Robert Kocharyan
Childhood
Robert Kocharyan was born on August 31, 1954 in Stepanakert, the administrative center of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast. This is where he grew up and graduated from high school. He had а happy and careless childhood, common for those times.
During those years children spent their days outside. In summer, we used to wake up early, run to the river bank, and spend the whole day there. We swam there, fished and played. No one remembers many of our games today, they are long gone.
Youth (army and studentship)
After high school, Robert Kocharyan headed to Moscow for studying at the Energy Institute. However, a year later, he decided to change his life path and returned to Stepanakert to join the army. In 1972-1974, he served in the Soviet Army, first in Pushkovo, near Leningrad, then in Vologda, and the last months of his service — in Mongolia.
In the army, I was acquiring behavior skills in an unfriendly, sometimes even extremely aggressive surroundings. Perhaps, without them, I would not be able to overcome the challenges that fate had prepared for me in the future.
After army discharge, Robert Kocharyan immediately started working, first at the reinforced concrete structure plant in Moscow, then at the Stepanakert Silk Factory, which was the largest factory in Karabakh. However, receiving higher education was an important issue.
When I was a child, my mother could hardly stand the thought that my brother and I did not attend music classes, but she would refuse to believe that her son might not go for higher education.
In 1977, Robert Kocharyan got enrolled at the Electrical Engineering Faculty of the Yerevan Polytechnic Institute, from which he graduated in 1982, with honors. However, he was on distant learning in the last years of his studies, since he had decided to return to Stepanakert. Motherland was calling, there were many things to do, and the desire to contribute to the development of Karabakh was limitless. Later on, Robert Kocharyan was involved first in komsomol, and then in political party work, becoming the Secretary of the NKAO Silk Factory Political Party Committee. In this position he faced the critical year of 1988.
I don't believe in class theory, but I have witnessed it and I know that, despite all the internal contradictions, workers' solidarity exists. The sense of being integrated into the collective gave additional strength to each of the members. Very soon, this power completely materialized in Karabakh, when the Karabakh movement emerged and instantly took effect.
Leader of the Karabakh Movement
The Karabakh movement, which started at the end of 1987, quickly became nation-wide. The Armenians of Karabakh, who had submitted a demand to join Armenia, organized themselves, and Robert Kocharyan became one of the civil leaders of the movement. First, he was a member of the Krunk Committee, then he headed the "Miatsum" organization established by himself. Since then, Robert Kocharyan has been an important and constant participant in the Artsakh liberation movement and complex political processes. In 1989-1990, he was a member of the Supreme Soviet of Armenia, then a member of the Supreme Soviet Presidium. In 1991, he was elected as a member to the first convocation of the Supreme Soviet of the NKR. Back in the late 1980s, Robert Kocharyan assumed responsibility for the formation of the security and defense system of Nagorno-Karabakh.
I was one of those who inspired the people to fight for freedom, and victory became my lifelong goal in this struggle.
Head of the warring Artsakh
Immediately after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan launched large-scale military operations against the Armenians of Karabakh. In August 1992, when the Azerbaijani army occupied half of the territory of Artsakh, which had declared independence, Robert Kocharyan assumed the post of Chairman of the newly created State Defense Committee (SDC) of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and the post of Prime Minister of the NKR. It was the SDC that took responsibility for liberating the NKR from the enemy, and organizing the internal life and economy of the country living in military situation. Concentration of all forces and the strong will to liberate Artsakh in the shortest period had a turning point in the military operations.
Azerbaijan fought for the territory where we lived. It didn’t need us, the Karabakh people. Today, I can admit that the decision to leave my children, wife and mother in Karabakh during the war was the most difficult of all my decisions ever made.
Since May 1994, after the glorious victory in the war and the signing of the Ceasefire agreement, a long-term process of peaceful construction began in the NKR. Upon the Decision of the Supreme Council of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic of 24 December 1994, and in November 1996, following the results of the national elections, Robert Kocharyan was elected as the President of the Republic of Artsakh. During those years, under his leadership a complex process of restoration began: the settlements, infrastructures and the entire economy of Artsakh were reconstructed, defense was strengthened and the peaceful life was being restored.
Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia
In order to mitigate the consequences of the political crisis created in the Republic of Armenia in 1996 and to stop the economic downturn, in 1997 President Levon Ter-Petrosyan and the Defense Minister Vazgen Sargsyan suggested Robert Kocharyan to move to Yerevan and assume the post of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia. The country needed a strong willed person with leadership abilities to head the executive branch. Having realized the responsibility of the moment, Robert Kocharyan agreed, leaving the post of the President of the NKR, and on March 20 of 1997 was appointed as the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia. Within a few months after the appointment, the customs and tax revenues of the budget significantly increased, which made possible to solve the population social problems of primary importance. In mere eight months, all the salary and pension debts were paid in Armenia. During those years the RA state budget was for the first time executed without a deficit.
My confidence and the well-defined speed of work electrified the entire executive power, as if an electrical signal had passed and the Brownian motion of the electrons had been adjusted, pushing them all in one direction—the machine was started.
Presidential years
In the elections of March 1998, 44-year-old Robert Kocharyan was elected as the President of the Republic of Armenia. In 1998-2008, the Republic of Armenia completely changed, became one of the fastest developing countries in the world and recorded a five-fold increase in GDP. Those years were marked by numerous achievements and success for Armenia: the citizens’ mass emigration from the country stopped. Upon the order of the newly elected President, for the first time after the Spitak earthquake, an amount of 250 million drams was allocated from the state budget of the country to eliminate the consequences of the earthquake. Over the next 10 years, just at the expense of the state budget, about 5,000 apartments were commissioned in the Shirak and Lori regions. Using his authority, Robert Kocharyan managed to attract funds from the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund, Hansman, FAR, ARS and many other charitable foundations and organizations to this patriotic cause, and later on the Lincy Foundation also made contributions to these works. During those years numerous infrastructure, urban planning, cultural, agricultural and other projects were implemented in Armenia. In the settlement of the Karabakh problem Robert Kocharyan created and left a strong negotiation base for his successors.
The myth imposed on us that the development of the country was impossible until the Karabakh issue was resolved had evaporated. There was a belief in the future of Armenia among the people. Any president can dream of such results, so I left the post with a pleasant sense of a well performed duty.
Post-presidential years
After leaving the post of President of the Republic of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan became a member of Board of Directors of "Sistema" in 2009. As an independent director, he has been reelected for 11 times to the Board of Directors of Joint-Stock Financial Corporation "Sistema''. Vladimir Yevtushenkov was reelected to the post of Chairman of the Council. The Vice-Chairpersons are Anna Belova, Professor of the Higher School of Economics, and Andrey Dubovskov, the Former President of Sistema Corporation, Former Chairman of the Board of Directors of "MTS'' OJSC. Among the members of the Council are: Ron Zomer Former Chairman of Deutsche Telecom, Vladimir Chirakhov President of "Sistema'' JSFC, Roger Manings Former Head of the Russian Division of KPMG Consulting Company, Mikhail Shamolin President of Segezha Group, Felix Yevtushenkov First Vice President of the corporation, David Yakobashvili Former co-owner of "Wimm-Bill-Dann'', Anatoly Chubais Chief Executing Officer of "Rusnano Management Company'' LLC.
"If you have a successful experience of managing a country, if you have managerial skills, if you are open to new knowledge, and the brilliance of your own mightiness does not blind you, then a decent job will always find you.''
Return to politics
The radical political swing which took place in Armenia in April 2018 led to a crisis in public administration, endangering the existence and sovereignty of the Republic of Armenia. Robert Kocharyan was perhaps the only political figure who was not inspired by these events and foresaw the dangers threatening the country. After a short time, his predictions became reality, and R. Kocharyan could not but speak about it. The "velvet revolutionaries" perceived the criticism coming from the Ex-President as an intention to return to politics. In a very short time, a criminal case was fabricated on charge of "overthrowing the constitutional order", and Robert Kocharyan, who was abroad then, was summoned for questioning. Being well aware of what awaits him, Kocharyan appeared for questioning. He was charged and arrested the next day. Even during those two years in custody, he never gave up the fight and proved his innocence.
The war unleashed by Azerbaijan and Turkey against Artsakh in 2020 had serious consequences for Artsakh and Armenia, putting under major doubt the future of the Armenian state. In these difficult circumstances, Robert Kocharyan made a responsible and difficult decision to return to big politics, based on the priority interests of the country and the nation.
I had no intention to return to politics. I thought that I had turned the last page of this story and put an end to it. But, as it turned out, sometimes politics comes back to you. I don't know how will the future events develop, but I am ready to fight.