Hayk Alexandri Hovsepyan or Gayk Alexandrovich Osepyan (Ovsepyan) (; ; 19 January or 19 June 1891 – 10 September 1937) was a

Soviet 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 ...

military leader and politician 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. He was also a deputy chief of the General Political Department of the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

. He was executed in 1937 during the

Great Purge The Great Purge, or the Great Terror (), also known as the Year of '37 () and the Yezhovshchina ( , ), was a political purge in the Soviet Union that took place from 1936 to 1938. After the Assassination of Sergei Kirov, assassination of ...

Biography

Hayk Hovsepyan was born in 1891 to an

family in the village of Bashkadyklar (Başgedikler) in the Kars Oblast 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 ...

. He was active in a number of political parties, including the

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, ...

faction of 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 ...

, which he joined in 1913. He graduated from the Moscow Lazarev seminary in 1911, as well as the Medical Faculty of

Moscow University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, and six branches. Al ...

. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he served on the Caucasian front. In 1917 he went to

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 ( ...

and participated in the founding of the Communist Party of Armenia, also serving as the editor of its newspaper ''Karmir Orer'' ("Red Days"). In mid-1918 he went to Moscow at worked at the

People's Commissariat for Nationalities The People's Commissariat of Nationalities of the RSFSR (, ''Narodny komissariat po delam natsional'nostey RSFSR''), abbreviated NKNats () or Narkomnats (), an organization functioning from 1917 to 1924 in the early Soviet period of Russian and So ...

and edited the journal ''Kommunist''. In 1921 he returned to Armenia and became secretary of the

Alexandropol Gyumri (, ) is an urban municipal community and the List of cities and towns in Armenia, second-largest city in Armenia, serving as the administrative center of Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. By the end of the 19th centur ...

city committee of the

Russian Communist Party (Bolshevik) 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 ...

. In 1922, he became the head of the political section of the Armenian Infantry Division of the Caucasian Army. From 1925 to 1927, he was the deputy head of the political directorate of the Caucasian Army. In 1927, he was elected First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Armenia. In 1928, he was appointed deputy head of the Volga Military District and first deputy head of its political directorate. From 1929 to 1937, he served in the Political Directorate of the Red Army, first as department head, then deputy, then first deputy of the directorate. At the same time, he served as secretary of the party committee of the central directorate of the

People's Commissariat for Defence The Ministry of Defense (Minoboron; ) was a government ministry in the Soviet Union, which supervised the Soviet Armed Forces. The first Minister of Defense was Nikolai Bulganin, starting 1953. History The Ministry of Defence was renamed a num ...

for six years, and also edited the journal ''Kommunist RKKA''. He was also a member of the Central Executive Committee of the

Transcaucasian SFSR , image_flag = Flag of the Transcaucasian SFSR (variant).svg , flag_type = Flag(1925–1936) , image_coat = Emblem of the Transcaucasian SFSR (1930-1936).svg , symbol_type = Emblem(1930–1936) ...

. In 1937, he was arrested and sentenced to death by the

Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the Soviet Union The Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the Soviet Union () was created in 1924 by the Supreme Court of the Soviet Union as a court for the higher military and political personnel of the Red Army and Fleet. In addition it was an immedia ...

; he was shot on the same day that he received the sentence. He was later rehabilitated.

Awards

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner () was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. It was the highest award of S ...

(1928)

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ovsepyan, Hayk 1891 births 1937 deaths People from Kars oblast Armenian Communist Party politicians Armenian people of World War I Old Bolsheviks People of the Russian Civil War Great Purge victims from Armenia Soviet Armenians Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Members of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union executed by the Soviet Union