Stepan Zorian
Encyclopedia
Armenian Revolutionary Federation
The Armenian Revolutionary Federation is an Armenian political party founded in Tiflis in 1890 by Christapor Mikaelian, Stepan Zorian, and Simon Zavarian...
along Christapor Mikaelian
Christapor Mikaelian
Christapor Mikaelian also known by his noms de guerre Hellen , Topal , and Edward , was one of the three founders of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation along Stepan Zorian and Simon Zavarian, also part of Armenian national liberation movement.- Early life :Christapor Mikaelian was born in the...
and Simon Zavarian
Simon Zavarian
250px|thumb|Simon ZavarianSimon Zavarian, also known by his nom de guerre Anton , was one of the three founders of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation and part of Armenian national liberation movement, along Kristapor Mikaelian and Stepan Zorian.- Role in the founding of the ARF :Simon Zavarian...
, also part of Armenian national liberation movement.
Founding of the ARF
Rosdom was born in the village Tsghna in Erivan GovernorateErivan Governorate
Erivan Governorate was one of the guberniyas of the Russian Empire, with its centre in Erivan . Its area was 27,830 sq. kilometres. It roughly corresponded to what is now most of central Armenia, the Iğdır Province of Turkey, and Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan exclave...
. He attended the Village Administration college of Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
but dropped out before graduating. He eventually went to Tiflis, Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
where he became an activist and revolutionary. There he met fellow revolutionaries Christapor Mikaelian
Christapor Mikaelian
Christapor Mikaelian also known by his noms de guerre Hellen , Topal , and Edward , was one of the three founders of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation along Stepan Zorian and Simon Zavarian, also part of Armenian national liberation movement.- Early life :Christapor Mikaelian was born in the...
and Simon Zavarian
Simon Zavarian
250px|thumb|Simon ZavarianSimon Zavarian, also known by his nom de guerre Anton , was one of the three founders of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation and part of Armenian national liberation movement, along Kristapor Mikaelian and Stepan Zorian.- Role in the founding of the ARF :Simon Zavarian...
. Together, they co-founded the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) in 1890. Their new political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
had a major impact on Armenians. It gained support by demanding reforms and taking up arms to defend Armenian citizens of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
.
Works and travels
Rosdom eventually moved to Geneva, Switzerland where he managed the Droshak JournalDroshak Journal
Droshak is the official organ of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation published in Tiflis , Balkans , Geneva , Paris , Beirut , Athens , Yerevan . It was first published in 1890 by Christapor Mikaelian as a monthly, then- bi-monthly, bi-weekly, weekly...
(Troshag) newspaper, as the editor. In Garin
Garin
-Others:*Gar'in, a Hebrew term for groups of immigrants*Garin Tzabar, a program for children of Israelis and Diaspora Jews to facilitate their service in the Israeli military*Garin, Haute-Garonne, a commune in southern France*Garín, a town in Argentina...
, pretending to be a teapot salesman because ARF party members were banned in Turkey, he established student unions.
He later settled in Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
to create cooperation between ARF and the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization in its struggle against Abdul Hamid II
Abdul Hamid II
His Imperial Majesty, The Sultan Abdülhamid II, Emperor of the Ottomans, Caliph of the Faithful was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire...
. He also opened an Armenian school there with his wife, Lisa Melik Shahnazarian.
Post Constitution days
During the 1908 Constitutional revolutionYoung Turk Revolution
The Young Turk Revolution of 1908 reversed the suspension of the Ottoman parliament by Sultan Abdul Hamid II, marking the onset of the Second Constitutional Era...
in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, he moved to Garin. In 1914, World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
broke out, he moved to Europe and then to the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
. There he participated in the Armenian-Tatar wars
Armenian-Tatar massacres
The Armenian–Tatar massacres refers to the bloody inter-ethnic confrontation between Armenians and Azerbaijanis throughout the Caucasus in 1905–1907.The massacres started during the Russian Revolution of...
. During the Iranian revolution, he participated in the revolution alongside Persian revolutionaries. He also directs the fight of self-defense in Baku
Baku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
, Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
. After a calamitous result, he fled to Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
with thousands of Armenians.
Death
Rosdom died in 1919, in the city of Tiflis at the age of 52. He was the only one of the three founders of the ARF to see an independent ArmeniaDemocratic Republic of Armenia
The Democratic Republic of Armenia was the first modern establishment of an Armenian state...
, which was one of the party's primary goals.
See also
- Armenian Revolutionary FederationArmenian Revolutionary FederationThe Armenian Revolutionary Federation is an Armenian political party founded in Tiflis in 1890 by Christapor Mikaelian, Stepan Zorian, and Simon Zavarian...
- Democratic Republic of ArmeniaDemocratic Republic of ArmeniaThe Democratic Republic of Armenia was the first modern establishment of an Armenian state...
- Christapor MikaelianChristapor MikaelianChristapor Mikaelian also known by his noms de guerre Hellen , Topal , and Edward , was one of the three founders of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation along Stepan Zorian and Simon Zavarian, also part of Armenian national liberation movement.- Early life :Christapor Mikaelian was born in the...
- Simon ZavarianSimon Zavarian250px|thumb|Simon ZavarianSimon Zavarian, also known by his nom de guerre Anton , was one of the three founders of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation and part of Armenian national liberation movement, along Kristapor Mikaelian and Stepan Zorian.- Role in the founding of the ARF :Simon Zavarian...