Artashes Stepani Chilingarian ( hy, Արտաշես Ստեփանի Չիլինգարյան) better known as Ruben Darbinian ( hy, Ռուբեն Դարբինյան 1883-1968) was an Armenian politician and activist in the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) and for a brief period, Justice minister during the

First Republic of Armenia The First Republic of Armenia, officially known at the time of its existence as the Republic of Armenia ( hy, Հայաստանի Հանրապետութիւն), was the first modern Armenian state since the loss of Armenian statehood in the Middle ...

. He was also a renowned contributor and editor in a number of Armenian publications in Tbilisi, Baku, Istanbul and Boston and a well-known political writer.

Biography

Chilingarian was born in

Akhalkalak Akhalkalaki ( ka, ახალქალაქი, tr; hy, Ախալքալաք / Նոր-Քաղաք, translit=Axalk’alak’ / Nor-K’aġak’) is a town in Georgia's southern region of Samtskhe–Javakheti and the administrative centre of the Ak ...

in Georgia's southern region of Samtskhe-Javakheti. After his studies in the Russian Secondary School in Tbilisi, the Georgian capital, he continued his studies in universities in Heidelberg and Munich, eventually graduating from the Faculty of Law in Moscow. Politically active in the ARF, he contributed to a number of prominent Armenian publications like ''

Mshak ''Mshak'' ( hy, Մշակ meaning ''The Toiler'') was an Armenian language literary and political daily newspaper ( weekly when established) published from 1872–1920 in Tiflis, Russian Empire (now Tbilisi, Georgia). It was founded by Grigor Artsr ...

'' and ''Murdj''. Pursued by the Russian tsarist authorities, he sought asylum in Constantinople in 1909 where he continued to contribute to the prominent ''Azatamart'' Armenian newspaper. In 1913, he moved to Germany and in order to avoid further suspicions from the German intelligence, he applied for a passport under the alias of Ruben Darbinian (in Western Armenian Roupen Tarpinian). Chilingarian continued using the new name from thereon until his death. In Berlin, he founded the Armenian-German Society. In 1914, he returned to the Caucasus and resided in Tbilisi and

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

. He was editor of ''Arev'' in Baku from 1914 to 1916 and starting 1917 in ''Gordz'', an Armenian monthly. In 1917, he became the secretary of the Armenian National Council that worked for the independence of Armenia. With the establishment of the Republic of Armenia, he moved to Yerevan and served as Minister of Justice of the

from spring 1920 until the collapse of the republic with the onslaught of the Red Army. He was arrested soon after during the purge of Armenian nationalists with the establishment of communist rule. Darbinian was freed during the short February Uprising in 1921 against the communists, and soon after moved to Tehran, Persia and later to the United States, where he resided in Boston, Massachusetts, becoming the editor of ARF's ''

Hairenik ''Hairenik'' ( hy, Հայրենիք meaning "fatherland") is an Armenian language weekly newspaper published by the Hairenik Association in Watertown, Massachusetts in the United States. The newspaper, serving the Armenian American community, ...

'' daily and monthly. He continued his activism and published his memoirs and a number of studies documenting events in the First Republic of Armenia and the later Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic, particularly under the Leninist and Stalinist eras. He died in Boston in 1968.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chilingaryan, Artashes 1883 births 1968 deaths Armenian nationalists People of the First Republic of Armenia Armenian Revolutionary Federation politicians Armenian Ministers of Justice Armenian anti-communists Soviet emigrants to the United States

Biography

See also

References