According to the decision of the Council of Defense Ministers of the CIS member states, in accordance with the plans of bilateral cooperation between the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and the Ministries of Defense of the CIS member states, the International Peace Fighter Competition is held every year within the framework of the International Army Games tournament. For the third year in a row, the “Warior of Peace” is being held in the Republic of Armenia.

The opening ceremony of the competition took place on August 23 at the Monte Melkonyan Military School in Dilijan, which was attended by the Chief of the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces, Lt Gen Onik Gasparyan, high-ranking representatives of the Ministry of Defense, military attachés of diplomatic missions accredited in Armenia.

Welcoming the participants of the competition, Lt Gen Onik Gasparyan said in his speech:

“I am sure that the teams will show professionalism, a high level of combat and tactical training while competing. The “Warior of Peace” competition will be a real celebration of brotherhood, the courage to contribute to the strengthening of international military cooperation.

This year the representatives of the Armed Forces of Armenia, Russia, Belarus and Greece took part in the competition. There was a serious competition between the teams. The competitions were held in Yerevan, Dilijan and Ijevan. The participants measured their strengths in many disciplines. The competition was held in compliance with anti-epidemic rules, which exclude the spread of infectious diseases. Immediately upon arrival, the servicemen took the COVID-19 test, and all the results were negative, therefore, they were allowed not to wear a mask during the event.

On the first day, the participants opened national pavilions, where various cultural exhibits and dishes typical of the country’s cuisine were presented. The competition program started on the same day, in the first literary-artistic competition the representatives of the national teams presented themselves in national costumes, with different performances of music and dance. After comparing the jury’s assessments, the winner was the Armenian team.

According to the program of the international competition, the next day in one of the military units of the Armenian Armed Forces was held the first round of the “Professional” military competition – “Complex Combat Training Exercises”. The military teams of the four countries – Armenia, Russia, Belarus and Greece – overcame the barrier equipped with a combination of different norms. The team of the Russian Federation was the leader here.

On August 26, in the “Organization of Medical Care” round of the “Professional” competition, the participants evacuated the conditionally wounded from the battlefield and provided first aid. The Belarusian team was the most successful in this round, receiving the highest marks for individual mastery and the lowest penalty points.

On August 27, the participants competed in the “Orientation on the spot” round of the “Professional” competition. Only with the help of the map and compass, they overcame the barrier furnished in difficult mountainous terrain by making notes on the map at checkpoints. When judging the actions of the participating teams, the refereeing committee took into account the time of overcoming the competition. The winner was the Armenian team. In the individual standings, the Armenian servicemen were also the best – the first in the women’s competition, the first three in the men’s competition.

After summarizing the results of all three rounds of the “Professional” competition – “Orientation on the spot”, “Combat training exercises” and “Organization of medical care”, the winner of the competition was the team of the Russian Federation. The teams of Belarus were in the second place, and the teams of Armenia were in the third place.

Soldiers from four countries competed not only in terms of strength, agility, speed and accuracy. The “Erudite” competition for testing military-historical knowledge took place on August 28 at the “Mother Armenia” Museum of Military History. It was conducted in a test format in Russian and English. There were 12 questions in each test, three of which were asked by competing teams. The questions were mostly about the Great Patriotic War and international humanitarian law.

The Russian team surpassed the other participants in the knowledge of military history. Greece was in second place. The Armenian team was third in this competition.

At the end of the competition, the team members toured the Mother Armenia Museum, got acquainted with the exhibits telling about the remarkable episodes and victories of the Great Patriotic War, presenting the heroic pages of the Artsakh Liberation War.

Within the framework of the “Warior of Peace” competition, the “Athlete” military competition was held in two rounds. On the first day, in one of the military units, the participants measured their strength in several exercises: running 100 meters, pulling on the pole, throwing a grenade with accuracy and distance, after which the female servicemen of the teams finished their performances in the given round. Sen Lt Armine Grigoryan from the Armenian team o registered the best result in the women’s individual count.

On the second day, the men competed in military pentathlon and complex professional training competitions. Running over difficult terrain, they used AK-74 rifles to hit targets, throw grenades, knives, and other exercises.

Comparing the results of the two-day competition, the Russian team was declared the overall winner of the “Athlet” competition. Belarus was in the second place, and the team of Armenia finished in the top three.

On August 31, the final of the competition, the “Sniper” fire training competition, was held. Participants hit 100-meter-far targets from three positions. Five bullets were given for each exercise. During the shooting, the servicemen of the Russian Federation were the most accurate, the second – the servicemen of the team of Belarus, the third – the servicemen of the team of the Republic of Armenia.

The closing ceremony of the international competition took place on September 2. The event was attended by the Armenian Minister of Defense David Tonoyan, the Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, Col Gen Andrey Kartapolov, high-ranking representatives of the Ministry of Defense, military attachés of the diplomatic missions accredited in the Republic of Armenia.

Congratulating the teams of the participating countries on the successful holding of the tournament, the Armenian Minister of Defense mentioned in his speech that this year the competition was held in the conditions of the coronavirus, which caused additional responsibility and burden for both the participants and the organizers.

“The Ministry of Defense of Armenia has done everything to make the event interesting, meaningful and memorable. We understand that several countries that have been registered in advance have refused to send teams due to pandemic restrictions. Thank you to all the participants for their courage and determination. It is gratifying that for the third year in a row the Greek team is participating in the competition. In the “Erudite” competition, the team took the second place, showing excellent knowledge in the field of World War II – humanitarian law. The Belarusian team with a high level of training and professionalism did not have a little luck this year. I am always restrained in praising the Armenian servicemen, but I cannot fail to mention the speech of Sen Lt Armine Grigoryan, who is the winner in the individual count. Thank you for your service. Well, the Russian team won with confidence, registering the highest level of readiness. I wish you all new achievements,” said David Tonoyan.

Col Gen Andrey Kartapolov said in his speech.

“We are well aware of how difficult it was to organize the competition in the conditions of additional security burden. On behalf of the Russian Minister of Defense, I congratulate all the participants, regardless of their position, because participation in this competition is already a victory.”

After comparing the results of all the competitions, by the decision of the refereeing commission, for the third year in a row, Lt Armine Grigoryan of Armenian team is the best female serviceman in the “Warior of Peace” international competition. Lt Alexandra Akhtulova from the Russian team is in the second place, Greek Sergeant Kutuzoglu Gestimanis is in the third place. All the prize places in the men’s individual fight belong to the participants of Russia. First place – Subofficer Sergey Smirnov, second place – Lt German Davidov, third place – Sen Lt Mikhail Ivanov.

The Belarus team took the third place in the overall team competition, and the team of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia took the second place. The winner of the competition was the team of the Russian team.

… All the winners were awarded with cups, medals and expensive gifts. The event ended with the performance of the song and dance ensemble of the Armenian Armed Forces.

By ARSEN AGHEKYAN

Photos by AREG VARDANYAN

MNATSAKAN YEPRIKYAN