When Pashinyan Came to Shushi, Did He Maybe See 'Unfortunate and Dismal' Places? That is What Impressed Him: Hraparak Interviews Artsvik Sargsyan

During his visit to Lithuania, Nikol Pashinyan once again spoke about Shushi: "So much is said about Shushi; how many residential buildings have been constructed in Shushi over the past 30 years? None. Why haven't they been constructed? Was it due to lack of funding? It is obvious what the answer is." Today, he made remarks about Shushi in the National Assembly, stating that there has been more investment in Baden-Baden than in Shushi.

Hraparak spoke with the Mayor of Shushi, Artsvik Sargsyan. Has nothing been constructed in Shushi, and has there been no investment over the years?

The mayor mentally walked through the streets of Shushi and began to list what has been built, which Pashinyan has seemingly overlooked: "I was elected as the Mayor of Shushi in 2013 and started working on May 1. Since then, beginning from 1992, various works have been carried out in Shushi. After liberating Shushi, let me list what has been accomplished. First, a water pipeline was installed – 'Tadevos's Water Pipeline,' if I remember correctly, it was laid in 2009-10 with the funds of the 'Hayastan' All-Armenian Fund. Then, the Culture House was completely renovated, and its reopening took place in 2013-14. An additional structure was built to host cultural events and performances there.

After that, Aram Manukyan 1 building was fully renovated in recent years and allocated partially as collateral and partially to large families. There have also been sponsors who bought apartments for large families, and the state provided houses for the families of the fallen. The house-museum of Dushman Vardan was also located in that building. Then, if we go down Ghazanchetsots street, on Proshyan street, the Ministry of Culture was completely renovated and opened anew, and after the last presidential election, another ministry, 'the Ministry of Patriotic Education,' was established there.

The courthouse was being built from scratch and was almost in the final phase. After the presidential elections, Arayik Harutyunyan came to ensure that the National Assembly or the presidency would be transferred there; it was a very beautiful building and only needed to be completed, with the roof already in place, and they intended to transfer the National Assembly or presidency in 2022.

Subsequently, Khachatur Abovyan School was completely renovated and served as an educational institution, being large and magnificently constructed with all necessary amenities. The music school, which was reconstructed with the patronage of Hakob and Hilda Baghdasaryan, served as a music school as well. Three residential buildings were constructed, but they were repurposed as administrative buildings for state bodies, given to the prosecutor's office, the court, and the NSS.

Then, the building of the city administration was fully renovated. The Museum of Fine Arts, which was completely destroyed, was reconstructed and is now serving as a museum. Above that, the Money Museum was also reconstructed, and Nikol Pashinyan was present at its opening. Later, a magnificent building was constructed from the ground up for the Manapatal Creative Center with all necessary amenities.

Then, the 'Yeznik Mozyan' vocational school, funded by France, was built from scratch, again with all facilities, laboratories, workshops, classrooms, and a gym. The building for the Agrarian University was also fully renovated, with the front tiled area completely changed and fortified. After that, a dormitory was built for the students of the Agrarian University and the 'Yeznik Mozyan' vocational school.

The 'Avan Shushi Plaza' hotel has been reconstructed; it was a nine-story hotel that operated during renovations, and the tenth floor was functioning as a meeting hall. The recitation festival was always held in that hall.

The facilities of the 'Grand Hotel' were completely renovated and were operational. Our two churches – Ghazanchetsots Church and St. John the Baptist Church, Kyanq Jam – were clearly destroyed by Azerbaijanis and have been rebuilt. Then, the bank, located behind the Green Hour, was a completely newly built structure. The hospital was partly constructed, and plans were in place for its completion. Above the hospital, another building was being constructed for an orphanage or nursing home, which was almost finished and about to be put into operation. Behind the bank, there were three cottages that were also built from scratch.

The Daniel Ghazaryan School was also undergoing major renovations. Paved roads, completely asphalted courtyards; the roofs of 37 high-rise buildings were entirely changed to colorful ones; the water supply was continuous, lighting was in place, and night lighting was ensured. 150 LED lamps were replaced, and it was planned to purchase another 150 to replace the entire city's lights and install a photorelay for timed disconnections. Then, the filtration station... due to weather conditions, Shushi's water was muddy, and a filtration station equipped with modern laboratories was being prepared for opening in January, but it remained unfinished. Additionally, beautiful and magnificent private houses have been constructed. The road to 'Isa's Spring' has been completely paved, with lighting installed; it was well constructed, although carried out through the efforts of Ruben Hayrapetyan. What else can I say...

We asked the mayor: when Pashinyan came to Shushi, could it be that he was shown 'unfortunate and dismal' places, that these are what left an impression on him? Is that why he speaks that way about Shushi?

Sargsyan replied, 'You know, there were ruins, but why haven’t they been built and reconstructed? There were historical and cultural buildings that were preserved and controlled by the state. For example, there’s a building called 'Natavan's House,' which was supposed to be renovated by sponsors, but I don’t know what happened; the sponsors were dragging their feet.' Also, why does Pashinyan say that nothing has been built, that Shushi is unfortunate and dismal?

‘When people came from abroad, they marvelously expressed their admiration and said, 'Shushi is blossoming day by day.' Today Azerbaijan claims that Shushi is their diamond, and I always refer to Garegin Nzhdeh’s words: 'Whoever ruled Shushi will rule Artsakh.' I also always preached, saying, 'Dear compatriots, the Armenian people, if today we place one stone on another, with each stone, we give a slap to Aliyev; we should strive to do more, and that’s how things were changing.' Well, he probably wants to... he makes statements in different places; there, two fools are sitting and saying, 'Well, they thought they had to give.' Who thought that, who was that thinker, how did they think? I’ve been the mayor since 2013, I took out loans from the state to renovate my houses; my salary wasn’t enough. How could I have thought that Shushi would be handed over and renovated my house? Besides, Shushi's life had already changed; in recent years, the state provided people with building materials at prices ranging from 500,000 to 800,000 AMD, and people were taking small loans to renovate their homes. The renovations had completely changed the Armenian structures; only a few apartments had remained in buildings that were in a partial ruin, and interested people were buying them to renovate. I also forgot to mention the library: the Central Library of Shushi was completely renovated and equipped with the funds from the All-Armenian Fund; they had a large collection of books, computers, and it became a well-functioning library. I only think that he is making these statements to find an excuse; that’s why he says that Shushi has been unfortunate. Yes, Shushi has been subjected to destruction multiple times, it has burned, but it has been such a good city that wars were fought over it. Today, of course, he must say that... his listeners – foreigners – do not know; the other day when they were defending him, those people probably haven’t seen Shushi or do not know how it has blossomed and changed over the years. That’s why they make such foolish statements. I believe that God will not forgive those who make such foolish statements. When our hard work over the years… specifically, I have never aspired to an office position to become the mayor of Shushi; I was working, I was a scientist, I had been a college director and a deputy. When I was told to come to be the mayor, I did it in order to be able to work for the city. I was earning 297,000 AMD and left that job to come work in Shushi, earning 109,000 AMD for the love of Shushi, so we can make Shushi blossom. I fought for the liberation of Shushi; Shushi is my region; I’m from Karin Tak, but we were registered in Shushi. With every stone placed upon another, I felt proud and happy. I forgot to mention that we have built retaining walls along the roads, how many retaining walls we have built, planting trees within the city, growing flowers... I cannot imagine how much one can lose themselves to not see that much good. It would be better if he completely forgot the name of Shushi and made no such statements again."

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