Category: 2022

Today, February 25, marks the 157th birthday anniversary of Andranik Ozanian (Zoravar Andranik), a legendary Armenian military commander, statesman and key figure of the Armenian national liberation movement.

Andranik Ozanian was born in 1865 in Shabin-Karahisar, Sivas Vilayet, Ottoman Empire (modern Giresun Province of Turkey) to Mariam and Toros Ozanian. His paternal ancestors came from the nearby Ozan village in the early 18th century and settled in Shabin-Karahisar to avoid persecution from the Turks. His ancestors took the surname Ozanian in honor of their hometown.

Andranik became active in the Armenian armed struggle against the Ottoman government and Kurdish irregulars in the late 1880s. He joined the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) party and along other fedayis, he sought to defend the Armenian peasantry living in their ancestral homeland; an area known as Turkish (or Western) Armenia – at the time part of the Ottoman Empire. His revolutionary activities ceased in 1904, when he left the Ottoman Empire. In 1907, Andranik left Dashnaktustyun because he disagreed with its cooperation with the Young Turks, a party which years later perpetrated the Armenian Genocide. In 1912–1913, together with Garegin Nzhdeh, Andranik led Armenian volunteers within the Bulgarian army against the Ottomans during the First Balkan War.

Since the early stages of World War I, Andranik commanded the first Armenian volunteer battalion and led them within the Russian Imperial army against the Ottoman army. After the Revolution of 1917, the Russian army retreated and left the Armenian irregulars outnumbered against the Turks. Andranik led the defense of Erzurum in early 1918, but was forced to retreat eastward. By May 1918, Turkish forces stood near Yerevan—the future Armenian capital. The Dashnak-dominated Armenian National Council declared the independence of Armenia and signed the Treaty of Batum with the Ottoman Empire, by which Armenia gave up its rights to Western Armenia. Andranik never accepted the existence of the First Republic of Armenia because it included only a small part of the area many Armenians hoped to make independent. Andranik, independently from the Republic of Armenia, fought in Zangezur against the Azerbaijani and Turkish armies and helped to keep it within Armenia.

Andranik left Armenia in 1919 and spent his last years of life in Europe and the United States. He settled in Fresno, California in 1922 and died five years later in 1927. Andranik is greatly admired as a national hero by Armenians; numerous statues of him have been erected in several countries. Streets and squares were named after Andranik, and songs, poems and novels have been written about him, making him a legendary figure in Armenian culture.

Andranik was first buried at Ararat Cemetery in Fresno, and his remains were moved to France and buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris on 29 January 1928. In early 2000, the Armenian and French governments arranged the transfer of Andranik’s body from Paris to Yerevan. The commander was re-interred at the Yerablur Pantheon in Yerevan on 20 February 2000, next to Vazgen Sargsyan. 

Armenia’s Liberation Movement announced the launch of a signature campaign demanding Nikol Pashinyan’s resignation in Yerevan’s Yerablur Military Pantheon on Friday, February 25, marking the birthday anniversary of legendary Armenian commander Andranik Ozanian.

Nairi Hokhikyan, a member of the movement, says the campaign will extend to all regions of Armenia and Artsakh, adding Diaspora Armenians can also join it.

“We believe many people will take part in the signature campaign,” Hokhikyan told reporters, urging all political forces and organizations to join what he called the “national liberation struggle”.

Another Liberation Movement member Ara Zohrabyan, who heads the opposition Zartonk (Awakening) party, noted that many people voted for Nikol Pashinyan in the 2021 elections, hoping that Armenia would avoid war during his rule.

“They thought that there would be no war if Nikol Pashinyan was reelected. While a few months later that theory blew away; military operations took place on Armenian territory, we had casualties, Armenian soldiers were taken captive and have not been released to date,” Zohrabyan stressed.

According to him, instead Armenia is now faced with Azerbaijan’s expansionist ambitions, which Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev does not even hide.

“It becomes clear that Nikol Pashinyan is not the guarantor of Armenia’s security… We must be united and realize that Pashinyan is a bad leader, who can never restore the country’s dignity or lead it to victories,” Zohrabyan said, calling for joint efforts to remove the current government.

Armenian political analyst and Voskanapat Analytical Center head Hrant Melik-Shahnazaryan spoke about the declaration on allied cooperation between Russia and Azerbaijan signed in Moscow on February 22, Armenian-Russian relations and the possible impact of the document on the settlement of Artsakh issue in an interview with Panorama.am on Friday.

Panorama.am: On 22 February the leaders of Russia and Azerbaijan signed a declaration on allied cooperation between the two countries. Armenia is not Russia’s only ally in the South Caucasus from now on. Was such a scenario of events expected for you?

Hrant Melik-Shahnazaryan: The processes of recent years show that Russia has revised or, more precisely, developed a new strategy for the regions adjacent to it. Moscow’s actions and statements indicate that restoring Russian hegemony in the post-Soviet space is its key priority. The South Caucasus, of course, is no exception.

