In 1972, a year before the assassination of Turkish diplomats, Armenian avenger Gourgen Yanikian visited Armenia. The purpose of his visit was to present Martiros Saryan’s house-museum with the painting “Eastern Room” painted by the artist and for a long time considered to be lost. “I made my decision, which I am informing you about. …
On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic of Armenia on May 28, 1928, an event was held in Paris which was attended by former leaders of Georgia and Azerbaijan, as well as Oliver Baldwin, a Colonel of the Armenian Army, a member of the Dashnaktsutyun party, and the son …
During his years at the gymnasium, despite his quick wit and keen mind, teachers complained that Dro was lazy and undisciplined. The gymnasium’s inspector would often express his dissatisfaction with the student and summon his father so that he would instruct his son. The father exhorted the “child”, instructed him to graduate from school, “become …
On May 16-18, 1918, near the village of Vorontsovka, the division of Major General Andranik with incredible effort held back the onslaught of the Ottoman troops along with the accompanying Tatar units. Although some enemy groups managed to get close to Tiflis (20-25 kilometers), they were mostly stopped and thrown back. After taking the initiative …
On the evening of May 21, 1918, during a rally in the square in front of the building of the city hall, Aram Manukyan made a short speech. An atmosphere of despair was reigning at the rally. “I came to inform you that the enemy has captured Sardarapat and is moving in the direction of …
“In Yerevan and its environs, all power was in the hands of Aram Manukyan who collaborated with General Silikyan and Dro. Together, they have inspired the people and the army. Their outstanding ability to organize military operations in and around Yerevan has given us the opportunity to retain our lands, including Yerevan and the St. …
The heroic battle of Sardarapat was celebrated for the first time in 1919. In 1919, on May 24, representatives of Armenia and America celebrated the first anniversary of the Sardarapat battle in Yerevan with great fanfare. In the photo below are two outstanding figures of the American YMCA John Elder and James Erol, participants of …
The Yezidi formations of Jangir Agha and Usub Bek actively participated in the heroic battles of May 1918. Thousands of Yezidis filled the ranks of the Armenian cavalry. Before Dro assumed the post of commander of the Bash Aparan Front (May 23, 1918), the Ottoman regular forces would often oppose the Yezidi Horse Regiment and …
The military commandant of Yerevan Arshavir Shahatuni recalled: “It was the middle of May 1918. We heard that the Turks broke the peace treaty and moved towards Sardarapat. From a telephone conversation with commander Silikyan, I found out that he had sent an encrypted telegram to Aram in order to convince Catholicos Gevorg V Surenyants …
Prince Hakob Bagratuni was born in Akhaltsikhe in 1879 into an Armenian noble family from the Bagratuni dynasty. Bagratunis from Gyumri-Alexandropol who had migrated from Karin (Erzrum) at the beginning of the 19th century were representatives of the old Bagratuni princely family. After graduating from the male Tiflis gymnasium with honors, Akop Bagratuni continued his …
The head of the German commission in the Caucasus Von Kressenstein has spoken about the Karabakh problem well before it became a major issue and political direction. “At present, Turkey wants to launch an offensive from Azerbaijan on Karabakh inhabited by Armenians to devastate the local population under the pretext that the local Armenians are …
Drastamat Kanayan (Dro) writes in his memoirs: “We had a dispute with the commander of the Yerevan corps General Movses Silikyan. He told me: ‘I appoint you the commander of Bash Aparan.’ I said that I would go where he wanted but that he should not divide the army right then. Instead, I proposed to …
In the early 1990s, the Artsakh Liberation War began. Svo Raf – at that time one of the main criminal authorities of the post-Soviet space – could not ignore what was happening with his country and would repeatedly assist Armenia with food, clothing, and weapons. Levon Soghomonyan in an interview with Sergey Galoyan, the author …
The hope that Russia will liberate Western Armenia is very naive. After the liberation of the Caucasus from the Persians with the support of Armenian meliks, the Russians destroyed these very meliks so that, God forbid, a new David Bek doesn’t appear among the Armenians. Millions of Armenians are strangled in Russia’s claws – under …
On January 21, 1878, Armenian poet Vahan Tekeyan was born in the Ortagyugh district of Constantinople. Tekeyan is one of the few Armenian writers of that time who, having survived the genocide, did not lose faith in the future and praised the ideas of heroism in their works. In the rich world of Armenian poetry, …
Saak Mutafyan whose family had witnessed the genocide told about her family history: “Grandfather and grandmother, Movses and Arus Mutafyan from Van, had five children. Only Sanam and Vanush survived. Sanam was married to Karapet Mugdimyan. After the death of her husband, Sanam together with her brother Vanush moved to Diyarbakir and from there to …
“I can’t tell what I was experiencing at that moment. I thought I was going to die as grenades were flying in my direction. I was probably lucky – the last grenade only wounded my hand. Then, I thought that I needed to fight and that everything would be fine…” says Kamo Hovsepyan who in …
Ivan Aivazovsky (Hovhannes Aivazian) didn’t read at all. Well, maybe he did read textbooks in the gymnasium, but he would soon give up on this occupation. He was friends with Pushkin, but he did not read his compositions either. “Why should I read books? I already have my own opinion!” Everyone was amazed at this …