Aznaur Rafiki Balayan was born in the village of Hartashen in the Hadrut region.

From 1994 to 2002, he studied at the secondary school in the village of Mokhrenes, Hadrut region.

From 2002 to 2005, he was engaged in agricultural work.

From 2005 to 2007 he completed his compulsory military service in military unit N of the Armed Forces. Since 2007, he has been serving his military service under contract in military unit N of the Armed Forces as a senior reconnaissance shooter. His mother Sirun Balayan writes in her memoir:

“My Aznaur grew up an orphan, his father died during the Artsakh war in 1992. I raised my three children in difficult conditions. He was a proud and strong boy, he was not afraid of anything.” Sirun Balayan last saw his son on March 31 and heard his voice on April 4. “I called twice a day. The last day when I called, I asked, ‘Honestly honey, how are you?’ “He said, ‘Mom, honey, I’m fine, I’ll turn off the phone.’ “He turned it off and didn’t pick it up. It was eight in the morning, the incident happened at half past nine,” writes Sirun Balayan.

In 2017, the Aznaur Balayan plaque was installed in the center of Mokheres village, among monuments commemorating the victims of the Patriotic and Artsakh wars. The hero’s mother writes in her memoirs how, after completing his compulsory military service, her son decided to continue the work of his military uncle.

“One day Hadrut came, he came and said, ‘Mom, I got a job, I’m going to serve in the army.’ My uncle was also in service, he said: “Mom, I will continue my uncle’s business. Fear entered me. In 1992 my husband died in combat and in 1994 my brother. I tried to stop him, he didn’t listen, he left.” Even after becoming a soldier, he had no time left for his favorite pastime, hunting. “He had a hunting rifle, he took it and went into the forest, but he didn’t hunt.

He said: “This animal is to be pitied, how can I put it down?” He also recently brought in a dog from the positions. He said: “Mom, look after him, wait for me to come, I will take him for a walk in the forest.” Friends always invited him to work in Russia, but Aznaur refused every time, saying: “I am not the one who flees my country like a coward.”

The only consolation for Sirun Balayan, who lost three loved ones during the war, is that his son died for his land: “I wish my son was the last victim, these boys are to blame.