Vitya Ayvazyan was born on December 31,
1955, in the village of Spandaryan of the Artik region of Armenia.
His father - Vorosh Grigorovich Ayvazyan, born in
1933, worked as an economist-builder.
His mother - Kima Avakovna Ayvazyan, born in
1930, a teacher by training. She worked as head of studies, school headmistress and technical secondary school headmistress.
Vitya Ayvazyan's ancestors fled to Eastern Armenia from Alashkert (Western Armenia). Both grandfathers of Vorosh Ayvazyan were killed at the hands of Turks in
1920.
Vitya's grandfather - Grigor Arshakovich Ayvazyan, a teacher by training, worked as headmaster of a village school, and then as chairman of the kolkhoz of the village of Spandaryan. He was a veteran of World War II, was wounded four times, and was decorated with medals and diplomas.
His grandmother was a housewife.
In
1962, Vitya Ayvazyan entered Yerevan secondary Russian school N71. After the eighth grade he continued his study at the physics and mathematics school of the Yerevan State University, and after graduating from this school he entered the Department of Mechanics of the Mechanical-Mathematic Faculty of the Yerevan State University.
After graduating from the University, he went to work at the central representation of "Hayshinbank" from where he was conscripted to military service to the former Soviet Army as officer. He served in Byelorussia in
www.armrugby.am . He completed his service in the rank of senior lieutenant. After demobilization he went to work at the Abovyan "Sirius" plant, then passed to work at the Yerevan Electric-Bulb Plant. He entered the extra-mural department of the faculty of mechanical engineering of the Yerevan Polytechnic Institute in order to receive the specialty of mechanical engineer.
Vitya Ayvazyan became a candidate for membership in the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), but later, becoming an active member of the national movement, he did not pursue his party career and never joined the ranks of the CPSU.
Since the first days of the Karabagh movement he had been actively engaged in all events contributing to the national awakening of the Armenian people. Working at the Electric-Bulb Plant, he became an organizer and leader of the Karabagh movement. In particular, he organized the collection of evidence on the events that took place at "Zvartnots" Airport (1988), besides, he participated in the court trial in this case as public defender.
Vitya Ayvazyan was one of the organizers of the Armenian Nationwide Movement.
After the devastating earthquake in December
1988, staying in the disaster zone day and night, he led rescue operations. On January 7,
1989, together with members of the "Karabagh" committee and other activists, he was arrested and spent a month in custody. After being released from custody, he did not condone with the formed situation and continued his active participation in the Movement, exerting great efforts to get the members of the "Karabagh" committee released from jail. He was again arrested for distributing leaflets and spent several days in jail.
In late
1988, Ayvazyan went to work at the "Lazur" production unit.
Vitya Ayvazyan was a delegate of the first congress of the Armenian Nationwide Movement (ANM) in
1989. Also then, he was elected member of the Board of the Armenian Nationwide Movement with a majority vote. As member of the ANM Board he took part in the organization of self-defense detachments that operated in Artsakh (Karabagh) and borderline regions of Armenia. V. Ayvazyan was a member of the central headquarters of Yerekrapah (land protection) detachments. He was engaged in the provision of Yerkrapah detachments with clothes, foodstuffs, arms and ammunition. Distribution of fuel was also done with his participation.
In heavy political conditions of Armenia, leaving his work and family, he was selflessly devoted to the Movement. Vitya Ayvazyan thought that the main principles of Armenian statehood should become: ensuring the security of citizens, the country's economic prosperity and political stability, for which it is necessary to establish democracy in every place, through representative bodies. He attached great importance to raising the living standards of the population.
In
1990, Vitya Ayvazyan was elected deputy of the Supreme Soviet (Council) of Armenia.
On August 29,
1990, he died while doing a professional assignment as a Supreme Council member.
Vitya was a beloved son of his parents, a loyal friend who was loved in the school and student surroundings, a man dedicated to his cause and family, diligent in work, a leader who always required his staff to be diligent in their work like himself.
Vitya Ayvazyan was a great sport fan. He was a master of sport candidate in chess, went in for mountaineering, played for the rugby team of the University. Rugby tournaments in memory of Vitya Ayvazyan were organized twice.
Vitya Ayvazyan was a good father and faithful husband.
His
widow - Karine Vasilyan
son - Hayk, born in 1984,
daughter - Hasmik, born in 1985.
