In Soviet historiography, such “inconvenient” facts have always been covered up. In reality, the tsarist secret police have arrested the great poet several times – in particular, in 1909-1911 – on “charges” of assisting the Armenian national liberation movement.
It should be noted that Tumanyan’s lawyer was the future leader of democratic Russia, Prime Minister of the interim Russian government Alexander Kerensky.
In Soviet times, it was also forbidden to talk not only about the imprisonment of Tumanyan in the cellars of Tsarist Russia but also about his three sons, two of whom were killed by the Chekists in 1936-37. The third son died in 1915 during the days of Van’s heroic self-defense.
Gayane Iskandaryan, comment from Tigran Khzmalyan