This presupposes non-standard solutions. My first impression is that if, for example, in Ukraine Russia solves its problems by force, in our region it’s exactly the opposite; they are trying to act as a country that brings peace and cooperation. But at the same time, I must admit that the declaration on allied cooperation between Russia and Azerbaijan was not only a surprise to me, but also an unpleasant, very unpleasant surprise.

By and large, let’s not forget that at one time Russia’s sales of weaponry to Azerbaijan was also presented to our society as part of a policy aimed at reducing the risks of war by ensuring a balance of power and establishing Russian control over the process of arming the conflicting parties. And what did it lead us to in 2020? Thus, things are really bad. Azerbaijan is sure to try to take advantage of these realities and now, acting as Russia’s ally, will try to extort new concessions for itself in the region, in return for trying to offer Moscow such services, which were exclusively provided by Armenia previously.

Panorama.am: Has Armenia “contributed” anyhow to the signing of such a document between its ally and its enemy? Could the signing of the declaration have been prevented if diplomatic efforts had been made?

Hrant Melik-Shahnazaryan: Since the 44-day war, Armenian diplomacy has had zero influence not only on regional processes, but also on those concerning the vital interests of the Republic of Armenia. Unfortunately, this is a fact. Before the war, the same diplomacy did everything, as if on purpose, to neutralize all our political mechanisms related to security, to make them disappear. Armenia not only heavily contributed to the signing of the declaration, but became its main ‘catalyst’. Thus, I will not be surprised if sometime in the future Nikol Pashinyan is awarded by Baku for his contribution to such a great development in Russian-Azerbaijani relations.

Panorama.am: What steps should Armenia take after the signing of this document?

Hrant Melik-Shahnazaryan: The Armenian Foreign Ministry has already, in fact, welcomed the signing of this declaration. Notably, it expressed the hope that the document “would open up additional opportunities for the implementation of the provisions of the three statements signed by the leaders of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan, which could also contribute to the lasting and comprehensive settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship.” What can I say after all that? Armenia finds itself in the same situation as the citizens of Ukraine, who are welcoming the Russian troops entering their towns and villages.

Panorama.am: How could the declaration affect Russian-Armenian relations?

Hrant Melik-Shahnazaryan: You see, if Moscow had had even a shadow of doubt that taking relations with Azerbaijan to an allied level would cause problems with Armenia, they would not have taken that step.

Especially now, when memories of the 44-day war are still fresh in our country, when our servicemen are still suffering in Baku prisons. I am convinced that nothing will change in Armenian-Russian relations on the state level. And our people, unfortunately, are already used to such disappointments. But on a deeper level, of course, things will change. We need to be a bit more realistic about things. We need to understand that our interests are paramount only to ourselves, not to expect Russia or some other country to resolve our problems instead of us.

It is necessary to properly assess the current realities and to pursue a competent policy. Only then will it be possible to take such events easy and to neutralize their possible negative impacts on Armenia. After all, it is clear that in terms of long-term tactics there are many more factors linking Armenia and Russia than there are developments contributing to the current Russian-Azerbaijani and Russian-Turkish cooperation. We just need to do the right and consistent work, and, I repeat myself, adequately perceive all the realities.

Panorama.am: The first clause of the declaration says, “The parties build their relations on the basis of mutual respect for the territorial integrity of the two countries.” How will it affect the settlement of the Artsakh issue?

Hrant Melik-Shahnazaryan: Yes, the wording of the first clause of the declaration is problematic for us. But one and the same sentence can be interpreted differently in different times. Who said that the concept of “territorial integrity of Azerbaijan” implies Artsakh’s affiliation with the Baku regime? Was it Aliyev? I say no, Artsakh has no connection with Azerbaijan and its territorial integrity. And this claim is based on extensive factual evidence. Do we want Artsakh to be independent? So, we must pursue a policy aimed at solving the problem. The main problem here is not the first clause of the mentioned declaration. It lies in the person who sits in the government building located on the Republic Square in Yerevan. It is he who does not speak about Artsakh’s future, who compromises our national interests and who’s afraid to even think about Artsakh’s independence. Whereas, for example, Putin himself declared that the Artsakh issue has not yet been resolved at the time of signing the declaration.

Panorama.am: The document also reflects on cooperation in military-political and military-technical spheres, strengthening and deepening cooperation between the two countries’ armies. Should Armenia be worried about this?

Hrant Melik-Shahnazaryan: Yes, absolutely. It could pose an existential threat to the two Armenian republics. But what to do? The answer is the same again: we have to change the situation by, first of all, changing our mindset, and only then the things around us. This is a matter of years and even decades. The same realistic way of seeing things suggests that we need a long period of rehabilitation after suffering defeat in the war. And also help, including from Russia. I would say, first of all, from Russia.