The Gravedigger Who Fears Digging His Own Son’s Grave in Nagorno-Karabakh

The dead soldier’s family drags out a coffin from the back of an electrician’s van. They carry him to the graveyard with hurried steps, passing another 28 graves decorated with plastic flowers. Gravedigger Martin Ghulyan is walking next to them in silence, carrying two shovels in one hand. He puts down the shovels and removes the lid on the coffin.

For five minutes or so, the family takes their last look at a young man in his twenties. He is beautiful, with a symmetric face, a beard, and golden skin. But he is also a dead man, and because of the war, the living have to say their goodbyes quickly. Everything is rushed, with little time for ceremony. It is crucial to finish the funeral swiftly at the military graveyard because staying for too long could attract an Azerbaijani air attack, Ghulyan says.

The funeral is taking place in Stepanakert, the main city in the mountainous region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The breakaway Republic of Artsakh controls most of the region, which is internationally recognized as a part of Azerbaijan.

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