"I didn't want to live like that"

By Katja Woronina

Deutsch (original) · Auto-translated to English

Parujr Hajrikyan on the day of his return to Armenia from the USA, November 12, 1990

Even as a young man, you campaigned for Armenia's independence. How did this come about?

My parents' social environment had a great influence on me, as did my enthusiasm for reading. When you read a lot, you learn about many aspects of life. This gave me an idea of justice, freedom and honor. At school we were taught what Soviet patriotism means. It occurred to me that a lot of injustice was caused by Lenin and Ataturk, who divided Armenia as they pleased. We were told that we can count ourselves lucky. I quickly realized that the adults were afraid and that they were instilling this fear in me too. I didn't want to live like that. Added to this was the way elections worked in the Soviet Union: the headmistress appointed a group pioneer leader whom we were to elect in our class. That's how it went everywhere. That was disgusting to me.

»When I was sixteen, I decided to fight. I approached two classmates and together we formed a small group. Then more students came along. When they finally caught us, our Armenian Youth League consisted of 26 members.

When and how did you start organizing?

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