Our Nikolay Stepanovich is 85 years old.

    Nikoghos Hajyan, affectionately known as Niko among his friends, is the knowledgeable, active and zippy grandfather of the Lyceum, who even during a random meeting has an interesting and memorable story that he keeps especially for you, which he spices up with humor and concludes with good advice.
    The stories are endless, the interests are diverse, and the love for technology and science is always awake and infectious.
    “The Patriot”
    Nikoghos Hajyan was born in 1936, on January 11 in Castanza, Romania.
    The mother, from Egypt, and the father, from Western Armenia, who met each other in Romania, got married in 1935, and were repatriated in 1946. "They are repatriates, and I am a patriot. I was brought to my homeland at the age of 10."
    There is a remarkable story about my father. In 1920, my grandmother (grandmother) and my aunt are shopping in the Istanbul market, when my grandmother recognizes her son, who was taken by the Kurds 5 years ago and who now stands in front of her in Kurdish clothes, with long hair and completely transformed. My grandmother recognizes her and calls out: Stepan (my father's name), she faints from excitement, when she regains consciousness, she calls out again: Stepan! This is how mother and son find each other after 5 years of separation.
    I changed three schools in three years. Armenian school in Bucharest, Romanian school and then I continued my studies here in Armenia from the 3rd grade. By the way, in the same Armenian school in Bucharest where I studied, Vazgen Palchyan taught, who would later become Catholicos of All Armenians Vazgen the First.
    Who would have known that years later in Armenia I would once again meet His Holiness and remain his disciple and close friend forever.
    I play my game
    After graduating from school, I entered the Pedagogical University's Faculty of Physics, then the Radio Faculty of the Moscow Electro technical Institute, majoring in radio engineering. From 1947, my father took me to a radio club in Yerevan, from where the path to the world of radio engineering began. Radio engineering has always been my hobby, until now. I had quite a lot of success in amateur radio competitions and exhibitions. (But it did not become the only love of Nikoghos Hajyan, later more "loves" would appear). In 1962, I was working in the Biophysics Laboratory, when we hosted the famous geneticist Nikolay Timofey-Resovsky, and he became the reason for me to be fascinated by genetics, defend a scientific thesis and become a candidate of biological sciences, then also an associate professor at the state university, and for many years, head of the department (not of genetics). But that's not all... I did whatever I wanted (smiles). I have worked in the field of psychology for many years, there was a TV show "Psychologist's Corner" and I was also the host of it. When we were studying in Moscow, we had an interesting boy in our course, he was a Jew, a chess master, he laid 10 boards with his eyes closed at the same time and played the guitar and played, and he won everyone. We asked how do you remember everyone's games, he said I don't remember anything, I play my game and I play my game correctly. A person should always play his game, if you get into other games, if you play someone else's games, you always lose. It's a law of life... 
    Nikolay Stepanovich and Vazgen the First
    We were very close with Catholicos of All Armenians Vazgen the First; he was an exceptional person... And again, it was radio equipment that met us. There was a problem at the “Mayr Ator”, they turned to me, I helped and that's how everything started. From 1956 until the death of the Catholicos, I first worked as an employee, and from 1991 to 2000 I worked at the “Mayr Ator” as the director of the printing house (and from 1995 to 2000 I continued to work with Catholicos Garegin 1 and Garegin 2). We always had lunch together with His Holiness. When he came to Yerevan, I was with him every evening, during meetings, after watching TV late in the evening, he would say: OK, we will meet tomorrow, and so on until his death. Being a nature lover and a graduate of a Soviet school, I was never inclined to deep faith, when His Holiness once asked me "why don't you believe in the existence of God?" I said: His Holiness, I have faith, I believe in the laws and patterns of nature. I know that we are guided by nature, the universe, we are guided by these principles, and we are guided by the informational system. We get sick, we try to get well, we do some work, we start thinking how to do it right, it's true, we often also ask God to help us, but help is the gift of nature, the gift that was given to us. : The first time I said this; he looked for a long time and said. "That's God." I don't consider myself an atheist, I'm not an ardent believer either, but I'm sure that the church, the religion, is what kept the Armenian nation, and a nation becomes a nation when it has a language... our language kept our nation and our religion. 
    Nikolay Stepanovich and patriotism
    I consider myself not only a patriot, but also an Armenian. The reverend asked me once. "Everyone did, you didn't want to go to Armenia either" (I speak correct Western Armenian), I said: no, Your Highness, this is my homeland, my parents dreamed of Armenia, did they come here because I am from here? I have no intention of living anywhere else, but if I change my mind, I will only go to Germany. He looked at me and said: your choice is right. The point is that back in 1937, His Holiness studied for a year at the University of Berlin as a student at the Faculty of Philosophy and wrote an essay entitled "The Communist Manifesto of Karl Marx" (during one of my business trips in the 1990s, I entered the archives of the University of Berlin, found his essay, copied and brought to him). His Holiness had lived in Germany, he knew and knew that people, perhaps that is why he said that your choice is right. I like punctuality, especially about time, appointments, work; Americans are not punctual at all. English people especially Germans are very punctual.
    Nikolay Stepanovich, the "multi-godchild" godfather
    The secret to having many friends, being close to many famous people is probably my honesty, my honesty to them. I have never seen selfishness in the company. And often friendship was also strengthened by "patronage". We were very close to Kochinyan, one of the leaders of Armenia, we were close families, he was a smart and patriotic person, and the boy Eduard, with whom we worked in the same laboratory, was also exceptionally intelligent and honest. I have an unheard story about the modesty and restraint of Anton Kochinyan. once, when Kochinyan asked to organize a confidential meeting with His Holiness, I was surprised, to tell the truth, but I went to His Holiness, conveyed the request, and his Holiness told him with special modesty: let Mr. Kochinyan tell him a convenient time, I'm going back to Anton Yervandovich, as possible. Let His Holiness tell the time, and so, seeing that it is impossible to agree on a time, I decided and set the time myself: Friday at 5 o'clock. And that confidential meeting took place. Now there is no one, neither he nor the boys, now we are making friends with the grandchildren. I am the godfather of all grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Admiral Isakov. now my sons became the godfathers of their great-grandsons, my grandson became the godfather of their great-grandson, we sealed them all in Etchmiadzin. I have 52 godchildren, my father had more, it is something like a tradition in our family.
    Nikolay Stepanovich and the Lyceum
    Ashot Alikhanyan is my friend. The word friend is a wise and holy word, and you cannot and should not call everyone friend. I remembered Alikhanyan from the Polytechnic, when he was the secretary of the Komsomol, and I was the first secretary of the Komsomol of the Institute of Physics, and at that time, you can imagine, the secretary of the Komsomol was a "nominal person". The famous psychologist Ruben Aghuzumtsyan introduced us; the reason was again my favourite radio equipment. There was a problem, we solved it, and the company started. After working at the “Mayr Ator” from 2000 to 2010 I worked at the American University, then Mr. Alikhanyan told me to come to the Lyceum, let's work together, I came in 2010 and I'm still here, now as an advisor to the director. I am the director's sports friend and role model. Healthy lifestyle for me is not vegetarianism and fish-eating, but daily physical activity and sport. I swim, I do weightlifting, I play Ping-Pong, tennis, ride a bike...
    P.S. say something good as a conclusion (ed. A.Y.) Good is relative, especially nowadays. For example I may say something bad now, but at this moment it may be the best for us, for our people. Not by saying, but by doing.