Robert Abajyan
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, allegiance =
Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
,
Republic of Artsakh Artsakh, officially the Republic of Artsakh () or the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (),, is a list of states with limited recognition, breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan ...
, serviceyears = 2014–2016 , rank =
Junior Sergeant A junior sergeant is a military rank used in the armed forces of many countries. It is usually placed below sergeant. Russia Junior sergeant (russian: Младший сержант, Mladshy serzhant) is the designation to the lowest rank in the ...
, branch =
Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army The Artsakh Defence Army ( hy, Արցախի Հանրապետության պաշտպանության բանակ, Artsakhi Hanrapetut’yan pashtpanut’yan banak) is the defence force of the breakaway Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh). Est ...
, battles =
2016 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict The 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, also known as the Four-Day War,, International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ʰɑroɾjɑ pɑtɛɾɑzm az, Dördgünlük müharibə April War,; or April clashes, began along the Nagorno-Karabakh Line of Contac ...
, awards = Robert Abajyan ( hy, Ռոբերտ Աբաջյան; 16 November 1996 – 2 April 2016) was an
Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
n junior sergeant in the
Republic of Artsakh Artsakh, officially the Republic of Artsakh () or the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (),, is a list of states with limited recognition, breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan ...
Defense Army. He was posthumously awarded the " Hero of Artsakh" which is the highest honorary title of semi-recognized NKR. Abajyan fought alone for several hours against special forces groups of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces during the Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes of 2016 in the northeast line of contact on the night of 1–2 April. He gestured as if to surrender, and then pulled out a
grenade A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade genera ...
and blew up the approaching Azeri soldiers with himself.


Biography


Early life

Abajyan was born in 1996 in
Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...
. In 2003 he attended Yerevan's Basic School No. 147 in
Kanaker-Zeytun District Kanaker-Zeytun ( hy, Քանաքեռ-Զեյթուն վարչական շրջան, translit=K'anak'err-Zeytun varčakan šrĵan), is one of the 12 districts of Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, located in the northeastern part of the city. As of the ...
. He graduated in 2012 and attended Yerevan State Basic Medical College which he graduated in 2014 with a degree in
dental technology A dental technologist (dental laboratory technician) is a member of the dental team who, upon prescription from a dental clinician, constructs custom-made restorative and dental appliances. There are four major disciplines within dental technol ...
. He then attended Medical Institute named after Mother Teresa later same year.


Military service

Abajyan went to compulsory military service in 2014. Due to high military performance, he was promoted to junior sergeant.


Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes

On the night of 1–2 April 2016 along the northeastern part of the NKR-Azerbaijan contact line units of Azerbaijani Armed Forces carried out large-scale attacks against the Armenian side. After the use of artillery, groups of Azerbaijani forces commenced an infantry attack. Under the leadership of captain
Armenak Urfanyan Armenak Urfanyan ( hy, Արմենակ Ուրֆանյան; 28 January 1990 – 2 April 2016) was an Armenian serviceman in the Artsakh Defense Army, captain of the Armed Forces of Armenia, participant of the Four-Day War. In 2020 he was posthumous ...
, a smaller number of Armenian border soldiers started to provide heavy resistance. After two failed attempts of penetration and a loss of a tank, Azeri forces withdrew to their initial positions and resumed the artillery bombardments on the contact line. Captain Urfanyan and Yazidi-Armenian machine-gunner
Kyaram Sloyan Kyaram or Qyaram Sloyan ( hy, Քյարամ Սլոյան; 27 April 1996 – 1/2 April 2016) was an Artsakh Defense Army soldier who was killed during the 2016 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes. After his death, he was beheaded, with videos and picture ...
were soon killed. After the death of the commander, Robert Abajyan, who had suffered a wound in his leg by that time, took upon himself to proceed with the resistance. After the penetration of Azeri forces inside the line, he brought his wounded comrade machine-gunner Andranik Zohrabyan into the trench cell, which was located at a distance of 30 meters (98 feet). In the trench cell Abajyan contacts with the battalion commander and provides valuable information on the operational situation. He informed about possible dangers to the commander of the group that hurried to aid. After Andranik Zohrabyan bled to death, Abajyan continued to fight alone from the cell against a large number of enemy forces. After spotting the approaching Azeri soldiers, he attracted their attention by raising his hands and pretended to surrender, while secretly keeping an exposed
hand grenade A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade genera ...
. Allowing 2 Azeri soldiers to approach, Abajyan blew himself up with a grenade committing suicide. It's not clear if he could kill or wound any enemy soldier with his action. Having made that decision, he radioed in and said, as a last request, "Under no circumstances are you to abandon this position!" On 8 April, after a mutual agreement was reached in advance between both parties, bodies of Abajyan and Zohrabyan were found as a result of body searching operations.


Funeral

On 11 April 2016, Abajyan was buried in the
Yerablur Military Pantheon Yerablur ( hy, Եռաբլուր, translation=based on three hills) or Yerablur Military Pantheon is a military cemetery located on a hilltop in the outskirts of Yerevan, Armenia. Since 1988, Yerablur has become the burial place of Armenian soldie ...
. Funeral ceremonies were held in front of St. John the Baptist Church in
Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...
.


Hero of Artsakh

Abajyan was posthumously awarded the highest Honorary Title " Hero of Artsakh" and the Order of the "Golden Eagle", "for exclusive bravery and courage shown during the defense of the NKR state border in the course of the large-scale military operations from 2 to 5 April". He became the 24th "Hero of Artsakh" awardee, as well as the youngest person ever to hold the title at 19 years old.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Abajyan, Robert 1996 births 2016 deaths Military personnel from Yerevan Armenian military personnel killed in action Burials at Yerablur Artsakh military personnel 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh clashes