“We must be prepared. But not as a people who eternally lament, rather as an organized nation that knows its history, calculates its present, and builds its future.”

In the September 3, 1906 issue of the newspaper ZANG, published in Tiflis, I came across an interesting piece of information sent from Shushi:
“In the darkness of the night, gunshots, terrified residents, and the same question from an Armenian woman:
— Is it war again…?”

More than a century later, that question still hangs over our heads like a sword of Damocles.

Shushi, the educational and cultural center of Artsakh, the 10th province of Greater Armenia, has been, is, and will remain one of the key symbols of Armenian identity, culture, and struggle.

However, it is not enough to remember history only with sorrow or pride. One must understand the wise lessons it offers.
Today many ask:
— What is the solution?
— Who should assume responsibility?

The answer must rest on one strong individual and one conscious generation that does not evade responsibility.
A state is indeed maintained by a strong army according to all standards. But what is also needed is a powerful leader who takes on the organization of a society whose future is under threat—by educating citizens, developing science, creating technological potential, and demonstrating a unified will around national noble goals.

If we want the Armenian woman’s question “Is it war again?” to no longer become the constant fear of our times, then as a nation we must abandon illusions of peace and:

• build a modern and technologically advanced army,
• develop military industry and science,
• form a youth with state-oriented thinking,
• strengthen the Republic of Armenia economically and demographically, preserving our historical memory without self-deception,
• restore the sense of national collective responsibility,
• ensure dignified work, salaries, and pensions for citizens of the Republic of Armenia.

History constantly warns us that peace is preserved not only by wishful thinking but by readiness to enforce it.
As descendants of Hayk Nahapet, Argishti, Artashes, Tigran the Great, and the Bagratunis, we do not have the right to live only with the glory of the past.
We are obliged to create the Armenian strength of the future so that coming generations will also have something to be proud of.