Edmon Marukyan: About the personality of Armenian Hero Garegin Nzhdeh,

The other day, discussions regarding the identity of the national hero of the Armenian people, Garegin Nzhdeh, have intensified again. We are talking about artificially created discussions around the exhibition of the feature film “Garegin Nzhdeh” held on January 28 at the youth center “The Union of Armenians of Russia”. Speculations on this topic aim to disseminate disinformation and defame the memory of the fighter for the independence of Armenia, as well as to incite hatred towards Armenians and instill discord in allied relations between Armenia and Russia.

Once I already wrote about Garegin Njde – I think it is important to remind a Russian-speaking reader once again about his personality. Garegin Nzhdeh, who so skillfully many people speak about, knowing nothing about his biography, was a personality who stood like a post to protect the Armenian-Russian-Slavian friendship from any Turkish invasion. He participated in the First Balkan War, in the First World War as a deputy commander of the Second Armenian Voluntary Team in the Russian Army, and afterward as a commander of a separate Armenian-Yazid military unit. In addition, Nzhdeh fought as a deputy commander and was also part of a group wife who joined the Ararat squad, later in the First Armenian Regiment.

Was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir 3rd degree, St. 4th grade Annas and 3rd and 2nd grade by Georgiev crosses. The Armenian genocide, one of the most terrible tragedies in human history, recognized and condemned in Russia, forced the patriot of the country to dedicate his whole life to protecting his people from destruction. At the beginning of the Second World War, Garegin Nzhdeh began cooperating with the German authorities, pursuing the goal in the case of the German occupation of the Zakat to prevent the possible invasion of Turkey into Soviet Armenia and if possible restore Armenia’s independence. It was the same quite normal and coolly correct political move as it is believed in Russia, for example, the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact. It is also worth remembering that Njde (already after the war, during the years of Stalin’s rule) was sentenced to Soviet prison not for collaborationism but for counter-revolutionary activities, primarily for participation in the “anti-Soviet” uprising in Zangezur.

In this plan, Njde was only a number of white officers who were also convicted under similar articles, and now restored and considered as national heroes in Russia. The defamation of the hero’s memory is done in order to rewrite history and ignite international differences. Moreover, this can also be considered an attempt to forget the heroic struggle of the Armenian people against fascism. I would like to remind you that in the years of the Second World War, the loss of Armenians in the fight against fascism is comparable to the losses of the United States. More than 500 thousand Armenians took part in the Great Patriotic War: 300 thousand of them were from Armenia and the rest from other Soviet republics. During the war, 6 Armenian gun divisions were formed. In the years of the war, 106 ethnic Armenians were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Armenian soldiers served in all kinds of troops of the Red Army. More than 70 thousand Armenian soldiers were awarded war medals and medals for their courage and bravery on the fronts of the Patriotic War. During the military period, 1250 people left only from one Armenian village of Chadahlu to the front. Out of them, 853 residents of Chardahlin were awarded medals and medals, 452 died on the battlefield, two became marshals of the Soviet Union (Ivan Bagramyan and Amazasp Babajanyan), 12 generals, 57 colonel and seven heroes of the Soviet Union. During the Second World War, 20 thousand of our compatriots fought in the infantry, in the US navy, and in aviation. In the comments to the publication, I will also post two links to our comments regarding the previously intense discussions surrounding this topic. And in conclusion, I will say that we will never forget the heroism of every Armenian soldier in the case of protecting his native land and people. We will remind you, while there are those who can forget…Glory to the Armenian soldier!

Edmon Marukyan Leader of the Enlightened Armenia Party