Ardeshir Ovanessian (; 1905–1990) was an Iranian

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

leader of

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 ...

origin.

Biography

He was born around 1905 in

Rasht Rasht (; ) is a city in the Central District (Rasht County), Central District of Rasht County, Gilan province, Gilan province, Iran, serving as the capital of the province, the county, and the district. The city is also known as the "City of ...

, to an

family originally hailing from

Salmas Salmas () is a city in the Central District of Salmas County, West Azerbaijan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. It is northwest of Lake Urmia, near Turkey. Etymology The original name of Salmas was ...

. After completing a

pharmacist A pharmacist, also known as a chemist in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English, is a healthcare professional who is knowledgeable about preparation, mechanism of action, clinical usage and legislation of medications in ...

apprenticeship (the profession of his father), he became involved in radical politics. He became involved in the radical Cultural Society of Rasht. Ovanessian became a cadre of the Communist Party of Persia in 1923. In 1925, he was sent to study at

KUTV KUTV (channel 2) is a television station in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside independent station KJZZ-TV (channel 14) and St. George, Utah, St. George–licensed MyNetwor ...

. Upon his return in 1926 he organized a pharmacists' trade union. For the Communist Party Ovanessian played a key role in the organizing of the party in Azerbaijan, making frequent visits to the different towns in the region.

Abrahamian, Ervand Ervand Abrahamian (; ; born 1940) is an Iranian-American historian of the Middle East. He is Distinguished Professor of History at Baruch College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Early life Ervand Vahan Abrahamian wa ...

.
Tortured Confessions: Prisons and Public Recantations in Modern Iran
'. Berkeley, Calif: University of California Press, 1999. pp. 36-37 Ovanessian was eventually captured by the police, and would spend eleven years in

Qasr prison The Museum of the Qasr Prison ( ''muze-ye zendān-e qasr''; formerly referred to as the Qasr Prison, ''zendān-e qasr'', meaning "Palace Prison") is a historical complex in Tehran, Iran. The building was one of the oldest political prisons i ...

. In prison, Ovanessian played a major role. He and other jailed communist leaders organized cultural and educational activities for other inmates. In jail, Ovanessian studied

French language French ( or ) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-R ...

. Once released in 1941, he became a founding member of the

Tudeh Party of Iran The Tudeh Party of Iran is an Iranian communist party. Formed in 1941, with Soleiman Mirza Eskandari as its head, it had considerable influence in its early years and played an important role during Mohammad Mosaddegh's campaign to nationalize ...

. He became a member of the Provisional Central Committee of the party. After his release, he published a self-biographical work of his prison ordeals. He was elected to the 14th

Majlis (, pl. ') is an Arabic term meaning 'sitting room', used to describe various types of special gatherings among common interest groups of administrative, social or religious nature in countries with linguistic or cultural connections to the Mus ...

in 1944, as a representative of the Armenian minority.Ladjevardi, Habib.
Labor Unions and Autocracy in Iran
'. Contemporary issues in the Middle East. Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press, 1985. pp. 260-261 He presided over the Tudeh Party congress held in August the same year. Ovanessian was elected to the Central Committee of the Tudeh Party. He was one of two former members of the old Persian Communist Party to be included in the Central Committee (the other being Amir-Khizi). He also became a leading figure in the Tudeh-led trade union movement.

.
Iran between Two Revolutions
'. .l. Princeton Univ Press, 1982. p. 348 Ovanessian organized a peasant uprising in

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

in 1945. Police later claimed to have found documents in

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

, indicating that he was preparing an anti-government conspiracy. Ovanessian fled to Rasht. He became

Director-General A director general, general director or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''general directors'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'') is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer ...

of the

Azerbaijan People's Government The Azerbaijan People's Government (; ) was a short-lived unrecognized secessionist state in northern Iran from November 1945 to December 1946. Like the unrecognized Republic of Mahabad, it was a puppet state of the Soviet Union. Established i ...

. When the Azerbaijan People's Government fell, he went into exile in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. On May 18, 1949, he was sentenced to death ''

in absentia ''In Absentia'' is the seventh studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released on 24 September 2002. The album marked several changes for the band, with it being the first with new drummer Gavin Harrison and the f ...

'' by an Iranian court.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ovanessian, Ardeshir 1905 births 1990 deaths People from Rasht Iranian people of Armenian descent Prisoners and detainees of Iran Iranian trade unionists Communist Party of Persia politicians Central Committee of the Tudeh Party of Iran members Iranian revolutionaries Armenian revolutionaries Iranian communists Iranian emigrants to the Soviet Union People granted political asylum in the Soviet Union People sentenced to death in absentia Armenian Representatives in National Consultative Assembly Tudeh Party of Iran MPs Members of the 14th Iranian Majlis