At one of the conferences of the South-Ossetian Research Institute Director Robert Gagloity, touching on the issues of the genocide of the Ossetian people, stated that two attempts occurred during the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century - the phases of the genocide of the people of South Ossetia. According to him, twice the Georgian fascists tried to break the will, erase historical memory, destroy national identity, deprive the homeland, and physically destroy the population of South Ossetia. And interestingly, representatives of the Armenian people, who back in 1915 survived the genocide by the Ottoman Turkey, also fell under the genocide. We have dozens of examples of how Ossetians of Trialet Ossetia, where nine Ossetian villages were located on the border with Armenia, Ossetians in the Borjomi gorge of Georgia and South Ossetia, sheltered and raised dozens of Armenian children left by their relatives during their exodus from Turkey. "Their descendants still live in South Ossetia today, for example, representatives of the Zakharovs family," the historian noted.
"The road of life"
Indeed, according to one of the representatives of the Zakharov family - Alan Zakharov, his ancestors came to South Ossetia during the genocide of the Armenian people. His grandfather told the story of their appearance in South Ossetia, and the tragic fate of his family when they had to flee from their native places.
“He has recalled that during the war with the Turks, their family, like many Armenians, were forced to leave their homes. Armenians fled, saving their lives in different directions. There were times when members of the same family hurriedly fled in different directions and got lost. This happened with the Zakharov family, mother and children escaped in one direction, and father in the other. And as life has shown, we have not met again ...”, Alan Zakharov noted.
The "road of life" was very difficult. Those were hungry long days - through forests, mountains and hills, in rain and cold, in heat and cold. As Alan’s grandfather recalled, “they ate grass so as not to die of hunger, because in a hurry they didn’t take anything with them.” In addition, the path to the unknown turned out to be tragic for the Zakharovs family. His mother and two sisters died from starvation and serious illness - typhoid. And the exhausted by a heavy road brothers reached Kakheti.
“At that time, the brothers were nine, eleven and twelve years old. One Kakheti family took pity on the children, and sheltered them. For them, the guys were superfluous labor in the house. And the brothers helped them with the housework for a small ration of food. Later, a relative came to them, a certain Tibilov from the village of Kroz, Dzau district with his daughter. But after some time, it turned out that the climate was not suitable for the daughter, and they decided to return back, taking the Zakharovs with them,” he noted.
So the brothers in 1921 ended up in South Ossetia, having time to experience the hardships of the genocide of the Ossetian people. Fate here was unfavorable. Tibilov’s daughter died, and from despair and grief, he left the brothers in Tskhinval on Bogiri, and left. Alan Zakharov has added that none of them remembered how much they had to stand in an unfamiliar town, but after some time a certain aldar, as he introduced himself, approached them from the village of Rustau. “He talked with the guys, found out who they were and offered them to go to his village. The brothers agreed, and a new life began in the village of Rustau. There they were sheltered by different families. One fell into the Dzhabievs family, the second - to the Kochievs, and the third - to the Ottaevs. Time passed, the guys turned out to be decent, were not afraid of any work, and the villagers loved them, treated them like relatives. Two brothers moved as adults to North Ossetia, started families there and one settled in the village of Nogir, and the other in Elkhotovo. They also wanted their third brother, Artem, to move to Vladikavkaz, even to come after him, but they were faced with the categoricalness of the locals who flatly refused to let him out of the village, ”recalls Alan Zakharov.
His grandfather lived in the Ottaevs family, he was a strong and hardworking person, and they treated him very warmly. And, probably, precisely because of his positive qualities, they decided to give his niece for him (the Ottaev had only sons). So, he started his family, and the Ottaevs and his wife supported him very much, helped him in life. “Largely thanks to this support, my grandfather was always working in good positions,” he says.
According to him, no one was looking for them from his father’s relatives, although maybe they didn’t even know anything about their fate. “In addition, the brothers even forgot their native Armenian language, and Artem Zakharov learned it again at the front, during the World War II, where he was fighting from the first day until the Great Victory. He returned in 1945 with a large number of medals and awards. He did not like to talk about his exploits, and about the war itself. Artem raised eight children - four sons and four daughters,” said the grandson of Artem.
The worthy grandson of Artem
Alan Zakharov himself has been working in the EMERCOM system since 1989, worked in the Department of the state fire service, and since 2008 – Deputy Minister in the Ministry of emergency situations. During his long service in the rescue Department, he took part in repelling the Georgian aggression and in post-war reconstruction.
Asked him to tell a story from the wartime EMERCOM staff, was shy: "there were many of them, but what to say about them today...". But he was proud to note that all the guys of his Department took an active part in all the wars, and thank God, all remained alive, and even without injuries. According to him, not a single call, even in the most difficult times, remained without response, including in August 2008. Many lives have been saved...
"Do they say thank you?"
- Rarely, but it happens. But we are not working for gratitude or any kind of encouragement. Just do our professional duty.
Alan Zakharov has two sons. One of them followed in the footsteps of his father and is working in the Ministry of Emergencies, the second is a military man. And he has already three granddaughters.
