"Her Going to Shushi Was Simply Publicity": House Owner Describes Reasons Behind Artsakh Woman's Attempt to Return

During recent conversations, Izayura Balasanyan stated, "I am going to the Russian peacekeepers, I will renounce my ethnicity." This was revealed today, September 6, in an interview with NEWS.am regarding the reason for the Artsakh woman’s return to Shushi, shared by the owner of the house she was renting.

The house owner preferred to remain anonymous, stating that they work in law enforcement.

It is noteworthy that Izayura Balasanyan, a former resident of Shushi, decided to cross the border to Shushi on August 1, along with her four young children, with the aim of living there; however, they were returned by the intervention of Russian peacekeepers.

In her conversation with the media, Izayura explained that she was compelled to take this step because she had no shelter in Artsakh. On October 1, she left Shushi and settled in a dormitory on David Bek Street in Stepanakert. A month prior, the dormitory owner had increased the rent from 100,000 to 150,000 drams, which Izayura was unable to pay.

The house owner told us that the issue is not about the woman being homeless, but rather that there is no house available where she wants it to be. "Her going to Shushi was simply publicity to draw attention to her issue. In early December 2020, one of our neighbors approached my mother, saying there was a worker in need, himself, his wife, and their four children, originally from Shushi, who were left out in the cold, so they could come to our home to live. There was no available housing in Stepanakert either. I invited them, thought they could come and apply. They came, a man and a woman, with the man presenting himself as Izayura's husband; it later turned out he was just her lover. We agreed on a rental price of 100,000 drams, which was a decent price for Stepanakert at that time. By the way, the house was fully furnished and could be inhabited immediately. They were satisfied with both the place and the money.

However, after some time, the neighbors started informing me that they knew who she really was, sharing that different men came to her house and that her lovers were fighting each other. She would leave the children alone in the morning and leave. Neighbors have called me numerous times, telling me there were constant arguments in the yard. It turned out that this woman lived in the Hadrut region, had no house there, fled from there to Shushi, where she also had no property; she was renting there as well," the house owner recounted.

She also mentioned that the Artsakh woman had committed several offenses, with one case having resulted in a criminal charge.

"The state has always paid 50 percent of the rent, meaning that Izayura paid me 50,000 drams. A month prior, I informed them that they needed to vacate the home and asked them to find another apartment. In fact, that woman had no intention of leaving my home; she wanted to obtain housing. I approached the Ministry of Territorial Administration, asking to terminate the contract. She goes to various ministries, claiming that I went and threw her clothes out, but nothing like that happened. I received a call from the presidential office saying they received such a complaint, asking me to at least reduce the rent; I reduced it to 80,000 on the condition that she would leave the house a month later. As June approached, I was told by the presidential office that they were resolving the housing issue. Considering she has four underage children, I agreed. The term expired, and I went to tell them to leave. They were offered houses in nearby villages, but she refused. She heard that the families of those who lost their homes in Shushi or Hadrut were being provided housing, and she decided to try and get a house for herself too. She said, 'Why should I live in a village, I want to live in Stepanakert.' Up until now, the house remains uncleaned from rodents; it was kept in such a filthy state," the house owner stated.