Garegin Nzhdeh(Armenian Գարեգին Նժդեհ, real name - Garegin Egishevich Ter-Harutyunyan, Armenian Գարեգին Եղիշեի Տեր-Հարությունյան; 1 January 1886 - December 21, 1955) - hero of the Armenian national liberation movement of the early 20th century, Armenian military officer and statesman.

The founder of tsehakronism - the concept of Armenian nationalist ideology.

During World War II he collaborated with the Third Reich.

Youth

Born into the family of a priest in 1886 in the village of Kuznut, Nakhichevan district, Erivan province. At baptism he was named Arakel. He received his primary education at the Russian school in Nakhichevan and continued his studies at the Tiflis gymnasium. In 1902 Ter-Harutyunyan entered the Faculty of Law St. Petersburg University. But after two years of study he leaves the university.

In 1906, Nzhdeh moved to Bulgaria. There he entered an illegal military school, which was created in 1907 at the suggestion of one of the leaders of the Dashnaktsutyun party, Rostom Zoryan. More than 400 Armenians and Bulgarians were trained there, who were trained in military affairs and prepared for revolutionary activities on the territory of Turkish Armenia and Macedonia.

After graduating from this educational institution, he returned to the Caucasus, where he joined the partisan detachment of Murad Sebastatsi and joined the ranks of the ARF.

In November 1907, he went to Persia as an officer and took an active part in the Persian revolution. In August 1908 he returned to Kznut.

In September 1909, Nzhdeh was arrested by the tsarist authorities (“Case of the Dashnaktsutyun Party”, 163 Dashnaks were arrested) and placed in prison. He served time and was interrogated in 4 prisons: prison in the city of Julfa, Nakhichevan prison, Novocherkassk prison, St. Petersburg prison. In March 1912 he was released from prison and moved to Bulgaria.

Participation in the Balkan War

During the 1st Balkan War, Armenians living in Christian countries in the Balkans supported their government in the fight against Ottoman Empire. Garegin Nzhdeh started the war on September 16, 1912. Andranik and Nzhdeh managed to organize several hundred Armenian volunteers to participate in the war.

On October 20, 1912, Nzhdeh was appointed commander of the Second Armenian Company. At the beginning of November he fights in Uzun-Hamidir.

In November 1912, near the village of Merhamli (Russian)Bulgarian. on the banks of the Maritsa River in the White Sea region, as part of the Third Bulgarian Brigade, Nzhde and his company participated in the defeat of the Turkish corps of General Yaver-Pasha, for which Nzhde received Bulgarian (including: the Bulgarian Cross “For Bravery” IV degree) and Greek awards and title of "Hero of the Balkan Peoples".

On July 19, 1913, the Kyiv Mysl newspaper published an essay by its war correspondent Leon Trotsky about the Armenian volunteer company that took part in the first Balkan War against Turkey for the liberation of Macedonia and Thrace:

The company is commanded by an Armenian officer in uniform. He is simply called “Comrade Garegin.” Garegin, this is a former student of St. Petersburg University, who was involved in the famous “ski” trial of Dashnaktsutyun and was acquitted after three years in prison. He completed a military school course in Sofia and was listed as a reserve second lieutenant in the Bulgarian army before the war.

World War I

On the eve of World War I, Nzhdeh received a pardon from the tsarist government and in early October 1914 moved to Tiflis. At the first stage of the war, he was deputy commander of the 2nd Armenian volunteer squad as part of the Russian Army (the regiment commander was Dro), and subsequently commanded a separate Armenian-Yezidi military unit. In addition, Nzhdeh, as a deputy commander, fought as part of the Ararat squad led by him and the 1st Armenian regiment.

From May 1915 to July 25, 1916, Nzhdeh participated in the battles for the liberation of Western Armenia, for which he was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir 3rd degree, St. Anna 4 degrees and St. George's Crosses 3 and 2 degrees.

In July 1915 he received the rank of lieutenant.

From May 1917, Nzhdeh was city commissioner in Alexandropol.

First Republic of Armenia

In May 1918, Nzhdeh covered the retreat of Armenian troops from the Kars region, fighting the battle of Aladzha; at the same time, Garegin Nzhdeh managed to remove materials from the excavations of Professor N. Ya. Marr from Ani.

On May 25-28, 1918, Nzhdeh commanded a detachment in the battle of Karakilise (Vanadzor), as a result of which the Turks decided not to advance deeper into Armenia. In this battle he was wounded again. Awarded the Order of Courage.

In December 1918, Nzhdeh suppressed the Turkish uprising in Vedi. In 1919, Nzhdeh served in the Armenian army and participated in various battles. For suppressing the uprising in Vedibasar, Nzhdeh was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd degree.

In August 1919, the Minister of War of Armenia, by order No. 3, awarded Nzhdeh the rank of captain.

Activities in Zangezur

On September 4, 1919, Nzhdeh was sent with his detachment to Zangezur (Syunik region). In October, 33-year-old Nzhdeh was appointed commander of the southeastern front of Zangezur (Syunik), while the defense of the northern region, Sisian, was led by Poghos Ter-Davtyan.

In Nzhdeh’s own words, “ Then I dedicated myself to the cause physical protection endangered the Armenians of Kapan and Arevik, repelling periodic attacks by Musavatist Azerbaijan and the Turkish pashas Nuri and Khalil».

