Samvel Babayan Samvel Babayan ( ) ( born 5 March 1965 ) was the Commander in Chief of the Nagorno - Karabakh Defense Army from 1994 to 2000 and current leader of the Dashink political party in Nagorno - Karabakh Republic . Early life and military career . Samvel Babayan was born on 5 March 1965 in Stepanakert , Nagorno - Karabakh . In 1982 , he finished Armenian secondary school # 7 named after Eghishe Charents in Stepanakert . From 1983 to 1985 , he served in the military contingent of the USSR located on the territory of the former German Democratic Republic . Nagorno - Karabakh conflict . In 1988 , Samvel Babayan enlisted in a paramilitary unit and rose to command his own unit and leading it professionally . From 1989 to 1991 he was the commander of the Stepanakert second Volunteers Company and a member of the Stepanakert underground central headquarters . Lieutenant General Samvel Babayan rose to prominence during the military phase of the Nagorno - Karabakh conflict , in 1991 - 1994 . Babayan carried out coordination of Armenian operations in Karabakh , participated in the development of the plan to capture Shusha and was the commander of the front of Lachin . As unified military command began to be established in Nagorno Karabakh in 1992 - 1993 , Babayan became the Commander of the Nagorno - Karabakh Defense Army in 1993 , after his predecessor Serzh Sargsyan left to become Armenia ' s Defense Minister . Under his command , the Karabakhi military succeeded in winning a number of strategic battles against the Azerbaijani military and regained control over most of Nagorno - Karabakh as well as partially controlling 7 districts of Azerbaijan . Arrest . By December 1999 , Babayan was forced to relinquish his position as the Self - Defense Forces Commander . Armenian president Robert Kocharyan ' s precarious position in post - 27 October political environment did not allow him to tackle the Babayan issue directly , leaving it to the unrecognized government of Nagorno - Karabakh under president Arkadi Ghukasyan and the new Karabakh Army leadership . On 22 March 2000 , Babayan allegedly launched an assassination attempt on Arkadi Ghukasyan , leaving the president seriously wounded but alive . At the 26 February session on the case of the 22 March 2000 assassination attempt against Arkadi Ghukasyan in Stepanakert , the sentences for the 16 defendants were read out loud . Babayan was sentenced to 14 years in prison . Release and politics . During the investigation and in jail , Babayan ' s health greatly deteriorated . He was said to suffer from hepatitis and other ailments which could not be treated in prison . On 18 September 2004 , Samvel Babayan was released from maximum - security prison in Shusha due to health concerns , with the terms of release including a probationary period and continued disenfranchisement . In November 2005 , Samvel Babayan founded the Dashink political party with his supporters . Personal information and titles . Samvel Babayan has been the holder of such titles as Commander of Self - Defense Forces of Nagorno - Karabakh and Minister of Defense . Babayan has been awarded with the army ranks of lieutenant colonel ( 1992 ) , colonel ( 1993 ) , major general ( 1994 ) and lieutenant general ( 1996 ) . He has been awarded with the Golden Eagle medal of the Nagorno - Karabakh Republic ( 1997 ) and has been declared a Hero of Artsakh . He is married and has three children . His brother Karen is the former Mayor of Stepanakert and Minister of Internal Affairs of the Nagorno - Karabakh Republic .