the Armenian people and their future, which she always depicted in optimistic pictures. She wrote several poems for children and two dramas (1961–2, 1976). In total, she authored over sixty books in Armenian and some in Russian. Her works were translated by Bulat Okudzhava, Yunna Morits, Yevgeny Yevtushenko, Andrei Voznesensky, Bella Akhmadulina, and others. Death and funeral Kaputikyan died at a Yerevan hospital on 25 August 2006 during a surgery for a broken leg. Her wake was held at the Yerevan Opera Theatre on 29 January, from where her coffin was taken to the prestigious Komitas Pantheon, where she was laid to rest. President Kocharyan attended neither her wake, nor her funeral. Personal life Kaputikyan was married to the well-known poet Hovhannes Shiraz. Their only son, Ara Shiraz (1941–2014), was a prominent sculptor. According to Vanand Shiraz, Shiraz's son from a later marriage, they split up because "the presence of two personalities in one family is difficult." Writer and art critic Levon Mutafyan expressed a similar view: "Hovhannes Shiraz and Silva Kaputikyan divorced later because it seemed as though the two powerful individuals couldn't live together, but Ara served as the bridge that linked them." Political views and activities According to Mark Malkasian, Kaputikyan belonged to "a nimble-footed stratum of the Armenian intelligentsia. For decades they had tightroped along a fine line between Armenian nationalism and official Soviet internationalism. On the Karabakh question, the genocide issues, and other matters dear to the Armenian soul, they spoke with the voice of their people. At the same time, they kept themselves in good stead with Moscow and reached the upper crust of the Soviet intelligentsia." Kaputikyan always pointed out the role of Soviet Armenia as the center of the Armenian nation, while relegated the Armenian diaspora to a secondary position. Kaputikyan praised the prominent Russian human rights advocate Andrei Sakharov as "the conscience of the Soviet people". Armenian genocide Kaputikyan called for "peaceful revenge" in regards to the Armenian genocide. In the book Midway Contemplations (1961) she wrote: "You must take revenge by continuing to live." On 24 April 1965, on the 50th anniversary of the Armenian genocide a large demonstration took place in Yerevan. Kaputikyan was among the speakers who commemorated in their speeches the Armenian intellectuals who were deported and killed in 1915. Along with the poet Paruyr Sevak, she was one of the main figures during the demonstration. Subsequently,