Գարեգին Նժդեհ-ֆիլմ

Гарегин Нжде,Գարեգին Նժդեհ-Ֆիլմ

Garegin Nzhdeh

Early years and education

Garegin Ter-Harutyunyan was born on 1 January 1886 in the village of Kznut, Nakhchivan. He was the youngest of four children born to a local village priest. He lost his father, Priest Yeghishe, in his childhood. Nzhdeh got his early education at a Russian school in Nakhichevan City. He continued his higher education at the Tiflis Russian Gymnasium school. At the age of 17 he joined the Armenian liberal movement. The word nzhdeh in Armenian means pilgrim.^[2] Shortly after, he moved to St. Petersburg to continue his education in the local university. After two years of studying at the Faculty of Law, he left the St. Petersburg University and returned to the Caucasus in order to participate in the Armenian national movements against the Russian and the Ottoman Empires.

In 1906, Nzhdeh moved to Bulgaria, where he completed his education at the military college in 1907.

Balkan wars

In the same year he returned to Armenia. In 1908 he joined the Armenian Revolutionary Federation and participated in theIranian revolution along with Yeprem Khan and Murad of Sebastia.^{[citation needed]}

In 1909, upon his return to the Caucasus, Nzhdeh was arrested by the Russian authorities and spent 3 years in prison. In 1912, together with General Andranik Ozanian, he formed an Armenian battalion within Macedonian-Adrianopolitan Volunteer Corps of the Bulgarian Army to fight against the Ottoman Empire in the Balkan wars, for the liberation of Thrace andMacedonia. During the Second Balkan war he was wounded. For the brave and extraordinary performance of the Armenian fighters, Bulgarian military authorities honoured Nzhdeh with the "Cross of Bravery"

World War I

Prior to World War I, after an amnesty granted by the Russian authorities in 1914, Nzhdeh returned to the Caucasus to prepare the formation of the Armenian volunteer units within the Russian army to fight against the Ottoman Empire. During the first stage of the war, in 1915, he was appointed as an assistant-commander to Drastamat Kanayan of the 2nd Armenian unit. Later on, in 1916, he commanded the special Armenian-Yezidi military unit. After the Russian Revolution and the withdrawal of the Russian army, Nzhdeh fought in the skirmishes of Alajay (near Ani, spring 1918), allowing a secure passage for the retreated Armenian volunteer forces into Alexandrapol.

Battle of Karakilisa 

After clashing with Turkish forces in Alexandrapol, today known as Gyumri, the Armenian fighters led by Nzhdeh dug-in and built fortifications in Karakilisa. Nzhdeh played a key role in organizing the troops for the defense of Karakilisa in May 1918. He managed to mobilize a population of despaired and hopeless locals and refugees for the coming fight through his inspiring speech in theDilijan church yard, where he called the Armenians to a sacred battle: "Straight to the frontline, our salvation is there". Nzhdeh was wounded in the ensuing clash and, after a violent battle of 4 days, both sides had serious casualties. The Armenians ran out of ammunition and had to withdraw. Although the Ottoman army managed to invade Karakilisa itself, they had no more resources to continue deeper into Armenian territory.^[4]

After the declaration of the independent Democratic Republic of Armenia, Nzhdeh was appointed governor of Nakhichevan, and later on, in August 1919, commander of the southern corps of the Armenian army.

Republic of Mountainous Armenia

The Soviet 11th Red Army's invasion of the Democratic Republic of Armenia started on 29 November 1920. Following the sovietization of Armenian on 2 December 1920, the Soviets pledged to take steps to rebuild the army, to protect the Armenians and not to persecute non-communists, although the final condition of this pledge was reneged when the Dashnaks were forced out of the country.

The Soviet Government proposed that the regions of Nagorno-Karabagh and Zangezur should be part to the Soviet Azerbaijan. This step was strongly rejected by Nzhdeh. A convinced anti-Bolshevik, he led the defense of Syunik against the rising Bolshevik movement, who declared Syunik as a self-governing region in December 1920. In January 1921 Drastamat Kanayan sent a telegram to Nzhdeh, suggesting allowing the sovietization of Syunik, through which they could gain the support of the Bolshevik government in solving the problems of the Armenian lands. As a response, Nzhdeh did not depart from Syunik and continued his struggle against the Red Army and Soviet Azerbaijan, struggling to maintain the independence of the region.^[5][6]

On 18 February 1921, the Dashnaks led an anti-Soviet rebellion in Yerevan and seized power. The ARF controlled Yerevan and the surrounding regions for almost 42 days before being defeated by the numerically superior Red Army troops later in April 1921. The leaders of the rebellion then retreated into the Syunik region.

