An Estonian in Armenia
By Gohar Stepanian
Yerkir/Arm
1 July 05
Felix Burman is a typical European – tall, with fair hair and blue
eyes. But he speaks Armenian with no accent and behaves like an
Armenian. Felix is a painter. His father, Karl Burman was a famous
painter in Estonia.
`There were architects in our family. In Tallinn we have our
castlewhich unfortunately wasn’t privatized and is now state
property,’Felix tells. In 1978, Felix traveled to Armenia and stayed
here for good. He met his future wife, Nelly Hovsepian, in Armenia.
`I went to ask her parents’ permission to marry her but they were
against our marriage. But Nelly agreed to marry me and I finally
convinced her parents and we got married. I learnt Armenian. I can
read and write and sometimes I even teach Armenian to others.’ Felix
is painting the colors of hiscountry. `No matter what he paints, you
can always feel the coldness of the North,â=80=9D his wife Nelly says.
`When I compare my paintings with those of Armenian painters I see
that my colors are different. I am the son of my nation. Nevertheless,
I have painted Ararat and Noah’s arch. Ararat impresses me greatly
especially whenI look at it from our apartment on the 18th floor,’
Felix says.
He has participated in the liberation war in Artsakh and remembers his
wartime friends – Lipo, Hamo, Bagrat and many others. Some of them
died in the war and it’s painful for Felix to think about them. Felix
has been helping the family of his friend, Isahak VIrabian who was
killed in the war.
`I went to Tallinn several times to bring weapons to Armenia. I
transported weapons through Georgia. I was fighting in Martakert,
Umudlu, Arkhavend. In 1991 I joined the military group in Getabek. My
leg was injured. The only thing I have from those times is the medal
of participant of war that the government gave me and a notice in my
passport. That’s all.’
Felix has traveled in many countries. He speaks German, English and a
little bit of Turkish. He has been painting all the time. His works
are everywhere, in different countries.
At home he has only 4 paintings. The paintings have to travel around
the world and not be imprisoned in one place. `My children consider
themselves Armenian. What they remember from Tallinn is the ice-cream
that they liked a lot when we went there. I have brothers and sisters
but I haven’t been keeping in touch with them these past years because
of financial problems. I have two grandchildren’.
The only person Felix allows to touch his paints and brushes is his
seven-month-old granddaughter Maya. `She can already feel the
colors. That makes me happy because my children were indifferent
towards painting.’
Felix has traveled to Western Armenia. He has traveled about 3000
kilometers in two days visiting Van, Ardahan, Erzrum. He remembers the
Armenian churches, the silent Armenian witnesses that have been turned
into Kurdish or Turkish cattle sheds.
`Armenians are prone to extremes but I like it. The Estonians on the
other hand, are very disobedient.’ The Estonian painter lives in a
multi-storey building facing Ararat. In his family, his soul and his
paintings the Armenians and Estonians have become friends.