When we included Vladik in the list of beneficiaries of Shushi, he had just turned 60 years old. Shushi project nurse Gulchora asked us to include Vladik.
– Pity him, she said, he is an orphan…
We did not fully understand what Gulchora was saying until we met Vladik. It was at the time of regular food provision in Shushi. We had only 30 beneficiaries in Shushi: two of them were living in the village; the others lived in Shushi like Vladik. He was a strong man with a chubby, smiling face who seemed younger than his age.
“Zdraste (Hello!),” he said in Russian, and willingly began to help unloading the food from the car. He has really been a child: childish, simple, direct and very kind.
Vladik moved from Baku with his family to Stepanakert in 1988. He could not escape the torture of a mad mob during the Baku massacres. He did not recover from the deep physical and mental traumas; he went back to his early childhood and closed himself there, looking at the world and people with his sincere childish look…
His brother, who already had a family and children, immediately joined the volunteer detachments of the Artsakh National Liberation Movement. He fought to the end and died, leaving the care of the family on the fragile shoulders of his wife, Karine.
In 1992, when Shushi was liberated, the family moved to Shushi. Parents took care of Vladik until their death: his father died in 1993 and his mother died in 2006. When Vladik was orphaned, Karine was Vladik’s only guardian…
This is how Karine, Vladik and their two minor children lived. Karine did not distinguish Vladik from her children, she took care of them. That’s how she raised the children.
During the last war in Artsakh, they lost their home for the second time for years. Now they have received temporary accommodation in the village of Ivanyan. Karine has grandchildren who call Vladik an uncle. They live in peace and harmony, as always. They have noticed that Vladik has changed a lot. He does not drink any more as he used to do before the war. He tries to be helpful to Karine. He tries to help in everyday life, does some gardening.
Vladik often visits Hanganak. He likes to talk to the girls. He talks about his new home, he is proud that he no longer uses alcohol. He remembers Shushi, a place he was happy. He misses his house in Shushi. He remembers the events organized in Shushi Cultural Centre with pleasure, he is surprised to find it destroyed.
“The Green Chapel? He asks with sadness on his face as he tries to figure out how this could have happened. He complains that his blood pressure has risen. The girls measure his blood pressure, and it turns out that it is high.
“The doctor will come soon,” they say, “she will prescribe you some medicine.” Vladik is sincerely happy; he knows that he will be cured by all means. Then, forgetting about the disaster for a moment, he says, looking in the direction of Shushi – Well, tell me, when you organize another event, – forgetting the name of the village, he continues, – well, the village I live now…
