Garegin Njdeh
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Garegin Njdeh (Armenian: Գարեգին Նժդեհ, real name: Garegin Ter-Harutiunian, 1 January 1886 - late 1955) was an Armenian statesman, military, and political thinker, native of Nakhichevan. A member of the Dashnak party, he was involved in revolutionary activities in Armenia, Bulgaria and Russia.
In 1912, together with General Andranik Ozanian he formed an Armenian battalion to fight against the Turks in the Balkan war. Later, moving back to Armenia, Njdeh commanded different military units. He played a key role in organizing the defense of Karakilis (today Vanadzor) in 1918. A convinced Anti-Bolshevik, he led the defense of Zangezur in 1921.
Following the declaration of independence of Republic of the Mountainous Armenia from Soviet Armenia, he was proclaimed Prime-Minister and Minister of Defense. He fled Armenia after the triumph of Bolsheviks, and was involved in patriotic activities in Iran, Turkey, Bulgaria and United States.
He visited the United States and Canada, encouraging Armenian communities that had established themselves there, and founding an Armenian Youth movement called Tseghakron (Armenian: Ցեղակրոն). In 1933, this movement led to the foundation of the Armenian Youth Federation, the youth organization of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, in Boston, Massachusetts.
A controversial figure, he left the Dashnak party. A staunch Anti-Communist, he came to collaborate with Nazi Germans during World War II. He was arrested in Sofia, Bulgaria in 1944 and sent to Moscow, then to Yerevan, then to Vladimir, where he died in prison.
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