Poghos Bek-Pirumyan (; 8 June 1856 – 19 January 1921) was an

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

n military commander. He served as a colonel for 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 ...

World War I 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 ...

and was a commander of the

Battle of Sardarabad The Battle of Sardarabad (; ) was a battle of the Caucasus campaign of World War I that took place near Sardarapat, Armenia, Sardarabad, Armenia, from 21 to 29 May 1918, between the regular Armenian military units and militia on one side and the ...

Biography

Poghos Bek-Pirumyan 2018 stamp of Artsakh

Poghos Bek-Pirumyan was born on 8 June 1856 in

Nakhichevanik Nakhichevanik () or Nakhchivanly () is a village located in the Khojaly District of Azerbaijan, in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Until 2023 it was controlled by the breakaway Republic of Artsakh. The village had an ethnic Armenian-majority pop ...

village of the Shusha uezd of the Elizavetpol Governorate within the

. He is the cousin of

Daniel Bek-Pirumian Daniel-Bek Abisoghomi Pirumyan (; 22 November 1861 – 1922) was an Armenians, Armenian military commander who served in the Imperial Russian Army during World War I and in the army of the First Republic of Armenia. He was one of the commanders ...

. Poghos graduated from the high school in

Shusha Shusha (, ) or Shushi () is a city in Azerbaijan, in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Situated at an altitude of 1,400–1,800 metres (4,600–5,900 ft) in the Karabakh mountains, the city was a mountain resort in the Soviet Union, Soviet ...

, then attended cadet school, and joined the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

in 1878. He held several positions of battalion and regiment commander, and participated in both the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78 and the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...

of 1904–05. In 1914, Bek-Pirumyan retired, but came out of retirement that same year with the outbreak of

. Bek-Pirumyan fought on the Western Front, and then in the Caucasus Campaign. Since 1916, he was the commander of the 5th Armenian Rifle Regiment, which participated in the battles of Van and Mush. At the

in 1918, the 5th Regiment was a reserve guerrilla unit and a special cavalry regiment. His cousin, Daniel Bek-Pirumyan, also participated in the battle as a commander-in-chief. Armenian general

Movses Silikyan Movses Silikyan or Silikov (, ; 14 September 1862 – 22 November 1937) was an Armenian general who served in the Imperial Russian Army during World War I and later in the army of the First Republic of Armenia. He is regarded as a national hero i ...

ordered elements of the 5th Armenian Regiment under Bek-Pirumyan to check the advance of the Ottoman army. Harutunyan, Ashot H. ''«Սարդարապատի ճակատամարտ 1918»'' he Battle of Sardarapat, 1918 Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia. Yerevan: Armenian Academy of Sciences, 1984, vol. x, pp. 227-228. An offensive was launched on May 22 and the Armenian forces were successful in halting the Ottomans in their tracks and forcing

Yakub Shevki Pasha Yakub, Yaqub, Yaqoob, Yaqoub, Yacoub, Yakoub or Yaâkub (, also transliterated in other ways; ''Yakob,'' as commonly westernized) is a male given name. It is the Arabic version of Jacob (name), Jacob and James (name), James. The Arabic form ''Ya'q ...

's forces into a general

rout A rout is a Panic, panicked, disorderly and Military discipline, undisciplined withdrawal (military), retreat of troops from a battlefield, following a collapse in a given unit's discipline, command authority, unit cohesion and combat morale ...

, retreating nearly 15-20 kilometers in a westerly direction. The Ottoman command, however, was able to recuperate from its losses and reorganized its forces near the mountain heights on the north-west bank of the Araks river. Repeated attempts to cross the river were met with fierce resistance by the 5th Armenian Regiment. On May 24, several more skirmishes took place between the Armenian and Ottoman forces. The battle came to end on May 29, with a decisive Armenian victory After Sovietization of Armenia in December 1920, about 1,000 officers of the

First Republic of Armenia The First Republic of Armenia, officially known at the time of its existence as the Republic of Armenia, was an independent History of Armenia, Armenian state that existed from May (28th ''de jure'', 30th ''de facto'') 1918 to 2 December 1920 in ...

were arrested by the Bolshevik authorities, and were forced to walk from

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 ...

to Alaverdi by foot (about 160 kilometers). Some of them were killed on the road. In January 1921, many heroes of the

were shot, including Daniel Bek-Pirumyan. Poghos Bek-Pirumyan committed suicide on 19 January 1921 after being tortured. These events soon led to the February Uprising.

Personal life

Bek-Pirumyan married his wife Catherine in 1892, and they had three children: Alexander (b. 1893), Tamara (b. 1897), and Michael (b. 1899). His cousin,

, was also a colonel who fought in many of the same battles as Poghos, including the

Awards

Order of Saint Stanislaus The Order of Saint Stanislaus (, ), also spelled Stanislas, was a Polish order of knighthood founded in 1765 by King Stanisław August Poniatowski of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It remained under the Congress Poland, Kingdom of Pola ...

, 3rd class (1881) * Order of St. Anna, 4th class (1882) * Order of St. Anna, 3rd class (1882) *

, 2nd class (1901) * Order of St. Vladimir, 4th class (1904) * Order of St. George, 3rd class (1908) * Order of St. Anna, 2nd class (1909) * Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd class (1916) *

Gold Sword for Bravery The Gold Sword for Bravery () was a Russian award for bravery. It was set up with two grades on 27 July 1720 by Peter the Great, reclassified as a public order in 1807 and abolished in 1917. From 1913 to 1917 it was renamed the Saint George ...

* Medal "For the capture of Geok-Tepe" (1881) * Order of the Lion and the Sun, 3rd class

References

External links

Outstanding people of Karabagh

Hayazg.info
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bek-Pirumyan, Poghos 1856 births 1921 deaths People from Khojaly District Imperial Russian Army personnel Russian military personnel of World War I Armenian colonels Armenian people of World War I People from the First Republic of Armenia Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian), 2nd class Recipients of the Order of St. Anna Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd class Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Third Degree Recipients of the Gold Sword for Bravery Armenian military personnel who died by suicide Armenian military personnel in the Imperial Russian Army of World War I