Davit Sarapyan, Artsakh war freedom fighter, liberation movement figure and writer, was born on February 4, 1966, into the family of renowned architect Eduard Sarapyan and eminent scientist Emma Sarapyan.

From an early age, David began to display extraordinary abilities. He drew beautifully, read widely and wrote lyrical poems and short stories during his school years.

Already at a young age, he showed himself to be a true knight, with a sense of honor and dignity. An inner urge to fellowship with the weak, to protect the defenseless, was endowed with a sense of justice, for which he was called “the conscience of the school”.

After graduating from the high school named after Derzhinsky, Davit was admitted to the cybernetics faculty of the Yerevan Polytechnic Institute. When he was in his second year, students were denied the possibility of exemption from military service.

However, David, who was short-sighted and could be exempted from service, decided to join the army, believing that a man should go to the school of courage. In May 1984, he left for the army to serve in the Baikonur military unit, then in the Khmelnitsky region.

  In October 1985, he was found guilty of defending his honor by fighting alone against ten people. Although during the trial Davit declared that the conflict was inter-ethnic, and not domestic, as they wanted to portray it, he was nevertheless sentenced to 4 years in prison, about which he writes: “I went through a part of my life in a most interesting place.”

  After his release from prison, David did not return to the institute. He considered it not his vocation and was overwhelmed by the desire to write. In this way, he tried to write down what he had seen, felt and experienced. He writes stories in which he presents the harsh daily life of the military and the suffering of people in prison.

In this period of his life, the astonishing world of cinema opens up to him. His cousin, the famous director Gendi Melkonyan, invites Davt to work as second director on a film being shot in Odessa. An interesting period in his life begins.

David starts traveling a lot, meeting famous people, and this has a good effect on his later work. Davit writes the novel “300 Seconds”, which he then turns into a screenplay.

  “300 Seconds”, whose name already contains excitement and tension, is highly praised by outstanding filmmakers, and the Odessa film studio approves its shooting. At 24, David could already enjoy life in a Yerevan apartment and create. Most people would have done so in his place, but not him.

  The Artsakh war began, and Davit replaced his pen with a gun, and in 1990, he went to the front, joining the ranks of legendary commander Leonid Azgaldyan’s “Independence Army”.

David had known and adored Lyonya, a close family friend, since childhood. Leonid also enjoyed communicating with David and, as David writes in one of his stories, taught him to swim, shoot, even fight and… cry like a man, so that nobody would hate him.

  Later, their friendship became that of two intellectuals. Both were deeply aware of the intelligentsia’s responsibility to the people, especially in times of severe hardship. Both fulfilled their important mission with honor.

  David’s military talent was quickly revealed on the battlefield. In general, he had loved the subject of war since childhood, and when he entered school and was asked to tell a story, he said: “Would you like me to tell you about the capture of Berlin?

  As a child, he heard stories from his mother and grandmother about his famous ancestors, Poghos-Bek and Daniel-Bek Pirumov, Melik-Bayandur, and dreamed of becoming like them. This dream came true. David became a glorious and courageous warrior, fighting selflessly in the ranks of Azgaldyan’s “Independence Army”, then in the “Tigran the Great” detachment.

David always found himself in the most difficult places, in vanguard positions, infecting everyone with his courage and determination. The Armenian warrior’s strength struck terror into the enemy, and it’s no coincidence that the Azerbaijanis called him “Ahegh Dev”. The demon often used cunning and skill to create the impression of a large army on the enemy and make them retreat in panic.

   In September 1991, the battle paths of Davit and the legendary Commandos, Major-General Arkady Ter-Tadevosyan, crossed. “David immediately stood out. Tall, intelligent, presentable. He surprised us with his erudition and reading, but at the same time, he never stressed his superiority.

  We were all surprised by his sense of humor. A deluge of jokes and pranks flowed from him. And, of course, his innate military talent was astounding. Able to develop complex strategic operations at the highest professional level and execute them with equal success.

  He was endowed with rare fighting and human qualities. He would never put anything on anyone else, and would take on the most difficult and dangerous tasks. He was one of my best commanders, in whom I had unconditional confidence.