Shahen Zinavori Meghrian (; 2 January 1952 – 17 April 1993) 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 and political activist.La crise du Haut Karabakh, une citadelle assiégée ? François Thual, enjeux stratégiques, 2002
He was known as the Eagle of Shahumian (, ''Shahumiani Ardziv'').Shahen Meghrian // Aravot Daily, 17.04.2008
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Biography

Meghrian was born in a traditional and well-known Armenian family of Gulistan village. He finished the local school of Gulistan, then continued his education at

Yerevan State University Yerevan State University (YSU; , , ), also simply University of Yerevan, is the oldest continuously operating public university in Armenia. Founded in 1919, it is the largest university in the country. It is thus informally known as Armenia's ...

. After graduation Meghrian became the chief economist of manufacturing and production in the Shahumian region. In 1988 he formed the first Defense brigade of Shahumian. In 1990 Meghrian successfully led the Battle of Manashid. In 1990 he joined the

Armenian Revolutionary Federation The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (, abbr. ARF (ՀՅԴ) or ARF-D), also known as Dashnaktsutyun (Armenians, Armenian: Դաշնակցություն, Literal translation, lit. "Federation"), is an Armenian nationalism, Armenian nationalist a ...

. In the summer of 1991 he became the commander of the Shahumian defense forces. From 28 December 1991 he was also a member of the parliament of the

Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Artsakh ( ), officially the Republic of Artsakh or the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh ( ), was a list of states with limited recognition, breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory was internationally recognised as part of Azerbai ...

. After the forced deportations of the population of Shahumian region of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, Meghrian had a speech that ended with words: "Shahumian is occupied, but isn't defeated!" In June 1992, Meghryan formed a detachment of 25 people in the village of Haterk and went behind enemy lines in the Martakert region. Meghryan's detachment participated in the recapture of a number of villages in the Martakert region, including Haterk, Umudlu, Madagiz, Tonashen, Dastagir, and the Sarsang Reservoir. On 11 March 1993, Meghryan was appointed the commander of a military unit by the Ministry of Defense of Armenia. On 17 April 1993, he was killed along with several of his comrades-in-arms when their helicopter was shot down while they were flying from Shahumian to Armenia. On 24 October 2014, he was posthumously awarded the title

Hero of Artsakh Hero of Artsakh () was the highest title of the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh. According to the official website of the President of Artsakh, the title Hero of Artsakh "is awarded for exceptional services in the defense of the state, streng ...

References

External links

Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meghrian, Shahen 1952 births 1993 deaths People from Shahumyan Province Yerevan State University alumni Armenian military personnel of the Nagorno-Karabakh War National Hero of Armenia Burials at Yerablur Members of the National Assembly (Artsakh)