Interview with my uncle- Varouj Dagbashyan

On a Saturday afternoon with the sun gazing throw the half-open window was when I got a chance to interview Varouj Dagbashyan. A man with a great wife and wonderful children. He was born in Tehran, Iran on February 4, 1938. He immigrated to Soviet Republic of Armenia in 1968 with his family. Shortly after his arrival he got married to another immigrant Armenian who just like him moved to her homeland with dreams of having to spend their young lives on their own soil. Both of them experienced the communist regime and the passage of it. Here is what I gained from this valuable interview.

I think the fall of communism was a great thing to happen to Armenia and the rest of the Soviet Republic. Life was hard during communism. First of all there was no freedom of speech like here in the U.S. Not a lot of people could get a high education, even though it was supposed to be free, the only people who got a chance to get a high education were the ones whose parents could afford to bribe the university administration. If you were fortunate enough to obtain a high degree of education, the chances of holding a high position depended upon who your connections were. I personally held an average job. I had a friendly, but strenuous work environment. If I were less fortunate, I would just get a minimum wage paying job that my family could barely live on.  It would barely gave us a chance to buy food and, maybe clothing.

I couldn’t pose a car or else the KGB would come and investigate.  They would want to know where I found enough money to buy a car. If I wanted [to buy] a car I would have to sign up on a waiting list. Or pay a bribe to move ahead on the list so that I could have a chance to purchase a car. Same way if I would want to buy a house, to move out of a big family.  I would have to sign up on a waiting list in order to get a house.

The place or department where I worked is where I would have to sign up at. If I were to bribe them then the process would have been faster.   If my family wanted to buy a TV which would, cost 300 rubles and my monthly wage was [only] 120 rubles you could see how this would be hard to do so.

It was especially harder for a newlywed couple since they could not afford to go on their own so, they were forced to live with their in-laws. If they were to go on their own they would have to worry about rent, furnishing their place, and every day expenses. Since 120 rubles would not cover all those expenses they would [be forced to] live with numerous family members.

Supposedly [health coverage] was free. If a patient were dieing then the family had to pay a bribe to the doctor so he would perform the surgery. In order to be able to visit your patient in the hospital the guards and administrative staff would create make believe policies as to why you couldn’t get up the room. 5 rubles would give [you] the opportunity to get in to see your patient.

As for the Army drafting was mandatory in the Soviet Army. If the man turned 18 and had no medical complications he would be drafted. There were some instances where a healthy men would get out if the parent had enough money and chose to not send his son to the military. As far as life went in the military it was very harsh. The soldiers were worked hard to the bones and not regarded very well as human beings.  The most unfortunate thing was, if a soldier was to pass away 72 cents would be sent home along with his body. They [soldiers] would get 3 rubles a month for there services, which would not even cover for cigarette habits.

Mostly the first 6 months was basic training. This was very strenuous and very exhausting. They would send you to different bases as a sergeant and give you soldiers to command. Generally everyone thought the Soviet Army was strong but it was weak, poorly conditioned, and lacked technology. But there were places and rockets that no one knew about except for high ranking officials. There were places that soldiers worked but didn’t even know what they were making or what was it going to be used for. We were always being told half truths or whole lies.

After communism clasped a 75 year old regime came to an end. 15 republics gained their independence. Armenia was one of the 15 republics. The feeling of being independent was welcomed by some and others would question its aftermath.  The more pessimist types thought the Armenian people would be better off being apart of the Soviet Union. In their opinion capitalism would not work in a small country like Armenia. On the other hand the optimists valued the opportunities that would be granted by the capitalist system. After the fall of communism some people got a chance to own their own businesses something which they could not even dream about during communism.

Of course that came with its hardships. In the beginning stages of independence the economy collapsed all together. The import and export came to a halt. New born Armenia started printing its own money. This wasn’t much compared to the international market. Because of this, blockade days went by without electricity or gas. Most importantly bread became a luxury item. If I were lucky to find it [bread] in the store you would have been full of joy. Not to mention the quality of it was very poor. Unlike the communist era there was no middle class. You either belong to the high class or the low class. Low class people couldn’t afford to survive on their own. They would either get financial support from their relatives who lived outside of Armenia or become beggars.  This was due to happen because of the closure of many factories. On the other hand some people became very wealthy. They owned their mansions and drove their expensive cars. All of a sudden some people became high rollers. Expensive vacations and daily outings became and essential part of their life’s. Additionally Armenians gained freedom of speech and right to bear arms.

Since the government officials and police personnel weren’t adequately trained for their positions, a lot of mishaps took place during these rough times [right after the fall of communism]. An example of this is when Armenia’s newly formed army was put to the test against another former soviet member the, Azerbaijan’s army. Even tough the changes weren’t promising in the beginning stages of independence the country is on the right path to democracy. Slowly but surely more factories are opening up to create jobs for people. Universities and colleges are reopening its doors for fellow students. Also the new generation has to deal with the outside world which is very positive. They are a lot more open minded and look at the world with more modern eyes.

Interviewed by Zorik Zargaryan