"Creating in Artsakh" - Robert Askaryan Tells

The article by Robert Askaryan is devoted to the creative path of the Stepanakert sculptor and artist, told by him in the form of a monologue-reminiscence about his key works and their historical context.

Introduction and methodology. The material is structured as a series of authorial commentaries on individual works — sculptural and pictorial — arranged in chronological and thematic order. Each episode reveals not only the creative concept but also the biographical, military, and spiritual context in which the work was created.

Symbolism and religious imagery. A significant part of the narrative is devoted to works with sacred symbolism:

• the sculpture "Gates" (Врата), created at an international symposium in Yerevan, uniting Armenian everyday images (bread from the tonir, a donkey, a karas, a family) with guardian angels;
• temple doors with images of John the Baptist, the Mother of God, and thirty-three crosses, referring to the tradition of the personal crosses of the builders of Gandzasar Monastery;
• an unrealized project for a monument to soldiers missing in action during the Artsakh War.

War and underground activity. The author describes his participation in the underground production of weapons in Stepanakert starting in 1988, as well as an episode of creating symbolism for military vehicles before the operation to liberate Shushi, including Garegin Nzhdeh's motto "Force generates right."

Cultural initiatives. A separate place is occupied by the story of the "Nika of Artsakh" project — a statuette for an international culture festival conceived by the Prime Minister of the NKR Leonard Petrosyan and left unrealized after his death in the 1999 terrorist attack.

The theme of genocide and refugeehood. A significant block is devoted to:

• the project for a monument to the victims of the pogroms in Sumgait, Baku, Kirovabad, and Maraga in the form of a cracked cross;
• the series of works "Roads" (Дороги), begun in 1991 and dedicated to the exodus of refugees from Northern Artsakh;
• the story of Mamush-bibi — the keeper of an ancient Bible, crucified by Azerbaijani pogromists for refusing to leave her native village.

Conclusion. The article's key conclusion is that Robert Askaryan's work is inseparably linked to the historical fate of Artsakh: here art serves as a form of memoriae — a means of preserving the memory of war, loss, and the spiritual endurance of the people, as well as an instrument for cementing the victory of Armenian arms within the cultural space.