In December 1919, Nzhdeh in Geghvadzor suppressed resistance in 32 Azerbaijani villages, which, according to Armenian data, became a disaster for Kafan and surrounding areas.

The offensive of the Azerbaijani forces was stopped by the Armenian side in early November near Geryusy.

In March 1920, the Armenian-Azerbaijani war resumed throughout the disputed regions (Zangezur, Karabakh, Nakhichevan). On April 28, Baku was occupied by the Red Army, and Soviet power was proclaimed there; at the beginning of July, the Red Army entered Zangezur, and in the middle of the month fighting began between it and the Armenian forces.

In the spring of 1920, the government of Armenia awarded Garegin Nzhdeh the rank of colonel.

On August 10, 1920, an agreement was concluded between Soviet Russia and the Republic of Armenia, according to which the disputed areas were occupied by the Red Army. Fearing that Zangezur may then come under control Soviet Azerbaijan Nzhdeh did not recognize this agreement and refused to leave Zangezur.

At the beginning of September, Kapan was occupied by the troops of the Red Army, and Nzhdeh and his detachment were pushed into the Khustupk Mountains (the vicinity of Meghri, ancient Arevik), where he fortified himself, taking advantage of the inaccessibility of the area.

However, at the beginning of October 1920, a mass uprising began in Zangezur against Soviet power, which was headed by Nzhdeh and Ter-Davtyan, and after the death of the latter - by Nzhdeh alone). By November 21, two brigades of the 11th Red Army and several allied Turkish battalions of Zaval Pasha were defeated by the rebels in the battle of Tatev Monastery, and on November 22 Nzhdeh entered Goris. Soviet forces abandoned Zangezur (during these events, according to some sources, about 12,000 Red Army soldiers died).

On December 25, 1920, a congress held in the Tatev Monastery proclaimed the “Autonomous Syunik Republic,” which was actually headed by Nzhdeh, who accepted the ancient Armenian title of sparapet (commander-in-chief). The leadership of Soviet Armenia announced a reward for the head of the “head of the Zangezur counter-revolution”, the “adventurer Nzhdeh”. The February uprising in Armenia drew back the forces of the Red Army, giving Zangezur a respite for some time; in the spring, with the defeat of the February uprising, the rebel forces retreated to Zangezur. By that time, Nzhdeh had extended his power to part of Nagorno-Karabakh, joining forces with the rebels operating there.

On April 26, 1921, at the II Tatev Congress, in which 95 delegates from 64 villages took part, the Republic of Lernayastan (Republic of Mountainous Armenia) was proclaimed, and Nzhdeh headed it as Prime Minister, Minister of War and Minister of Foreign Affairs.

On June 1, at a joint meeting of the “committee for the liberation of the Motherland” and the Republic, held in Goris Nagorno Armenia, Nagorno-Armenia is renamed Armenia (Republic of Armenia), as a continuation of the First Republic; Simon Vratsyan, the latter's prime minister, was appointed its prime minister, and Nzhdeh was appointed minister of war. According to Nzhdeh himself, the only mistake in those days was the declaration of Lernayastan as Armenia, which happened against his will.

In July 1921, after the official publication of the decision in the press Revolutionary Committee Armenia to leave Syunik as part of Armenia and having secured guarantees from the leadership of Soviet Armenia regarding the preservation of Syunik as part of Armenia, Nzhdeh and his comrades crossed the Araks River to Persia.

According to the testimony (during interrogation in prison) of Dashnak Hovhannes Devedjyan, who was the secretary of the bureau of the government of Armenia, Nzhdeh, heading the military affairs in Zangezur, was used by the Dashnak government of Armenia, first to pacify the local Azerbaijanis, rather to clear the territory of Zangezur from Azerbaijanis, and then to fight against the Red Army.

According to Tom de Waal, having captured Zangezur in 1921, Nzhdeh expelled the remnants of the Azerbaijani population from there and achieved, as the Armenian author Claude Mutafyan euphemistically put it, the “re-Armenization” of the region.

Emigration

In Persia, Nzhdeh stopped for some time in the village of Muzhambar, and about a month later he moved to Tabriz.

By that time, a slanderous campaign had been launched against Garegin Nzhdeh, the instigators of which were Bolshevik agents and those members of the united government of the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Lernayastan, whom Nzhdeh had publicly condemned more than once.

In July 1921, the Supreme Court of the ARF opened a lawsuit against Garegin Nzhdeh. He was charged with “promoting the fall of the Republic of Lernayastan.” On September 29, the party court ruled: “ Expel Nzhdeh from the ranks of the Dashnaktsutyun party and submit his case for consideration at the upcoming 10th party congress" However, in April-May 1923, the party congress, and then the 10th congress (November 17, 1924-January 17, 1925), reinstated Nzhdeh in the ranks of the party.

From 1922 to 1944, Nzhdeh lived in Sofia (Bulgaria) and was a member of the ARF Balkan Committee.

Nzhdeh got engaged in the summer of 1913 in Sofia, and in 1935 he married Epima Sukiasyan. In the spring of 1945, his wife and son were exiled to the Bulgarian city of Pavlikeni, where on February 24, 1958 Sukiasyan died of tuberculosis. Son, Sukias-Vrezh Ter-Harutyunyan, after demobilization from the army in 1960, settled in Sofia.

