Movses Gevorgi Gorgisyan ( hy, Մովսես Գևորգի Գորգիսյան; 3 December 1961 – 19 January 1990) was an Armenian politician and national hero, one of the leaders of the Nagorno-Karabakh movement. He was one of the founders of the Army of Independence. Widely known for his speeches on the independence of

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''O ...

, he was also an active advocate of Artsakh's independence campaign.

Biography

Movses Gorgisyan was born on December 3, 1961 in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and i ...

, the capital of Armenia. In 1984, Gorgisyan graduated from the

Armenian State Pedagogical University Khachatur Abovian Armenian State Pedagogical University (ASPU) ( hy, Խաչատուր Աբովյանի անվան հայկական պետական մանկավարժական համալսարան, ՀՊՄՀ), is a state university and higher educa ...

's Department of Culture, with the qualification of a stage director and producer. From 1986-1987, he worked at the Theatre of Goris. In 1987, he joined the national movement, becoming a member of the Union for National Self-Determination. Gorgisyan led the demonstrations for independence in Yerevan which led to him being jailed in 1988. He also was an editor of the Armenian edition of ''Glasnost'' magazine. Gorgisyan was the first person to hoist Armenia's tricolor flag on 28 May 1988 for the first time. This was the same day the

First Republic of Armenia The First Republic of Armenia, officially known at the time of its existence as the Republic of Armenia ( hy, Հայաստանի Հանրապետութիւն), was the first modern Armenian state since the loss of Armenian statehood in the Middle ...

was founded 70 years prior. In late 1989, Gorgisyan and several other members of the Union for National Self-Determination founded the Army of Independence (''Ankakhutʻyan banak''), an armed group which engaged in violent clashes with the Soviet and Soviet Azerbaijani authorities in the

Armenian SSR The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic,; russian: Армянская Советская Социалистическая Республика, translit=Armyanskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialisticheskaya Respublika) also commonly referred to as Soviet A ...

and the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast.

Death

Gorgisyan was killed on 19 January 1990 during a battle with Azerbaijani forces in

Yeraskh Yeraskh ( hy, Երասխ, formerly, Arazdayan) is a village in the Ararat Province of Armenia. Yeraskh is the closest Armenian village to the closed border with Azerbaijan. The settlement is adjacent to Heydarabad, Azerbaijan across the borde ...

near the border villages in Ararat region and was buried at

Tsitsernakaberd The Armenian Genocide Memorial complex ( hy, Հայոց ցեղասպանության զոհերի հուշահամալիր, ''Hayots tseghaspanutyan zoheri hushahamalir'', or Ծիծեռնակաբերդ, '' Tsitsernakaberd'') is Armenia's official ...

memorial complex. He posthumously received the highest title in

, the National Hero of Armenia award.

References

External links

Մ. Գորգիսեան - ՍՈՒԳԸ ՀԱՎԵՐԺ Է, ԵԹԵ ՊԱՅՔԱՐ ՉԿԱBiography, Mil.am
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gorgisyan, Movses 1961 births 1990 deaths Armenian State Pedagogical University alumni Armenian activists Armenian nationalists Armenian military personnel of the Nagorno-Karabakh War National Hero of Armenia