Simon Zavarian (

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

: , also known by his ''

nom de guerre A ''nom de guerre'' (, 'war name') is a pseudonym chosen by someone to use when they are involved in a particular activity, especially fighting in a war. In Ancien régime, ''ancien régime'' Kingdom of France, France it would be adopted by each n ...

'' Anton, ; 1866 – 1913) also spelled Simon Zavaryan, was an

political leader and an important leader of the

Armenian national liberation movement The Armenian national movement ( ''Hay azgayin-azatagrakan sharzhum'') included social, cultural, but primarily political and military movements that reached their height during World War I and the following years, initially seeking improved statu ...

and one of the three founders of the

Armenian Revolutionary Federation The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (, abbr. ARF (ՀՅԴ) or ARF-D), also known as Dashnaktsutyun (Armenians, Armenian: Դաշնակցություն, Literal translation, lit. "Federation"), is an Armenian nationalism, Armenian nationalist a ...

, along with

Christapor Mikaelian Christapor Mikaelian (; 18 October 1859 – 17 March 1905) was an Armenians, Armenian revolutionary who played a leading role in the Armenian national liberation movement. Born in Nakhichevan uezd, Nakhichevan, he became a teacher and worked t ...

and

Stepan Zorian Stepan Zorian (Armenian Language, Armenian: Ստեփան Զօրեան, 1867–1919), better known by his ''nom de guerre'' Rostom (), was one of the three founders of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation and a leader of the Armenian national li ...

Biography

Zavarian was born in the village of Igahat in the

Tiflis Governorate Tiflis Governorate was a province ('' guberniya'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire with its administrative centre in Tiflis (present-day Tbilisi). In 1897, it constituted in area and had a population of 1,051,032 inhabitants. ...

of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

(now Aygehat in

Lori Province Lori (, ) is a provinces of Armenia, province (''Administrative divisions of Armenia, marz'') of Armenia. It is located in the north of the country, bordering Georgia (country), Georgia. Vanadzor is the capital and largest city of the province. ...

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

). He graduated from the

Nersisian School Nersisian School (, ''Nersisian Dprots''; ka, ნერსისიანის სემინარია, ; ) was an Armenian higher education institution in the city of Tiflis, then Russian Empire (now Tbilisi, Georgia). It operated exactly f ...

Tiflis Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

, then attended the Petrovsky Agricultural Academy in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, where he met

and

. In Moscow, he became a member of the Russian revolutionary organization

Narodnaya Volya Narodnaya Volya () was a late 19th-century revolutionary socialist political organization operating in the Russian Empire, which conducted assassinations of government officials in an attempt to overthrow the autocratic Tsarist system. The org ...

. He later settled in Tiflis, where he co-founded the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) with Christapor Mikaelian and Stepan Zorian in 1890. Zavarian played a prominent role in the creation of the party's plans and rules and served as the executive officer of the party's eastern Bureau. He also conducted research for the party and performed organizational work during his many travels across Europe and the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. In 1902, he went to

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

, where he served as a member of the editorial board of '' Droshak'', the ARF's official newspaper. During the 1908 Ottoman Constitutional Revolution, he participated in the development of plans for reforms for Ottoman Armenians and used the archives of the

Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

to develop a census of the number of Armenians living in

Western Armenia Western Armenia (Western Armenian: Արեւմտեան Հայաստան, ''Arevmdian Hayasdan'') is a term to refer to the western parts of the Armenian highlands located within Turkey (formerly the Ottoman Empire) that comprise the historic ...

. After 1908, Zavarian traveled to

Mush In multiplayer online games, a MUSH (a backronymed variation on Multi-user dungeon, MUD most often expanded as Multi-User Shared Hallucination, though Multi-User Shared Hack, Habitat, and Holodeck are also observed) is a text-based online social m ...

and Sasun as a teacher and inspector-general of Armenian schools. He settled in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

in 1911, where he taught at the Yessayan School and worked on the ARF newspaper ''Azadamard''. Zavarian died of a heart attack in 1913 in Constantinople. He was buried in Tiflis.

References

Sources

Simon Zavarian biography in English and Armenian
* Mihran Kurdoghlian, Badmoutioun Hayots, C. Hador (translators from the Armenian), ''Armenian History, volume III'', p. 34, Athens, Greece: 1996 {{DEFAULTSORT:Zavarian, Simon 1866 births 1913 deaths Armenian revolutionaries People from Lori Province Burials at Armenian Pantheon of Tbilisi Armenian independence activists People from the Russian Empire Narodnaya Volya