Creation of Tsegakron

In 1933, Nzhdeh participated in the 12th Meeting of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, which was attended by almost all famous Armenian figures in exile. Nzhdeh represented the Armenian emigrants of Bulgaria there. They were offered several points for organizing Armenian emigration in order to fight against Turkey and the Bolsheviks. He considered the main task to be the organization of Armenian youth, for this purpose in the summer of 1933 he went to the USA.

Within the framework of Dashnaktsutyun, Garegin Nzhdeh created a youth organization in the same year, the Tsegakron group, characterized by political scientist Volker Jacobi as proto-fascist, later renamed the Armenian Youth Organization. In the USA, in places where Armenians lived compactly, he created Oath Unions (Tsegakron Ukhter). Branches of the organization were opened in Bulgaria, Germany, Romania, Greece and France. When creating Tsegakron, Nzhdeh was mainly inspired by the racist theories and ideologies prevalent in the 1930s.

The name “Tsegakron” comes from the words “race” and “religion”. Opponents of the Dashnaks consider it “racial worship”, with a clear connotation of fascism; supporters translate it as “loyal to the race”, “followers of the race”. His main idea was to create a connection among North American youth with a clear concept national identity. The main idea was that the nation should be considered first. Nzhdeh promoted “racial patriotism” as “a natural and logical reaction against an alien environment that threatens the very existence of our race.” The style and slogans of his movement echoed the fascist movements of Europe. The uniform used two of the three colors of the fallen republic's tricolor, blue shirts and orange scarves. According to Nzhdeh: “Denial of the flag means denial of our identity. We cannot be neutral on this issue. Because if we remain neutral, what will happen to the identity of Armenians outside the homeland.” According to Thomas de Waal, Nzhdeh had a truly fascist bias when creating this organization.

If to this day our people receive only blows and are tragically unable to fight back, the reason is that they do not live as a race... Tsegakronism is a panacea, without which the Armenians will remain the politically most disadvantaged part of humanity.

This Nzhdeh laid the foundation for the theory of “Armenism”. The motto of the organization was “Armenia to Armenians”, and the goal of its creation was “To educate a family-honoring generation, whose representatives would live and act as subjects and warriors of their clan, wherever they were and whatever social position they occupied.”

The emigrant newspaper “Razmik”, which began to be published by Nzhdeh together with Hayk Asatryan in 1937, became the printed organ of “Tsegakron”.

Nzhdeh contrasted Tsegakron with the Dashnaktsutyun party, whose policy, in his opinion, was indecisive. Beginning in mid-1935, relations between Tsegakron and Dashnaktsutyun began to deteriorate. According to the leaders of Dashnaktsutyun, Tsegakron was the youth wing of the party, which made it possible to ignore its leadership. Tensions also worsened between Nzhdeh and the head of the ARF Bureau, Ruben Ter-Minasyan. According to Ter-Minasyan, the organization created by Nzhdeh is dangerous for the Armenians and could lead to a split in the party from within.

According to many researchers, when, according to Dashnaktsutyun, Nzhdeh’s views became extremist, fascist and racist, he was expelled from the party. This happened in 1938 at the 13th Assembly of Dashnaktsutyun. Later, Dashnaktsutyun made attempts to return Nzhdeh, as, for example, in 1939, when General Dro tried to convince him to return and subordinate Tsegakron to Dashnaktsutyun, but Nzhdeh refused, however, declaring his intention to cooperate with the party in order to resolve pan-Armenian issues problems.

Nzhdeh assisted Hayk Asatryan in creating at the end of 1937 the ideology of the emigrant organization “Taronaqanutyun” (Taroonship), which was based on the ideas of nationalism, as well as supporting and developing the ideas of the Aryan origin of the Armenians. Official printed edition The organization was the weekly “Taronsky Eagle” (“Taroni Artsiv”). In its ideology, this movement was not much different from Tsegakron. At the beginning of World War II, the formation of paramilitary reconnaissance and sabotage groups began from members of Tsegakron and Taronakanutyun, who had previously undergone military psychological training. Later they were trained in Abwehr camps, under the leadership of Nzhdeh, with the aim of later being transferred to the territory of the Caucasus and Turkey.

World War II period

Returning to Bulgaria, Nzhdeh established connections with Berlin, with the goal of convincing the Nazis to attack Turkey, and in the early 1940s he participated in the creation of Armenian paramilitary units within the Wehrmacht, trained under the guidance of SS instructors. At the beginning of World War II, Garegin Nzhdeh began to cooperate with the German authorities, pursuing the goal, in the event of the Germans capturing Transcaucasia, to prevent a possible Turkish invasion of Soviet Armenia and, if possible, with the help of Germany, to restore the independence of Armenia.

In 1942, on the initiative of the Nazi military administration, the Armenian National Council was created ( Armenischen Nationalen Gremiums) led by professor Berlin University Artashes Abeghyan. Abeghyan invites Garegin Nzhdeh to participate in the work of the council. In December 1942, Nzhdeh became one of the seven members of the Armenian National Council (established in Berlin) and deputy editor of the National Council newspaper " Azat Hayastan"("Free Armenia") (editor-in-chief - Abram Gyulkhandanyan (Russian)Armenian).

