The National United Party (; ) was an

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 ...

underground

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

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 ...

. It operated from 1966 until 1987, when it was renamed Union for National Self-Determination (UNSD), which became the first democratic party in the USSR.History of the Republican Party of Armenia
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History

Since the early 1960s, the Soviet regime had to confront pockets of dissident thinking. The monopoly of the Communist party was questioned by people who thought in terms of freedom of thought and speech. Painter Haykaz Khachatryan (1920-1989) and a group of Armenians held a demonstration on 24 April 1965 near the tomb of Komitas in Yerevan. They were arrested, but released a few days later due to lack of evidence. The National United Party (NUP) was founded on 24 April 1966, by painter Haykaz Khachatryan, Stepan Zatikyan and Shahen Harutyunyan. The party issued and distributed the first issue of its clandestine periodical ''Paros'' (Phare) in October 1967. When the founders were imprisoned in 1968, Paruyr Hayrikyan became head of the party. The main goals of the NUP were the independence 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 ...

, the establishment of democracy, and the elimination of the consequences of the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily t ...

. Party members were to follow the program of the party, entitled "For the Nation and the Homeland." Any person aged sixteen and above, who accepted the program, could become a party member. In 1973, the National United Party re-elected Hayrikyan as its president. Hayrikyan wrote his political program, "The Road to Independence through Referendum Strategy," in the same year. After he was arrested in 1974, he continued clandestinely to lead the organization. On his return to Armenia in August 1987, Hayrikyan founded a successor party to the NUP, the Union for National Self-Determination. Many prominent figures of independent Armenia, including Ashot Navasardyan, Movses Gorgisyan and Andranik Margaryan, were former members of the National United Party.

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Foundation of the National United Party (April 24, 1966)
{{Armenian political parties 1966 establishments in the Soviet Union 1987 disestablishments in the Soviet Union Armenian nationalism Defunct political parties in Armenia Nationalist parties in Armenia Political parties disestablished in 1987 Political parties established in 1966 Political parties in the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic Pro-independence parties in the Soviet Union

History

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References

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