The text of Vitya Ayvazyan's biography was written and kindly provided to the website of the Rugby Federation of Armenia www.armrugby.am by Karine Vasilyan.
Vitya Ayvazyan came to the "Spartak" (Yerevan) rugby team in
1973. Meanwhile, most of his coevals then wanted to become footballers, as it was the year when the "Ararat" football club made the "golden double" winning the Championship and the USSR Cup.
From Day One of his rugby trainings Vitya had been in the center of the whole team's attention due to his wittiness, friendliness and sociability. He immediately made friends with the players who constituted the core of the team, the old-timers: Ashot Atanesyan, Ruben Karapetyan, Gagik Navoyan, Grigoriy Arzumanyan and Yuri Yefremov. Vitya was considerate and polite with coaches Petros Aslanyan and Suren Mkrtchyan. His wittiness had no boundaries. He always cheered up his teammates after defeats and rejoiced immensely when the team registered victories.
Once, in
1974, during a Spartak championship in the town of Prokhladnoye (Kabardino-Balkaria, Russia), before the match with the host team from the town of Nalchik he swore that he would shave his head if the Yerevan side won that match. And in making that promise he also allured to this trap his friends Grigoriy Arzumanyan, Levon Gyulnazaryan and Valeriy Papazyan. By the way, all the four had luxuriant chevelures (it is evidenced by the photographs before and after the match). For the first time in the 11 years from the day of the establishment of the team, I, as a coach, witnessed such a concerted and assiduous play of the team. It was a sort of the team's "revenge" to the joker for all the offenses they had from him. Imagine the joy of the team after the referee's whistle who declared the victory of Yerevan's "Spartak"! And here Vitya finds a way to get away with it, saying that the coaches had to pay for the haircut as the victory belonged to them.
In
1975, our team participated in the Spartak championship in the town of Militopol (Ukraine). I was the head referee of the championship and lived separately from the team with other referees. The Board of Referees decided to spend one of the days free from matches separately from all players of the tournament, to go fishing and make a fish-soup on the shore of the Azov Sea. I was careless enough to tell my team that I would not be with them on the day-off. And what do you think? In the middle of the picnic Vitya Ayvazyan turned up with four bold spirits and declared that I had invited them to the fish-soup party.
In
1976, Yerevan's "Spartak" participated in similar competitions in the Ukrainian town of Striy (Lvov region). On the evening of the third day of competitions, the woman on duty at the hotel floor began to call to the telephone for long-distance calls all but the whole of our team. It turned out that Vitya had made inquiries about who had a telephone at home and through a lady she knew at the switchboard had booked phone calls with Yerevan for everyone. He always played jokes like that, and even we, the coaches, did not know when to believe him and when not.
One night in Nalchik he had made arranged with a group of six to climb out of the windows on the second floor of the hotel. And then, through others, informed the coaches of the planned violation of the regime.
We all were very surprised when Vitya engaged in politics, as we did not believe that such a jester could ever take up such a serious matter.
Persecutions of the supporters of the Karabagh Movement in Armenia began in late
1988 after the arrest of the "Karabagh" committee. Vitya called me and said that he wanted to see me. When we met he explained to me the whole situation and said that he needed a document certifying him as a rugby coach and my aide. I was hesitating: and what if they jailed me with him for the forgery. To which Vitya replied that if they jailed me then after I had served my term I would become the sport committee chairman. I helped him with that document. Alas, everything went smoothly. I was not jailed and did not become the sport committee chairman.
In
1990, Vitya Ayvazyan died at the hands of betrayers of the Motherland. A year later I was conducting the First International Rugby Tournament in memory of Vitya Ayvazyan. A team of veterans from Georgia most of whose members knew and remembered Vitya came. The tournament attended by his widow and children was held in the "Nairi" stadium. We managed to arrange presents for the children. The second tournament in memory of Vitya Ayvazyan was held in the "Hrazdan" stadium in 1992 after the collapse of both the USSR and rugby in particular. Unfortunately, we could no longer hold tournaments in memory of Vitya Ayvazyan in the subsequent years. However, we very much hope that we will have a possibility to fill in this gap with the help of Vitya Ayvazyan's friends and hold the third tournament in his memory in
2006.
Petros Aslanyan
Vice-president and chairman of the Executive Committee of the Rugby Federation of Armenia, one of the founders of the "Spartak" (Yerevan) rugby team (1963) and later its coach, a rugby referee of the international category.
