Marat Nazaryan is a veteran of the Great Patriotic War. He was 17 years old when he was sent to the front from Russia’s Primorye region. As a Radisson, he participated in many battles and was awarded a number of medals. After serving in the Soviet Army for eight years, he returned to his homeland.
“My father and mother are from Kars, they arrived in Yerevan during the migration,” says Marat Nazaryan.
My father was a Red Army commander. He was assigned to work in Vanadzor, where I was born in 1925. I was 5 years old when my mother died. At that time, my father was transferred to the Primorye region, where he was appointed deputy chief of Usuriysk, bordering China. He took me and my brother to him.”
In Usuriysk, Marat Nazaryan attends school, then he is admitted to the Energy Technician. In 1941, when the war started, he was drafted into the army. As a technician-electrician, he was sent to Khabarovsk Radio Research School, where he studied for a year as a radio operator-saboteur and went to the front.
“We boarded the wagons from Khabarovsk and headed for the Kursk arc, where our army suffered great losses. There I was assigned as a radio operator of the divisional headquarters. It was 1944, I was 19 years old. Having liberated the lands of Belarus and Poland, we reached Prussia. There was an order to capture the great fortress of the city of Königsberg, which was considered inaccessible. The military plan was completely drawn up by Baghramyan, who was the general of the army of that front.
The castle seemed impossible to capture. That’s where I met death face to face for the first time, – continues Marat Nazaryan, – I remember when the German tank came out against me, I was so confused that I started shouting: give me a grenade, the grenade was hanging by my side. I entered the ditch and took aim. The Germans noticed me and pointed the tank cannon in my direction. At that moment my friends hit the tank and I was saved.
I could see how the tank was burning, the Germans were running out and shooting with machine guns. The first time I pointed the gun at the German and shot… You know, it’s a completely different feeling when you see your victim. When I saw the German’s blond hair and frozen eyes staring at me from under the hood, I shuddered. At that moment, I started thinking about his father and mother, that they will not see their son again. I was so excited that I was shaking all over. I still feel guilty in the depths of my soul.
The man who shot the tank was awarded a “For Courage” medal. My commander was very angry that I had not hit the tank and cursed me. However, the corps communications chief cursed him even more, saying, “Who gave you the permission to push the radio operator against the tank?” I was sent to the dugout near the radio station. My excitement hadn’t passed yet, the company commander thought I was trembling from fear and started to comfort me, saying that when he first found himself in such a difficult situation, he didn’t tremble, but ran away. He offered me 100 grams of vodka, I said I’m on duty, I can’t, he said if you object, I’ll pour 200. We had a joker boy, he immediately brought it up: Comrade senior, I will object, give me two hundred…”.
Marat Nazaryan suddenly smiled, remembering the joker Khlestov Boris. He had reached China with him, but he did not remember that he was sad for a moment, his jokes and humor were inexhaustible everywhere. The whole war was like that, there was a mixture of grief and mourning, crying and laughter. After four consecutive days of attack, word arrives that the German fleet is approaching from the Baltic Sea.
“I was on duty in the car when a shell pierced one of the radio stations and the radio operator Sasha was killed,” says Marat Nazaryan, “the corps commander pushed the door and fell in and ordered me to tell the 11th Air Force in clear text to destroy the ships immediately. I wanted to object because, as a radio operator, I did not have the right to transmit plaintext, but he shouted, “It is Baghramyan’s order.” The situation was really terrible, the bombardment had reached its peak, fortunately my radio was undamaged and I was able to report. I heard the answer: accepted. You have no idea how much that answer meant to us. Less than 15 minutes later, the entire sky was filled with our planes. I have never seen such a number of planes before or after the war. the whole sky seemed to be covered with them. The planes sank the German fleet, a few ships managed to escape, a couple of our planes were unfortunately shot down.
On April 9, the Germans raised the white flags. Königsberg was occupied. We attacked day and night for nine days, and the soldiers were so tired that they fell exhausted and fell asleep. It was like a sleeping city. At that moment, even if a cannon was fired, they would not wake up. The command requested additional military forces to monitor the sleep of the exhausted soldiers.
Marat Nazaryan received the first medal during the capture of Königsberg, “For Combat Services”. And after that, 13 more were added to it: “Order of the Second Degree of the Patriotic War”,”Insignia of the Guards”, “For Courage”, “For Victory over the Germans”, “For the Capture of Königsberg”, as well as the medal “Victory against Japan”.
“Once my neighbor’s daughter, hearing my story about the war, said: “Uncle Marat, please show me the medal of your life, let me see what it is.” Laughing, I said, “I am the medal of life, standing in front of you.”
After 5 years of military service in China, Marat Nazaryan returned to Armenia at the age of 25.
He got married in Armenia, but had no children. lost his wife early.
Today, Marat Nazaryan is alone, but there is someone who shares happy and difficult days with him and gives meaning to his old age. It is Midil Galjian, a woman whom Marat met in his youth at a holiday home. A few years ago, they met again, this time in the “Mission Armenia” NGO.