On 26 April 1921, the 2nd Pan-Zangezurian congress, held in Tatev, announced the independence of the self-governing regions of Daralakyaz (Vayots Dzor), Zangezur, and Mountainous Artsakh, under the name of the Republic of Mountainous Armenia (Lernahaystani Hanrapetutyun).

Following the declaration of independence of the Republic of the Mountainous Armenia from Soviet Armenia, he was proclaimed Prime Minister and Minister of Defense.

Between April and July 1921, the Red Army conducted massive military operations in the region, attacking Syunik from north and the east. After months of fierce battles with the Red Army, the Republic of Mountainous Armenia capitulated in July 1921 following Soviet Russia's promises to keep the mountainous region as a part of Soviet Armenia. After losing the battle, Nzhdeh, his soldiers, and many prominent Armenian intellectuals, including leaders of the first Independent Republic of Armenia, crossed the border into neighboring Persian city of Tabriz.

Organizational activities

After leaving Syunik, Nzhdeh spent four months in the Persian city of Tabriz. Soon after, he moved to Sofia, Bulgaria where he started a family by marrying Epime, a local Armenian girl and establishing in Bulgaria. He was a great Armenian Fedayi who fought in the Armenian Genocide against Turkey.

Nzhdeh was involved in organizational activities in Bulgaria, Romania and the United States through his frequent visits to Plovdiv,Bucharest and Boston.

In 1933, by the decision of ARF Dashnaktsutyun, Nzhdeh moved to USA along with his partisan, Kopernik Tanterjian. This movement led to the foundation of the Armenian Youth Federation, the youth organization of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, in Boston,Massachusetts.

He visited several states and provinces in America and Canada, inspiring the Armenian communities that had established themselves there, and founding an Armenian Youth movement called Tseghakron (Armenian: Ցեղակրոն), which later renamed itselft the "Armenian Youth Federation".

In 1937, he was back in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, where he began to publish the "Razmig" Armenian newspaper. At the end of 1930s, along with a group of Armenian intellectuals in Sofia, he founded the Taron Nationalist Movement and published its organ "Taroni Artsiv" paper.

During his life in Bulgaria, Nzhdeh maintained close contacts with revolutionary organizations of Macedonian Bulgarians and BulgarianSymbolist poet Theodore Trayanov.^[7]

Arrest and trial 

During World War II Nzhdeh suggested support to Nazi Germany if the latter takes a decision to attack Turkey. Operation Gertrud, joint German-Bulgarian project about attacking Turkey in case if Ankara joins the allies, was largely discussed in Berlin.^[8] The Armenian military unit, which was supposed to used against Turkey was send to the Eastern front, to Crimean peninsula instead in 1943. Nzhdeh requested detachment's return and terminated his connections with Germany. On September 9 of 1944 Nzhdeh wrote a letter to Stalin suggesting his support in case if the Soviet leadership attacks Turkey.^[9] A Soviet plan to invade Turkey in order to punish Ankara for collaboration with Nazis and also for returning territories occupied by Turks in 1921, more precisely Kars and Ardahan regions, was highly discussed by the Soviet leadership in 1945-1947.^[10][11] The Soviet military commanders told Nzhdeh that the idea of collaboration is interesting but in order to be able to discuss it in a more detailed way Nzhdeh needed to travel to Moscow.^[12] He was transferred to Bucharest and later to Moscow, where he was arrested and held in the Lubyanka prison.

After his arrest, Nzhdeh's wife and son were sent to exile from Sofia to Pavlikeni.

In November 1946, Nzhdeh was sent to Yerevan, awaiting trial. At the end of his trial, on 24 April 1948, Nzhdeh was sentenced to 25 years of imprisonment (to begin in 1944).