Stepan Sapah-Gulian
Encyclopedia
Stepan Sapah-Gulian was a prominent Armenia
n journalist, political scientist, intellectual and leader of the Armenian Social Democrat Hunchakian Party
.
on 14 February 1861. Sapah-Gulian attended the Nersesian academy in Tiflis for his primary and secondary education and was later appointed director of Nakhichevan schools. In 1887 he was arrested by Tsarist authorities, and briefly jailed.
As an Armenian activist Sapah-Gulian met with renowned Hunchak activist Matteos Sarkissian “Paramaz
” in Nakhichevan and Meghri, and discussed revolutionary ideas. Sapah-Gulian, traveled throughout western Armenia
(Ottoman Armenia), the Middle East, and was later briefly director of the Armenian school in Jerusalem prior to his departure to Paris for continuation of higher education and subsequently, in 1895, graduated from the École Libre des Sciences Politiques
with future French Prime Minister Raymond Poincaré
.
As an ardent activist for the Armenian cause Sapah-Gulian joined and worked on behalf of the Hunchakian
in 1894. Sapah-Gulian became a leader within the Hunchak party and founded and edited several journals, including Yeritasard Hayastan (‘Young Armenia’, 1903), Hunchak, Veradsnound (‘Revival’) Nor Ashkharh.
After the Ottoman constitution he along with Social Democrat Hunchak Party declared opposition to the Young Turk led Committee of Union and Progress, and urged other Armenian political parties to join the Hunchaks in opposition to the Ittihad
movement.
While in Cairo
, Sapah-Gulian would be condemned to death (in absentia) along with other Hunchak party members in 1915 by the Ittihad government. Sapah-Gulian later traveled to the USA to recruit for the volunteer units and to obtain assistance for the Armenians in the war. In the States he edited Yeritasard Hayastan in New York and fundamentally disagreed on dissolution of the Social Democrat Hunchak Party in favor of the Russian Social Democrats, showing determination to maintain independence and integrity of the Armenian Social Democrat Hunchak party.
Stepan Sapah-Gulian died in New Jersey
on the 28th of April, 1928.
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
n journalist, political scientist, intellectual and leader of the Armenian Social Democrat Hunchakian Party
Social Democrat Hunchakian Party
The Social Democrat Hunchakian Party , is the oldest of the Armenian political parties and was the first Socialist party in the Ottoman Empire and in Persia...
.
Biography
Stepan Sapah-Gulian was born in Djahri, a village just north of NakhichevanNakhichevan
The Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic is a landlocked exclave of Azerbaijan. The region covers 5,363 km² and borders Armenia to the east and north, Iran to the south and west, and Turkey to the northwest...
on 14 February 1861. Sapah-Gulian attended the Nersesian academy in Tiflis for his primary and secondary education and was later appointed director of Nakhichevan schools. In 1887 he was arrested by Tsarist authorities, and briefly jailed.
As an Armenian activist Sapah-Gulian met with renowned Hunchak activist Matteos Sarkissian “Paramaz
Paramaz
Paramaz or Matteos Sarkissian was an Armenian fedayee, freedom fighter and political activist.Matteos Sarkissian studied at Gevorkian Seminary of Echmiadzin...
” in Nakhichevan and Meghri, and discussed revolutionary ideas. Sapah-Gulian, traveled throughout western Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
(Ottoman Armenia), the Middle East, and was later briefly director of the Armenian school in Jerusalem prior to his departure to Paris for continuation of higher education and subsequently, in 1895, graduated from the École Libre des Sciences Politiques
École Libre des Sciences Politiques
École Libre des Sciences Politiques , often referred to as the École des Sciences Politiques or simply Sciences Po was created in Paris in February 1872 by a group of European intellectuals, politicians and businessmen, which included Hippolyte Taine, Ernest Renan, Albert Sorel, Pierre Paul...
with future French Prime Minister Raymond Poincaré
Raymond Poincaré
Raymond Poincaré was a French statesman who served as Prime Minister of France on five separate occasions and as President of France from 1913 to 1920. Poincaré was a conservative leader primarily committed to political and social stability...
.
As an ardent activist for the Armenian cause Sapah-Gulian joined and worked on behalf of the Hunchakian
Social Democrat Hunchakian Party
The Social Democrat Hunchakian Party , is the oldest of the Armenian political parties and was the first Socialist party in the Ottoman Empire and in Persia...
in 1894. Sapah-Gulian became a leader within the Hunchak party and founded and edited several journals, including Yeritasard Hayastan (‘Young Armenia’, 1903), Hunchak, Veradsnound (‘Revival’) Nor Ashkharh.
After the Ottoman constitution he along with Social Democrat Hunchak Party declared opposition to the Young Turk led Committee of Union and Progress, and urged other Armenian political parties to join the Hunchaks in opposition to the Ittihad
Ittihad
The Ittihad Party was a radical Islamist party in the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in 1917–1920. It was formed in September 1917 in opposition to the secular Musavat Party and proposed political unity of all the Muslims of the Russian Empire...
movement.
While in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, Sapah-Gulian would be condemned to death (in absentia) along with other Hunchak party members in 1915 by the Ittihad government. Sapah-Gulian later traveled to the USA to recruit for the volunteer units and to obtain assistance for the Armenians in the war. In the States he edited Yeritasard Hayastan in New York and fundamentally disagreed on dissolution of the Social Democrat Hunchak Party in favor of the Russian Social Democrats, showing determination to maintain independence and integrity of the Armenian Social Democrat Hunchak party.
Stepan Sapah-Gulian died in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
on the 28th of April, 1928.
Sources
- The Armenian Question, encyclopedia, Ed. by acad. K. Khudaverdyan, Yerevan, 1996, pp. 400–401.
- Biography at Massis Weekly