Askanaz Harutyuni Mravyan (, – October 23, 1929) was a Soviet

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 ...

statesman and political activist. He was one of the early leaders of

Soviet Armenia The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic (ArSSR), also known as Soviet Armenia, or simply Armenia, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union, located in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Soviet Armenia ...

Biography

Askanaz Mravyan was born on January 2, 1886, to an Armenian family in

Elizavetpol Ganja (; ) is Azerbaijan's third largest city, with a population of around 335,600.Azərbaycan Respublikası. — 2. Azərbaycan Respublikasının iqtisadi və inzibati rayonları. — 2.4. Azərbaycan Respublikasının iqtisadi və inzibati r ...

(present-day

Ganja, Azerbaijan Ganja (; ) is Azerbaijan's List of cities in Azerbaijan, third largest city, with a population of around 335,600.Azərbaycan Respublikası. — 2. Azərbaycan Respublikasının iqtisadi və inzibati rayonları. — 2.4. Azərbaycan Respublikas� ...

). He joined the

Russian Social Democratic Labour Party The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP), also known as the Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party (RSDWP) or the Russian Social Democratic Party (RSDP), was a socialist political party founded in 1898 in Minsk, Russian Empire. The ...

in 1905 and worked as an activist of its

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

wing in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...

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 ( ...

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

and

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

. He graduated from the faculty of pedagogy of the Saint Petersburg Psychoneurological Institute in 1915. From 1915 to 1917, he edited the Armenian-language newspapers ''Paykar'' ("Struggle") and ''Banvori kriv'' ("Worker's Battle"). In 1918 Mravyan became the secretary of the Caucasian regional committee of the

Bolshevik party The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...

and the editor of the newspaper ''Kavkazskaya pravda'' ("Caucasian Pravda"). As a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Armenia, Mravyan was one of the signatories of a secret decision made in September 1920 which called on the Armenian Bolsheviks to work to "speed up Armenia's defeat" in the

Turkish–Armenian War The Turkish–Armenian War (), known in Turkey as the Eastern Front () of the Turkish War of Independence, was a conflict between the First Republic of Armenia and the Turkish National Movement following the collapse of the Treaty of Sèvres i ...

and "dissolve the Armenian army by all means." He was one of the members of the six-man Revolutionary Committee of Armenia ("Hayheghkom"), which was founded in Baku in November 1920 and took leadership of Armenia after the establishment of Soviet rule in the country. From May 1921 to January 1922, he served as General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Armenia. As People's Commissar of Foreign Affairs of Soviet Armenia (19211923), he represented Armenia at the signing of the

Treaty of Kars The Treaty of Kars, , was a treaty that established the borders between Turkey and the three Transcaucasian Soviet republics, which are now the independent republics of Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan. The treaty was signed in the city of Ka ...

, which established the current Turkish-Armenia border. From 1923 to 1929, he served as the People's Commissar of Education and deputy chairman of the Council of People's Commissars (i.e., government) of Soviet Armenia. At the same time, he served as editor of ''Sovetakan Hayastan'' ("Soviet Armenia"), the official organ of Soviet Armenia. He died in Yerevan on October 23, 1929.

References

1885 births 1929 deaths Politicians from Ganja, Azerbaijan Communist Party of Armenia (Soviet Union) politicians Armenian atheists Ministers of foreign affairs of Armenia {{soviet-bio-stub