions, and although, according to official figures, the incumbent president won the election, the people did not want to admit it.
And then the people suddenly began to say that if Karen Demirchyan returned to the political arena, then the split of the nation could have been avoided. The grumble of the people with a request to return to power came to him. And then Karen Serobovich decides to found a new People’s Party of the Republic of Armenia. Every day its ranks were replenished with new members who linked their future with Karen Demirchyan. In the parliamentary elections, the party he created is united with the republican party and wins in tandem with it. At the very first meeting, K. Demirchyan was elected speaker of the parliament. In the short term of government, he could have done a lot for the country and would have done even more if not for the tragic events.
October 27, 1999 his life was cut short as a result of an armed attack on the building of the National Assembly. He was among 8 victims who died while fulfilling their duty to the motherland. Today, streets, Tsitsernakaberd complex and a school are named after him in Yerevan. Every
resident of Armenia regrets him and thinks that everything would be much better in the country if Karen Demirchyan continued to manage it.