Try to find in the Armenian history or in the history of mankind a hero with an identity with Garegin Nzhdeh. The invincible commander, the magnificent philosopher, the founder of an ideology, the creator of a state, a brilliant orator – this is not a complete list of merits pressed into the great heart of the Armenian pilgrim (“nzhdeh” in Armenian).
No, my dear reader, you will not find a second Nzhdeh. But do we know about him, did we read his works, and if we did, did we understand his teachings, and if we did, did we accept them, and if we did, did we apply his teachings in our daily life?
These are the questions that should sound in the hearts of every Armenian. Not for the sake of verbosity but for the sake of tribute to the memory of the great Armenian. I want to say a few words about him in the manner of the Gokhtan ashughs who glorified the glorious Armenian heroes and gods.
From the age of seventeen, young Garegin entered the revolutionary movement and fell into the maelstrom of historical events. The unselfish and ardent love for the Armenian people made the young revolutionary bring his life to the sacrifice on the altar of the Fatherland.
But the Fatherland and the fastidious god of war did not hurry to accept it. Three years in prison in Tsarist Russia – this was the first serious test for the son of a priest. After being released, he moved to Bulgaria and received military education. In 1912-13, at the command of the Armenian Volunteer Regiment together with Andranik, he smashed the Turkish armies.
In the Balkan Wars, Garegin Ter-Harutyunyan received the name Nzhdeh. In the same place, the grateful and fascinated people dedicated the first song to him – “Arazi apin tsnvats ynker” (“Friend born on the shore of Araz”).
WWI broke out, and Nzhdeh immediately returned to Armenia. He won a brilliant victory in Karakilisa in May 1918. Nzhdeh stopped the retreating Armenians, inspired them, and led them in a counterattack. The enemy was defeated. General Nazarbekov, enchanted by his speech, would then say: “If I had a second Nzhdeh, we would not have to drink the cup of shame in Kars.”
In 1919, Nzhdeh was already in Zangezur. Azerbaijan wanted to tear off the south of Armenia in order to reunite with Turkey. And again, Nzhdeh was on guard. His militia first defeated the hordes of the Musavatists and then the already reddened Turkish Bolsheviks.
After the Bolsheviks took Yerevan, he in Zangezur proclaimed the Republic of Mountainous Armenia and became its supreme commander-Sparapet. But his forces were not commensurate with the forces of Soviet Russia. In spite of this, he left his beloved homeland only after Moscow recognized Zangezur as an integral part of Soviet Armenia.
When the 11th Turkish-Bolshevik Red Army was preparing for an offensive, its commander wrote a letter to the Sparapet of Syunik with the suggestion to surrender, at the end asking the question: “Who do you count on, Nzhdeh”? To which the eagle of Zangezur answered: “I count on the high mountains of my country, on the warlike spirit of my people, and on our just cause.”
Here, dear reader, here are the words that have not sounded for centuries from the mouth of Armenian diplomacy. And the Red Army was defeated.
After leaving Armenia, a new odyssey began for Nzhdeh. Seeing the pitiful state of the Armenian diaspora, he looked for ways to bring Armenians out of their terrible psycho-emotional, spiritual regress. It was at that time that he founded the tsegakron ideology. It originated in the torments and exploits of our people and has nothing in common with foreign teachings.
I want to tell about one more feat of our Savior, my reader. This is his collaboration with Hitler. Yes, yes, dear reader, with him. During the Great Patriotic War, Hitler counted on the support of the Armenians against the Bolsheviks, but the 300,000 Armenian volunteers in the Soviet army angered him.
He changed his mind about the Aryan origin of the Armenians, and an anti-Armenian hysteria began throughout Europe. But at this fateful hour for Armenians who were threatened by gas chambers, He appeared as our Savior.
He managed to negotiate with the Germans on cooperation on Turkish soil. He claimed and proved the Aryan origin of the Armenians and removed the guillotine from the neck of the Armenians. In the same way, Schindler collaborated with the Germans and saved Jews from inevitable death.
Already in 1944, it became clear that Germany would lose the war. And after Garegin Nzhdeh realized that Stalin would definitely punish Turkey for its “neutrality” and that he would help him in defeating Turkey, he surrendered to SMERSH.
He did so back in 1914 when he surrendered to the authorities of the Russian Empire and was amnestied by Tsar Nicholas II. But the US atomic bomb changed Stalin’s plans, and a calvary began in the dungeons of the NKVD for our great martyr.
Dear reader, even the gloomy walls of the prison, illness, bullying, threats, and blackmail did not break the spirit of the great patriot. And believe me, if someone says that all this is not true, then archival documents will shout against lies and slander.
In moments of bitterness and suffering, He thought about you, about me, about us, about Armenia, and about the Armenian people. The great son of the Armenian people, Garegin Nzhdeh, remained until his last breath devoted to his vow: “live, fight, and die as a loyal subject of the nation.”
Heroic life and martyrdom – here is a brief summary of the Armenian prophet.
Dear reader, when you hold a New Year’s glass of wine on January 1, do not forget to commemorate the birthday of our savior who saved Zangezur and with this the young Republic of Armenia, saved the Armenians of the diaspora, and died a martyr’s death in the Vladimir prison the day before the winter solstice on December 21.
