Garegin Nzhdeh | |
---|---|
Birth name | Garegin Ter-Harutyunyan |
Born | Güznüt, Erivan Governorate, Russian Empire (now in Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, Azerbaijan) | January 1, 1886
Died | 21 December 1955 Vladimir, Soviet Union | (aged 69)
Buried | |
Allegiance | ARF Party (1907–1937) Kingdom of Bulgaria (1912–1913) Russian Empire (1914–1917) Republic of Armenia (1918–1920) Mountainous Armenia (1921) |
Years of service | 1907–1921 |
Rank | Sparapet |
Battles / wars | First Balkan War Second Balkan War Armenian national liberation movement World War I Armenian–Azerbaijani War |
Awards | see below |
Garegin Ter-Harutyunyan (Armenian: Գարեգին Տէր-Յարութիւնեան) better known by his nom de guerre Garegin Nzhdeh (Armenian: Գարեգին Նժդեհ) (1 January 1886 – 21 December 1955) was an Armenian statesman and military strategist. As a member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, he was involved in national liberation struggle and revolutionary activities during the First Balkan War and World War I. Garegin Nzhdeh was one of the key political and military leaders of the First Republic of Armenia (1918–1921), and is widely admired as a charismatic national hero by Armenians.
In 1921, he instrumented 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. During World War II, he assisted the Armenian Legion of the Wehrmacht, the armed forces of Nazi Germany, he hoped that if Germany succeeded in conquering the USSR, they would be able to grant Armenia independence.