According to CIA documents declassified under the Nazi War Crimes Act, on September 1, 1945, the Armenian weekly Armenian Mirror-Spectator published a translation of the original German document, which indicated that the Armenian National Council, which included Dashnak leaders - Chairman Artashes Abegyan, deputy Abram Fulkhandanyan, Harutyun Baghdasaryan, David Davidkhanyan, Garegin Nzhdeh, Vahan Papazyan, Dro Kanayan and Dertovmasyan - at one time approached the Nazi Minister of Eastern Occupied Territories Alfred Rosenberg with a proposal to create a German colony on the territory of Soviet Armenia.

Nzhdeh and General Dro participated in agitation among Soviet Armenian prisoners of war, with the goal of recruiting volunteers for the so-called Armenian Legion, whose units were involved in battles in the North Caucasus, and later on the Western Front.

According to the encyclopedia “The Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945”, more than 30 agents of Armenian origin were recruited on the territory of Bulgaria during the Nzhdeh War. He participated in their sabotage training, as well as in the transfer to the rear of the Soviet army for the purpose of conducting subversive activities.

Arrest and imprisonment

When approaching Soviet troops to Sofia, Nzhdeh refused to leave Bulgaria; he himself motivated his action by the fact that he did not want to expose his organization to attack and, moreover, hoped that the USSR would soon declare war on Turkey and Nzhdeh would be able to take direct part in this war. After the entry of Soviet troops, he wrote a letter with this proposal to the commander-in-chief of Soviet troops in Bulgaria, General Tolbukhin.

Nzhdeh's collaboration with the Nazis led to his arrest by Soviet military counterintelligence in Bulgaria. Garegin Nzhdeh was identified and arrested by counterintelligence officers as part of an undercover investigation by Abwehrgruppe-114 (“Dromedar”). Nzhdeh's arrest was preceded by the detention of the Bulgarian police, the basis for which was the accusation of connections with German intelligence. SMERSH employees also detained 17 of the 30 saboteurs they trained, preventing the commission of sabotage and terrorist acts. The rest were put on the wanted list.

On October 12, he was arrested by SMERSH and sent to Moscow, to the internal MGB prison on Lubyanka, from where in 1946 he was transferred to Yerevan prison. Nzhdeh was accused of counter-revolutionary activities, primarily of participation in the “anti-Soviet” uprising in Zangezur and massacres communists during this uprising (he was extremely outraged by this accusation, since back in 1921 an amnesty was declared for the Zangezur rebels). He was subjected to insomnia torture, but not physical force. The main point of the charge was the “execution in Tatev”, which has already become important part Soviet anti-Dashnak propaganda - it was alleged that after the occupation of Goris, Nzhdeh shot, and some of them threw alive from the Tatev Rock up to 400 captured communists and Red Army soldiers. Nzhdeh himself denied the accusations of killing communists, claiming that captured Turks from Zaval Pasha’s detachment, dressed in Red Army uniforms, were shot, without his knowledge, on the initiative of the local population.

On April 24, 1948, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison. He was sent to Vladimir prison.

In March 1952, Garegin Nzhdeh was brought to Yerevan for the second time. In the summer of 1953, before Nzhdeh was transferred to the Vladimir prison, by order of the Minister of State Security of the Armenian SSR, Garegin Nzhdeh was taken by car to show Yerevan, the erected buildings, and various sights.

At different periods, Nzhdeh was imprisoned in Moscow prisons: Butyrka, Lefortovo, Krasnaya Presnya; when transferred from Yerevan to Vladimir prison for a short time remained in prisons in Baku, Saratov, Kuibyshev, Rostov; until his death, Nzhdeh was kept for a year in prison and hospital in Tashkent (summer 1953 - September 1955).

Due to many diseases (tuberculosis, hypertension, and so on) in 1954, Garegin Nzhdeh’s health deteriorated to such an extent that the management of the prison hospital decided to release him early from prison, but Nzhdeh was not released.

In September 1955, he was again sent to Vladimir prison, where he died on December 21 of the same year.

Nzhdeh's grave

The brother, Levon Ter-Harutyunyan, was refused to bury Nzhdeh in Armenia, and only clothes and watches were given as personal belongings. Nzhdeh was buried by his brother, and a sign was placed on the fenced grave: Ter-Harutyunyan Garegin Egisheevich (1886-1955). In August 1983, the ashes of Garegin Nzhdeh were transported to Armenia by the husband of Nzhdeh’s granddaughter: Pavel Ananyan (at the suggestion of Gurgen Armaganyan).

On May 8, 1987, through the efforts of Rafael Ambartsumyan, the ashes were secretly buried in Vayk in the courtyard of the ancient Spitakavor church (before that, the ashes were kept by different people).

On October 7, 1983, part of the remains (the first cervical vertebra), with the help of Goris resident Andranik Karapetyan, was buried on the slope of Mount Khustup in Zangezur.

In April 2005, two parts of the relics of Garegin Nzhdeh, buried in Spitakavor (right hand and two bones), were taken and on April 26 buried at a memorial-monument built in Kafan (with the knowledge of the government of the Republic of Armenia).

Nzhdeh's ideas in modern Armenia

In the post-Soviet period in Armenia, Nzhdeh is considered a national hero, his racist views are downplayed and nationalism is endorsed. The Tsegakron ideology he created is adhered to by extreme nationalists.

Political parties and public organizations

Since the 1990s, a number of parties have been created under the influence of Nzhdeh’s ideas.

