Garegin Nzhdeh
Garegin Ter-Harutyunyan, better known by his nom de guerre Garegin Nzhdeh (Armenian: Գարեգին Նժդեհ, IPA: [ɡɑɾɛˈɡin nəʒˈdɛh]; 1 January 1886 – 21 December 1955), was an Armenian statesman, military commander and nationalist political thinker. As a member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, he was involved in the national liberation struggle and revolutionary activities during the First Balkan War and World War I and became one of the key political and military leaders of the First Republic of Armenia (1918–1921). He is widely admired as a charismatic national hero by Armenians.
Garegin Ter-Harutyunyan | |
|---|---|
| Native name | Գարեգին Առաքել Եղիշեի Տեր-Հարությունյան |
| Birth name | Garegin Ter-Harutyunyan |
| Other name(s) | Garegin Nzhdeh |
| Born | 1 January 1886 Kznut, Erivan Governorate, Russian Empire |
| Died | 21 December 1955 (aged 69) Vladimir Central Prison, Vladimir, Soviet Union |
| Buried | Spitakavor Monastery |
| Allegiance | ARF Party (1907–1937) Kingdom of Bulgaria (1912–1913) Russian Empire (1914–1917) Republic of Armenia (1918–1920) Mountainous Armenia (1921) |
| Rank | Sparapet |
| Battles/wars | First Balkan War Second Balkan War Armenian national liberation movement World War I Caucasus Campaign Armenian–Azerbaijani War War over Mountainous Armenia |
| Awards | Order of Courage of the Kingdom of Bulgaria Order of Saint Vladimir 3rd class of the Russian Empire Order of Saint Anna 4th class of the Russian Empire Order of Saint George 3rd class of the Russian Empire Order of Saint George 2nd class of the Russian Empire |
| Spouse(s) | Epimé Sukiassian (m. ?–1955) Gohar Dadayan |
| Children | Vrezh Lilia Dadayan |
In 1921, he was a key figure in the establishment of the Republic of Mountainous Armenia, an anti-Bolshevik state that became a key factor that led to the inclusion of the province of Syunik into Soviet Armenia. During World War II, he cooperated with Nazi Germany, hoping to secure Soviet Armenia's existence in case of Germany's victory over USSR and a potential Turkish invasion of the Caucasus. Following an abortive attempt to cooperate with the Soviet Union against Turkey, Nzhdeh was arrested in Bulgaria in 1944 and sentenced to 25 years of imprisonment in the Soviet Union. He died in Vladimir Central Prison in 1955.