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 The Armenian Revolutionary Federation ( hy, Հայ Յեղափոխական Դաշնակցութիւն, ՀՅԴ ( classical spelling), abbr. ARF or ARF-D) also known as Dashnaktsutyun (collectively referred to as Dashnaks for short), is an Armenia ...

(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 Middl ...

. 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 (country), Georgia's southern region of Samtskhe–Javakheti and the administrative ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

's southern region of Samtskhe-Javakheti. After his studies in the Russian Secondary School in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million p ...

, the Georgian capital, he continued his studies in universities in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

and

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

, eventually graduating from the Faculty of Law in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. 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 Western Armenian (Classical Armenian orthography, Classical spelling: , ) is one of the two standard language, standardized forms of Armenian language, Modern Armenian, the other being Eastern Armenian. It is based mainly on the Istanbul Arme ...

Roupen Tarpinian). Chilingarian continued using the new name from thereon until his death. In

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

, he founded the Armenian-German Society. In 1914, he returned to the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

and resided in

and Baku. 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 The February Uprising ( classical hy, Փետրուարեան ապստամբութիւն, reformed: Փետրվարյան ապստամբություն, ''P'etrvaryan apstambut'yun'') was an anti-Bolshevik rebellion by the nationalist Armenian Re ...

in 1921 against the communists, and soon after moved to

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the Capital city, capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is th ...

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkme ...

and later to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, where he resided in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, 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