In July 1991, the “Admirers of the Family of Armenia” party was created. The party charter is called “Tsegakron”. Party members follow the ideas of Nzhdeh and are imbued, according to Russian ethnologist Viktor Shnirelman, with “zoological anti-Semitism.” The party's goal is to create a national religion that would be based on pagan beliefs. The militants of this party took part in the Karabakh war. In June 1991, the “Tsegakron Nzhdeh Party” was registered, which adheres to a similar ideology to the “Admirers of the Family of Armenia” party, but there is no anti-Semitism.

The Republican Party of Armenia supports the Tsegakron ideology in its platform. It was created by Ashot Navasardyan, who was a neo-pagan. Later, the neo-pagan nationalism of the party, which devoted significant space to the ideas and images of Nzhdeh, gave way to fundamental nationalism, where the Armenian Apostolic Church again topped the list of national values. However, Nzhdeh continues to exist as a canonical hero. In 2000, party leader Andranik Margaryan, an extreme nationalist with “NJ” views, was appointed to the post of Prime Minister of Armenia, whose appointment personifies nationalist sentiments in the country. In order to better inform young people about such concepts as “military-patriotic and healthy image life", the party created its own youth organization "Tsegakron", which since 2004 has been cooperating with the Armenian Apostolic Church in the “struggle” against religious minorities.

Nzhdeh and Armenian neo-paganism

The roots of Armenian neo-paganism are associated with Garegin Nzhdeh, who begins to promote it in the 1930s. In modern Armenia, neo-paganism began to spread since the end of 1989, when a number of intellectuals proposed a return to the Armenian pre-Christian faith.

Nzhdeh is a cult symbol among Armenian neo-pagans, around whom neo-mythological texts and legends are formed. Pilgrimages are organized to the places of his ritual burials. His ashes, brought to Armenia, were buried in three places - in the Vayots Dzor region in the Spitakavor monastery, partly in the city of Kapan, where a memorial was built and part of the relics are located on Mount Khustup. Around mid-July - early August, starting in 2008, a pilgrimage is organized by neo-pagans to Mount Khustup to spend the night there. According to the priests, pilgrims hope that they will be visited by a vision of the deity Vahagn, as he visited Nzhdeh. At the second of Nzhdeh’s graves, the ritual is performed twice. The priests claim that Nzhdeh was a prophet. His famous photograph in military uniform is placed on posters and neo-pagan calendars in the context of the pantheon of pagan deities.

Memory

Commemorative coin of Armenia 2001 “Garegin Nzhdeh” - 100 drams - 925 silver with gold plated

In modern Armenia there is a large-scale cult of Nzhdeh. Nzhdeh’s works have been repeatedly republished in Armenia, which is also facilitated by the nationalist ideology of the ruling Republican Party. They are minted in memory of him commemorative coins, documentaries are being filmed and art films. A square in Yerevan is named after Garegin Nzhdeh. One of the awards Armed Forces Armenia is the medal "Garegin Nzhdeh".

In 2012, on the territory of the Armenian Church of the Assumption Holy Mother of God A memorial plaque to Garegin Nzhdeh was erected in Armavir. Advisor to the head of the Armavir city administration Vladimir Pavlyuchenkov spoke at the opening ceremony. Some city residents asked the authorities to remove the sign.

On January 28, 2013, the premiere of the film “Garegin Nzhdeh” (directed by Hrach Keshinyan) took place in Yerevan at the Moscow cinema. The film was dedicated to the 21st anniversary of the creation of the Armenian army. Filming took place in Armenia and Europe. Starred in the film Russian actors Chulpan Khamatova and Mikhail Efremov.

In 2016, a bronze monument (5.7 m high) was unveiled in Yerevan to Garegin Nzhdeh; Nzhdeh’s statements are engraved on the ramp at the foot of the monument. Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan took part in the ceremony.

In connection with the opening of the monument, there was a reaction from Russia, which was voiced by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova - “Everyone is also well aware of our attitude towards any form of revival, the glorification of any manifestations of Nazism, neo-Nazism, extremism... It is not clear to us why this monument was erected, because we all know about the feat Armenian people, this is an immortal feat of the Armenian people during the Great Patriotic War, Second World War". This was followed by a response from official representatives of the Armenian government, who condemned the words voiced by Zakharova. Deputy Speaker National Assembly Armenia Eduard Sharmazanov noted that Garegin Nzhdeh fought for the freedom of Armenia all his life, noting that “The monument to Garegin Nzhdeh in Yerevan was erected because Nzhdeh is a national hero of the Armenian people, just as Alexander Nevsky, Marshal Kutuzov, Bagration are national heroes of the fraternal Russian people.”. Soon Maria Zakharova commented on the previously voiced words, saying that her comments were distorted, while adding that the installation of the monument to Nzhdeh is an internal matter of Armenia.

