Simon Achikgyozyan

Simon Achikgyozyan
Nickname(s) Դեդ (Ded, "Grandfather")[1][2]
Born 6 February 1939
Galați, Kingdom of Romania
Died 30 April 1991 (aged 52)
Martunashen, Soviet Azerbaijan
Buried at Kanaker-Zeytun Cemetery, Yerevan
Allegiance Armenian Revolutionary Federation
Years of service 1989–1991
Unit Arabo Detachment[1]
Battles/wars
Awards Order of Combat Cross (1st Degree)[1]

Simon Achikgyozyan (Armenian: Սիմոն Աչիկգյոզյան, 6 February 1939 – 30 April 1991) was one of the earliest Armenian military commanders during the Nagorno-Karabakh War. He is considered a hero in Armenia.[3][4]

Early life, education and career

Achikgyozyan was born in the city of Galați, Kingdom of Romania to Hovhannes and Siranuysh from the Ottoman Empire, survivors of the Armenian Genocide.[2] In 1946, his family resettled in Soviet Armenia. Achikgyozyan graduated from the Yerevan State University in 1960 as an engineer-geologist. From 1961 to 1990, he worked at the Institute of Geological Sciences of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia.[1] He is an author of over 70 scientific publications on geology and minerals of Armenia.[2]

Nagorno-Karabakh war

The Karabakh movement that started in February 1988 demanded the unification of the mostly Armenian-population Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast region of Soviet Azerbaijan with Armenia.[5] The tensions between Armenians and Azerbaijanis soon escalated into an armed conflict known as the Nagorno-Karabakh War.[6]

Achikgyozyan joined the ARF-affiliated Arabo detachment in 1989[2] and was elected into the Yerevan City Council in 1990.[1] By early 1991, the tensions rose gradually to a point where an armed conflict became inevitable. In late April 1991, the joint Soviet and Azerbaijan security forces perpetrated the Operation Ring. It included the deportation of thousands of civilian Armenians from the region. Armenian volunteer groups, led by Tatul Krpeyan (posthumously awarded with the National Hero of Armenia title) and Simon Achikgyozyan organized self-defense operations, however their actions were suppressed by Soviet-Azerbaijani forces. On April 30, 1991, Achikgyozyan, along with Krepyan were killed in Martunashen village.[7][2][1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "He decided to revenge his ancestors". Yerevan State University. 29 April 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Stepanyan, Shushan (July 2011). Սիմոն Աչիկգյոզյան. «Ինչ լինում է, թող ինձ լինի». Hay Zinvor, the official newspaper of the Armed Forces of Armenia (in Armenian). Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  3. ↑ "2012 events". Naregatsi Art Institute. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  4. ↑ "Events for November 21, 2006". Armtown. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  5. ↑ Verluise, Pierre (1995). Armenia in Crisis: The 1988 Earthquake. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. p. 86. ISBN 9780814325278.
  6. ↑ "Chronology of Key Events February 1988-June 2003". Office of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic in the United States. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  7. ↑ "Today marks 20th anniversary of Getashen tragedies". Tert.am. 30 April 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2013.