How did I survive? by Artavazd M. Minasyan
Editor: Aleksandr V. Gevorkyan
SECOND EDITION – Date of publication: Jun 2015
ISBN13: 978-1-4438-7598-1
ISBN: 1-4438-7598-8
FIRST EDITION – Date of publication: Jun 2008
ISBN13: 9781847186010
ISBN: 1-84718-601-7
How Did I Survive? is a book of memoirs of Professor Artavazd M. Minasyan. It is a tale of one man’s life and his survival despite all odds. It is a story that inspires life and hope. It is a story in which good ultimately prevails over evil. It is also a tale of a country that has lived through decades of controversies, destruction and injustice.
The author unveils intricate details of his time, describing his fight for survival and what inspired and gave him strength to go on. Professor A. M. Minasyan was an optimist in his tireless and principled struggle for justice in life and in science. Indeed, the book is a story of his iron will and immense belief in, love for and appreciation of the gift of life, whether in the days of hungry childhood, or enduring through Stalin’s purges, or facing the enemy one-on-one during World War II, or struggling in peacetime for the right to voice alternative views in science.
Covering the period of approximately eighty years from the early 1910s to the early 1990s the narrative coincides with the author’s life-journey, touching upon every significant event of the time and the author’s personal involvement in each case. These situations are not told in simple chronological enumeration, but are enriched with complex nuances. They are analyzed through the prism of time and the author’s adherence to dialectical critique. Hence one man’s life becomes the reflection of the life of the entire country. In this book it happens to be the life of Professor Artavazd M. Minasyan, whose dedication to his family, country, and science was far greater than words could describe.
Artavazd M. Minasyan (01/21/1913–05/23/1993) —Doctor of Philosophy Sciences, Professor, and renowned Soviet philosopher; one of the founders of the dialectic philosophy school. Professor Minasyan made an immense contribution to the scientific content of philosophy through his numerous research articles, monographs, textbooks, and conference presentations. His work focused on dialectics as logic and cognition theory. An outspoken critic, Professor Minasyan possessed a unique gift of analytical foresight and encyclopedic knowledge. An active participant in the Soviet Army’s major World War II battles and a true patriot, Professor Minasyan possessed the mind, the soul and the heart of a principled and compassionate individual driven by his unshaken will, self-discipline and unyielding desire for truth. Professor Minasyan was a thinker of the highest rank, dedicating his entire life to true cognition. Today his ideas and teachings find their reflection in his students’ work in the Minasyan tradition across the globe.
Buy from the publisher, Cambridge Scholars Publishing: https://www.cambridgescholars.com/product/9781847186010
Buy from Amazon hardcopy // paperback
A personal profile of Prof. Minasyan by Nakhichevan-on-the-Don community (in Rus), here
An update on the book in The Armenian Reporter