Major Historical Figures in the Struggle for Armenian Independence

123. Israel Ori

Israel Ori was an Armenian political figure of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries.

He sought foreign assistance for Armenian liberation and pursued diplomatic contacts with European and Russian rulers.

His efforts demonstrated that Armenian political restoration remained an active objective centuries after the disappearance of the medieval Armenian kingdoms.

124. David Bek

David Bek led Armenian resistance in Syunik during the eighteenth century.

He organized military forces and attempted to establish local Armenian authority amid regional conflict.

His campaigns became important symbols of Armenian resistance to foreign domination.

125. Mikael Nalbandian

Mikael Nalbandian was a nineteenth-century Armenian writer and intellectual.

His work contributed to the development of modern Armenian political thought and national consciousness.

His poem later provided the basis for Armenia's national anthem.

126. Khrimian Hayrik

Mkrtich Khrimian, widely known as Khrimian Hayrik, was an Armenian religious and national leader.

He advocated reforms and the protection of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire.

His experiences surrounding the Congress of Berlin in 1878 became associated with his famous metaphor of the iron ladle, emphasizing the limitations of diplomacy without political power.

127. Aram Manukian

Aram Manukian was among the central figures in the establishment of the First Republic.

He participated in Armenian revolutionary politics and played a leading role in organizing resistance in Van in 1915.

In 1918, he helped organize Armenian political and administrative authority in Yerevan.

He is widely remembered as one of the principal founders of modern Armenian statehood.

Manukian died in January 1919 during the republic's humanitarian crisis.

128. Hovhannes Kajaznuni

Hovhannes Kajaznuni became the first prime minister of the First Republic of Armenia.

He faced the difficult task of establishing a functioning government under conditions of military danger, economic collapse, and widespread displacement.

His political career reflects the challenges of building a modern state without secure borders or sufficient resources.

129. Movses Silikyan

Movses Silikyan was an Armenian military commander who played an important role in organizing the defense of eastern Armenia in May 1918.

His leadership during the battles surrounding Sardarapat contributed to the survival of Armenian political authority.

130. Drastamat Kanayan

Drastamat Kanayan, known as Dro, was an Armenian military and political figure.

He played a major role in the defense of Bash Abaran in 1918 and subsequently served in the military structures of the First Republic.

His later political activities, including his controversial association with Armenian formations connected to Nazi Germany during the Second World War, form part of a complex historical legacy that requires careful examination rather than unqualified celebration.

131. Garegin Nzhdeh

Garegin Nzhdeh was an Armenian military and political leader associated with the defense of Syunik during the collapse of the First Republic and the early Soviet period.

He became an important figure in Armenian nationalist historical memory.

His later ideological writings and wartime associations have also generated serious historical and political controversy.

132. Levon Ter-Petrosyan

Levon Ter-Petrosyan was a leading figure in the Karabakh Movement and the Armenian National Movement.

He became chairman of Armenia's Supreme Council in 1990 and the first president of independent Armenia in 1991.

His presidency was central to the establishment of the Third Republic's political institutions and international relations.

133. Nikol Pashinyan

Nikol Pashinyan emerged as the principal leader of the 2018 Velvet Revolution.

His political career has been shaped by efforts at institutional reform, the consequences of the 2020 war, and negotiations concerning Armenia's security and relations with Azerbaijan.

His leadership remains a subject of significant political disagreement within Armenian society.