How Did I Survive? by Artavazd M. Minasyan

How Did I Survive? is the memoir of Professor Artavazd M. Minasyan, a tale of one man's life and his survival despite all odds. It is a story that inspires life and hope, one in which good ultimately prevails over evil. It also tells of a country, the former USSR, which has lived through decades of controversies, destruction and injustice, but also hope and aspirations for the better. The author unveils intricate details of his life, describing his fight for survival and what inspired and gave him strength to go on. Professor A. M. Minasyan was an optimist throughout 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, and love for and appreciation of, the gift of life, whether in the days of his hungry childhood, or enduring 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. As such, one man's life becomes the reflection of the life of an entire country. In this book, it happens to be the life of Professor Artavazd M. Minasyan, whose dedication to his family, country, nation, and science was far greater than words could describe.