Some works of Garegin Nzhdeh

• “Struggle of sons against fathers” (Thessaloniki, 1927)
• "Seven Testaments to My Companions"
• "Autobiography" (1944)
• "Ethnovera"
• "A people professing courage-Aryanism"
• "My credo"
• "Open letters to the Armenian intelligentsia"
• “Testaments and Credo of Ethnoveria” (1933)
• “Creator of our revolution” (article)

Add information about the person

Nzhdeh
Other names:	Ter-Harutyunyan Garegin Egishevich, Nzhdeh Garegin
In English:	Ter-Harytunyan Garegin Eghishei
In Armenian:	Գարեգին Նժդեհ, Տեր-Հարությունյան Գարեգին Եղիշեի
Date of Birth:	01.02.1886
Place of Birth:	Kznut, Armenia
Date of death:	21.12.1955
A place of death:	Vladimir, Russia
Brief information: Leader of the national liberation movement, military leader

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Biography

Education

In 1896-1902 he studied at a seven-year Russian school in Nakhichevan, called “higher primary”.

In 1902-1903 he studied at the Russian gymnasium in Tiflis.

In 1902-1904 he studied at the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg University.

In 1906, he moved to Bulgaria and, with the assistance of the leaders of the Macedonian liberation movement Boris Sarafov and Liapov Gurin, entered the officer school named after Dmitry Nikolov in Sofia.

Participation in the national liberation movement of Persia and Bulgaria

In 1907, after graduating from this educational institution, he returned to the Caucasus in order to move to Murad’s Haiduk detachment Turkish Armenia. Joins the ranks of the Dashnaks.

November 1907 - August 1908 - sent to Persia (Iran) as an officer to participate in the Persian revolution.

At the end of August 1908, he returned to his native village, where he organized a Dashnak group.

September 6, 1908 - in the village of Verkhnyaya Aza he was arrested by the tsarist authorities and placed in prison in the city of Dzhuga.

April 1909-1910 - transferred to Nakhichevan prison.

In October 1910 - interrogated in Novocherkassk prison, then transferred to St. Petersburg prison.

In March 1912, he was released from prison and moved to Bulgaria.

October 8, 1912 - creates the Armenian Volunteer Company, consisting of 229 people, which is subsequently replenished with another 42 volunteers (including G. Nzhdeh and Andranik).

October 20, 1912 - appointed commander of the Second (Armenian) company. At the beginning of November - he heroically fights in Uzun Hamidir.

On November 15, 1912, near the village of Megramli, together with Andranik and the Armenian Dobrovolskaya company, he won an important battle. The Bulgarian Volunteer Army captured 10,000 Turkish soldiers, 242 officers, 3 colonels, 1 pasha.

In the fall of 1913 - goes to Romania.

During the First World War

At the beginning of October 1914, together with Andranik and numerous volunteers, he arrives in Tiflis.

April 15, 1915 - with a company of 300 people he joined the 2nd regiment, appointed commander, assistant to Dro.

April 27, 1915 - June 8, 1915 - participates in campaigns and battles in the provinces of Van: Gealarash, Berkri, Shatakh, Moks, Sparkert.

May 14, 1916 - transferred to the first Armenian voluntary group as an assistant commander (the commander at that time was Smbat).

July 23 - July 25, 1916 - participates in battles as part of Thomas Nazarbekyan’s detachment.

May 3, 1917 - becomes a member of the executive committee of Alexandropol (Gyumri) and city commissioner.

June 1, 1917 - gives lectures for Gyumri poets, after which everyone present in the hall becomes members of Dashnaktsutyun, and the Gyumri Dashnak Center “Ashug” (folk singer) was founded right in the hall.

At the Armenian National Conference, held from September 29 to October 13, 1917 - in Tiflis, he was elected one of the 228 deputies, then served on the commission for “preserving the front and ensuring dangerous regions” together with Abram Gerekhandanyan, Arsen Shahmazyan, Dro, Ruben Ter-Minasyan .

1917-1918 - visiting numerous Armenian villages - Verin (Upper), Nerkin (Lower), Aza, Der, etc., gathers people in the courtyards of churches and calls for self-defense with fiery speeches.

In the service of the First Republic of Armenia

May 1918 - on the eve of Armenian independence, he fights in Aladzha, as a result of which the retreating Armenian troops were able to pass to Alexandropol through Erzurum-Sarigamish-Kars without losses.

May 24-25, 1918 - takes the initiative, maintains the front, inspires the fight in Karakilis, where he is subsequently wounded.

In November 1918 - appointed commander of troops in Zangezur. He successfully organized the defense of Zangezur from Turkish-Azerbaijani forces.

December 20, 1918 - rushes to the aid of the Armenian army, which retreated to Davalu (Ararat), takes over the battle, suppresses the Turkish uprising in Vedi.

February - August 1919 - serves in the Armenian army, participates in various battles, and is appointed commander of the Garni battalion.

September 4, 1919 - through the mediation of the Dashnak bureau and at his request, the RA government sends Nzhdeh together with Ghazar Kacharyan to Zangezur with an offer to move to Gokhtan.

In the first half of September 1919, at the request of the Zangezur authorities, Captain Nzhdeh took command of the fronts of Kapan, Arevik (Genvaz, Meghri) and Gokhtan (all together called Kapargokht) and the southeast of Syunik.

In October 1919 - destroys the Tatar wedge connecting Gokhtan and Genvaz.

In December 1919 - in Geghvadzor, he suppresses resistance in 32 Tatar villages, which became a disaster for Genoise, Kafan and Gokhtan.

December 1-8, 1919 - during the actions of the Zangezur troops in Sharuri, he personally leads the company, recaptures all the heights conquered by the Turks, which contributes to the overall success and thanks to which the Goris-Kafan road opens.

