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Garegin Ter-Harutyunyan | |
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Native name | Գարեգին Առաքել Եղիշեի Տեր-Հարությունյան |
Birth name | Garegin Ter-Harutyunyan |
Other name(s) | Garegin Nzhdeh |
Born | Kznut, Erivan Governorate, Russian Empire | 1 January 1886
Died | 21 December 1955 Vladimir Central Prison, Vladimir, Soviet Union | (aged 69)
Buried | |
Allegiance | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Rank | Sparapet |
Battles/wars | |
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 |
Garegin Ter-Harutyunyan,[a] better known by his nom de guerre Garegin Nzhdeh[b] (Armenian: Գարեգին Նժդեհ, IPA: [ɡɑɾɛˈɡin nəʒˈdɛh]; 1 January 1886 – 21 December 1955), was an Armenian statesman, military commander and nationalist revolutionary. 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.[1][2]
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.[3][4] During World War II, he cooperated with Nazi Germany, hoping to secure Soviet Armenia's existence in case of Germany's victory over the USSR and a potential Turkish invasion of the Caucasus.[5][6][7][8] 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.[7] He died in Vladimir Central Prison in 1955.[7][8]
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But it is undeniable that if Zangezur has since been an integral part of Soviet Armenia, it was Nzhdeh who made it possible.
The other general who fought with the Nazis was Dashnak veteran Garegin Njdeh, who had been Dro's comrade-in-arms in the tsarist army.
Nzhdeh was one of several exiled Armenian leaders who pledged allegiance to Nazi Germany in 1942 with the stated aim of saving Soviet Armenia from a possible Turkish invasion after what they expected to be a Soviet defeat by the Third Reich.
In order to be able to influence Nazi policy, Njdeh aligned himself with Germany and offered his services in exchange for putting an end to the anti-Armenian campaign in the German press... Njdeh wanted to make sure that regardless of the turn of events, he could either guarantee the security of Armenia in case of a possible Turkish invasion of the Caucasus or liberate Western Armenia if Germany attacked Turkey.