Pan Armenian News
08.05.2005

Shushi: The Symbol of the Strength of the Armenian Spirit

By S. Krikorian

When asked about the three necessities for a nation to win a war, the
Chinese philosopher Confucius replied, “food, weapons, and spirit.” And what
are the two most important necessities? “Weapons and spirit.” And what’s the
single most necessary thing for a nation to win a war? “The spirit,” replied
Confucius.

The liberation of Shushi in May 1992 provides ample proof that Confucius was
right. The Azerbaijani forces barricaded inside the fortress-city
outnumbered the Armenian freedom fighters, had huge stocks of arms and
ammunitions that they later left to the freedom fighters, their position was
impregnable, and militarily it’s always easier to defend than to attack.

With all these advantages for the Azerbaijani side, how did the Armenian
fighters emerge victorious from the battle of Shushi? It was undoubtedly
their spirit. That spirit that the Turks could never understand,
consequently they were and still are looking for the reasons for their
defeat in all the wrong places, by blaming the Russians for assisting the
Armenians, or by blaming the internal feuds within the Azerbaijani
leadership.

But on May 8-9, 1992, the Armenian spirit was winning and was sending the
first signals that the war in Artsakh was going to be won by the Armenians,
sooner or later. We suffered heavy losses after the battle of Shushi. We
lost Shahumian, Mardakert, and other regions, but the drive toward final
victory in Artsakh began on the walls of Shushi.

The liberation of Shushi was the most important page of the war in Karabagh.
It became a symbol of the invincibility of the Armenian spirit. The
liberation of Shushi will surely have a ominent place in the textbooks of
Armenian History. All Armenian children should see the steep hill that Ashod
Ghoulian and his battalion climbed. It is difficult even to imagine how a
person can climb that rock carrying more than 50 pounds of military gear. It
is unimaginable, but it is a historical fact.

The liberation of Shushi must continue. We must repopulate Shushi with
thirty to forty thousand Armenians, creating the necessary jobs and adequate
living conditions for them, organizing the spiritual and cultural aspects of
their daily life, transforming Shushi into the strongest area of our land
and once again making this impregnable city inaccessible to our enemies.

Shushi must become the capital city of the Armenian spirit.