Participation in the Armenian-Turkish War of 1920

February 14, 1920 - supreme commander Zangezur forces, commander Gazarov rewards Nzhdeh with the rank of colonel, proposing to the RA government to award Nzhdeh the rank of colonel.

March 20, 1920 - begins the second campaign to help Gokhtan (“Patanakrats”), as a result of which he liberates the villages of Gokhtan and conquers all Tatar settlements, except for Yeaj and Dastak.

March 25, 1920 - two letters are delivered from Gokhtan asking for help in the fight against the Turk-Tatar-Bolsheviks. Postponing the conquest of Ordubad (Vorduar) and Agulis, he returns to Kafan.

April 1-4, 1920 - begins an offensive from Zeyv (now David Bek), pushes back the enemy from the heights of Hartiz and Susann, clears the villages of Vorotan inhabited by Tatars, liberates more than 80 villages.

April 13, 1920 - defeating the forces that came to the aid of the Persians from Karadag and the Tatars from Jibrail, also clears the Chaviduri (Bartag) region.

December 1919 - April 1920 - wins victories in Okhchi, Geghvadzor, Shurnukh, Askivlum, Chaviduri, in most cases personally leading the battles.

In April-May 1920, the RA government awarded him the rank of colonel.

August 25, 1920 - in the church of the Kafan village, Kavart founded the “David Bek Vows”, whose military motto was: “In the name of the Motherland - according to David Bek.” Receives the nickname “dictator-commander of the military forces of Kafan, Genvaz, Gokhtan and Baghaberd.”

September 6 - November 21, 1920 - starting from the village of Kaler, disables units of the 11th Red Army, killing approximately 12,000 people, and capturing more than 4,000 Russian-Turkish soldiers and officers.

In the struggle for independence of Syunik, Nagorno-Armenia

December 25, 1920 - at the First Tatev Congress proclaims “Autonomous Syunik”, Zangezur also proclaims temporarily autonomous. Nzhdeh is invited to the congress as the “Syunik sparapet”, and all leadership of self-defense is entrusted to him.

January 25, 1921 - in an “open letter” sent to the commander of the 11th Army, he demands the release of party and national leaders from Armenian prisons, the cleansing of Armenian territories conquered by the Kemmalists, and the cessation of actions against the Armenians of Zangezur.

February 15-17, 1921 - with the help of the commander of the Zangezur forces, Yeapona liberates Vaoits Dzor from the Bolsheviks and annexes it to Syunik, defeats the enemy who attacked Arevik, subjugates the Tatars of Bargushat.

In 1937-1938 - leaves the ranks of Dashnaktsutyun.

In April 1938, with A. Asatryan and N. Astvatsaturyan, he founded the weekly “Eagle of Taron”, which officially began the Taron movement.

September 3-5, 1938 - Taron-Turuberan congress held in Ekron, Ohio, USA - the Taron movement is established.

During the Second World War

In 1939, after the outbreak of World War II, he sent a letter to the Supreme Body of Dashnaktsutyun, offering his help.

In 1942, he organized the publication of the German collection “Armenia and the Armenians,” with which he dealt a blow to Armenians who had joined the ranks of their enemies.

In 1943 - in Sofia he founded and headed public organization"Russian-Armenian Charitable Brotherhood".

In 1942-1943 - he collaborated with the German military authorities and intelligence agencies on the issue of restoring the freedom and independence of Armenia.

Arrest

September 9, 1944 - sends a letter to the commander of the 3rd Ukrainian front entered Bulgaria with an offer of assistance Soviet Union in military operations against Turkey.

October 10, 1944 - explaining that Nzhdeh must personally present his proposals to the highest government of the USSR, the Soviet military counterintelligence Smersh transports him through Bucharest to Moscow, where he is imprisoned in the Lubyanka prison.

November 6, 1946 - Nzhdeh was transferred from Moscow prison to Yerevan prison, where from November 15, 1946 to December 20, 1947 he was interrogated.

Essays

• Pantheon of Dashnaks. Gyumri. 1917
• Charter of military movements. 1918 (co-authored with Sheram)
• Khustup call. Goris. 1921
• Pages of my diary. Cairo. 1924
• The struggle of sons against fathers. Thessaloniki. 1927
• Open letters from the Armenian intelligentsia. Beirut. 1929
• Open Letter to Michael Arlen (publ. 1930)
• Movement of the spirit of the family. Sofia. 1932
• Ukhty and the credo of Tsegakron (“Testaments and credo of Ethnovery”) (1933)
• Armenians of America - Rod and his scum. Sofia. 1935
• My answer. Sofia. 1937
• Autobiography. Nzhdeh. September 1944. Sofia / Aniv No. 1 (2005) Nzhdeh. September 1944. Sofia. Per. from Armenian
• A people professing Aryan courage
• Garegin Nzhdeh, works in two volumes. Yerevan, 2002 // Compiled by A. Badalyan, G. Gevorkyan, M. Lazaryan, S. Mirzoyan. Editorial Board G. Avetisyan, V. Kazakhetsyan, A. Simonyan, A. Virabyan

Articles in the Boston magazine "Motherland"

• Armenian-Bolshevik battles (October–November 1923)
• Why did Nagorno-Armenia fight (October–November 1923)
• The struggle for the existence of Nagorno-Armenia (October–November 1923)
• Free Syunik (1925)

Achievements

• major general

Awards

• Order "For Bravery" (November 16, 1912, Bulgaria)
• Order of St. Anne, IV degree (1915)
• Order of St. Vladimir, III degree (1915, 1918)
• Order of St. George, III degree (1916)
• Order of St. George, II degree (1916)
• Order of Courage (1918)

Images

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Memory

Coins

Books

Medal, stamps

4 tbsp.

“At the head of the volunteer Armenian detachment formed in Sofia was Andranik, the hero of the song and legend... The company is commanded by an Armenian officer in uniform. He is simply called “Comrade Garegin.” Garegin, this is a former student of St. Petersburg University, recruited for the famous “ski "Dashnaktsutyun trial and acquitted after three years in prison. He completed a military school course in Sofia and was listed as a second lieutenant in the reserves of the Bulgarian army before the war...

The detachment is diligently marching, in which it is now difficult to recognize the innkeepers, clerks and cafés.

No wonder Garegin taught them the secrets of military art for ten days, ten hours a day. He is completely hoarse from the commands and speeches, he has a feverish look, and his blue-black hair comes out in stormy waves from under the officer’s cap...

It was hard on the campaign, - the wounded said, - very hard... Garegin was very brave, he never lay down in battle, but ran with a saber from position to position. Garegin shared the last piece with us. When our first warrior fell, Garegin came up, kissed his forehead and said: “Here is the first martyr!”

World War I

On the eve of World War I, Nzhdeh received a pardon from the tsarist government and in early October 1914 moved to Tiflis. At the first stage of the war he was deputy commander of the 2nd Armenian volunteer regiment as part of the Russian army (the regiment commander was Dro), subsequently commanded a separate Armenian-Yezidi military unit. In addition, Nzhdeh, as a deputy commander, fought as part of the Ararat squad led by him and the 1st Armenian regiment.

From May 1917, Nzhdeh was the city commissioner in Alexandropol.

First Republic of Armenia

Activities in Zangezur

In Nzhdeh’s own words, “ I then devoted myself to the cause of physically protecting the endangered Armenians of Kapan and Arevik, repelling periodic attacks by Musavatist Azerbaijan and the Turkish pashas Nuri and Khalil» .

The advance of Azerbaijani forces was stopped by the Armenian side in early November near Geryusy.

In July 1921, after the official publication in the press of the decision of the Revolutionary Committee of Armenia to leave Syunik as part of Armenia and having secured guarantees from the leadership of Soviet Armenia regarding the preservation of Syunik as part of Armenia, Nzhdeh and his comrades crossed the Araks River into Persia.

According to the testimony (during interrogation in prison) of Dashnak Hovhannes Devedjyan, who was the secretary of the bureau of the government of Armenia, Nzhdeh, heading the military affairs in Zangezur, was used by the Dashnak government of Armenia, first to pacify the local Azerbaijanis, rather to clear the territory of Zangezur from Azerbaijanis, and then to fight against the Red Army .

Emigration

By that time, a slanderous campaign had been launched against Garegin Nzhdeh, the instigators of which were Bolshevik agents and those members of the united government of the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Lernayastan, whom Nzhdeh had publicly condemned more than once.

Upon arrival in the USA, he began to form the youth organization “Dashnktsutyuna” (“Armenian Youth Dashnak Organization” (English)Russian), with headquarters in Boston (from 1933-1941 it was called “Ukhty Tsegakron ARF”).

In 1937-1938, together with Doctor of Philosophy Hayk Asatryan, he founded the Taronakanutyun movement.

In December 1942, Nzhdeh became one of the seven members of the Armenian National Council (established in Berlin) and deputy editor of the National Council newspaper " Azat Hayastan"("Free Armenia") (editor-in-chief - Abram Gyulkhandanyan (Armenian)Russian).

According to declassified, in accordance with the Nazi War Crimes Disclosure Act, CIA documents, in the Armenian weekly Armenian Mirror-Spectator on September 1, 1945, an original German document was published, according to which, the National Council of Armenia, consisting of Dashnak leaders - Chairman Artashes Abegyan, Deputy Abram Fulkhandayan, Harutyun Bagdasaryan, David Davidkhanyan, Garegin Nzhdeh, Vahan Papazyan, Dro Kanayan and Dertovmasyan, appealed to the Nazi Minister of Eastern Occupied Territories Alfred Rosenberg to transform Soviet Armenia into a German colony. .

Later, during interrogation in prison, according to testimony, on which there is (was) a signature Hovhannes Devedjyan, Nzhdeh repeatedly gave propaganda speeches to Armenian prisoners of war, calling on them to take up armed struggle against the USSR, declaring: “Whoever dies for Germany dies for Armenia.”

Arrest and imprisonment

At different periods, Nzhdeh was imprisoned in Moscow prisons: Butyrka, Lefortovo, Krasnaya Presnya; when transferred from Yerevan to the Vladimir prison, he remained for a short time in the prisons of Baku, Saratov, Kuibyshev, Rostov, and until his death, Nzhdeh was kept for a year in a prison and hospital in Tashkent (summer 1953 - September 1955).

In September 1955, he was again sent to Vladimir prison.

Memory

In 2016, a monument to Garegin Nzhdeh was unveiled in Yerevan.

Some works of Garegin Nzhdeh

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