Stepan Yeghiayi Zoryan ( hy, Ստեփան Եղիայի Զորյան, born Stepan Yeghiayi Arakelyan; September 16, 1890 – October 14, 1967) was a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

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 across the ...

writer.

Biography

Stepan Zoryan (real surname Arakelyan) was born in 1890 to a peasant family in the small town of Karakilisa (modern-day

Vanadzor Vanadzor ( hy, Վանաձոր) is an urban municipal community and the third-largest city in Armenia, serving as the capital of Lori Province in the northern part of the country. It is located about north of the capital Yerevan. As of the 2011 cen ...

) in the

Erivan Governorate The Erivan Governorate was a province ('' guberniya'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire, with its centеr in Erivan (present-day Yerevan). Its area was 27,830 sq. kilometеrs, roughly corresponding to what is now most of central A ...

of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...

. As a child he first studied in a small private school before enrolling in the local Russian school, from which he graduated in 1904. In 1906, he left for

Tiflis 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 ...

, hoping to enter the Nersisian Armenian school. However, his difficult financial situation forced him to work as a proofreader at a printing house, and then as a translator for the Armenian newspaper ''Surhandak'' ("Messenger"). From 1912 to 1919, he worked as a translator and stylist for the newspaper ''

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 ...

'' ("Laborer"). In 1919, he moved to

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and ...

, where he worked for the monthly ''Hayastani kooperatsia'' ("Cooperation of Armenia"). From 1922 to 1925, he was the editor-in-chief and secretary of the collegium of the publishing house of the People's Commissariat for Education of the Armenian SSR. From 1927 to 1928 h was the deputy chairman of the Writers' Union of Armenia. From 1930 to 1934 he worked as a literary consultant for the state film studio Haykino. From 1950 to 1954 he was secretary of the Writers' Union of Armenia. He was a member of the artistic council of the Hayastan state publishing house, the scientific councils of

Matenadaran The Matenadaran ( hy, Մատենադարան), officially the Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts, is a museum, repository of manuscripts, and a research institute in Yerevan, Armenia. It is the world's largest repository of Armenian ...

and the Manuk Abeghyan Institute of Literature, and the chief editorial board of the

Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia The ''Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia'' ( hy, Հայկական սովետական հանրագիտարան, ''Haykakan sovetakan hanragitaran''; ASE) publishing house was established in 1967 as a department of the Institute of History of the Arme ...

. He participated in the production of critical editions of the works of Khachatur Abovyan, Raphael Patkanyan, and

Hovhannes Tumanyan Hovhannes Tumanyan ( hy, Հովհաննես Թումանյան, classical spelling: Յովհաննէս Թումանեան, – March 23, 1923) was an Armenian poet, writer, translator, and literary and public activist. He is the nation ...

. Zoryan also held some state positions. From 1929 to 1935, he was a member of the

Central Executive Committee of the USSR The All-Union Central Executive Committee (russian: Всесоюзный Центральный исполнительный комитет, Vsesoyuznyy Tsentral'nyy ispolnitel'nyy komitet) was the most authoritative governing body of the USSR d ...

. In 1962 he was elected a deputy of the Supreme Council of the Armenian SSR. Stepan Zoryan died on October 14, 1967 in Yerevan. He is buried in the

Komitas Pantheon __NOTOC__ Komitas Park and Pantheon ( hy, Կոմիտասի անվան զբոսայգի և պանթեոն) is located in Yerevan's Shengavit District, on the right side of the main Arshakunyats Avenue, in Armenia. It was formed in 1936 after the d ...

. Zoryan's works are dedicated to the life of the Armenian village, its social problems and Sovietization. After the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mome ...

he published a number of novel collections (War, 1925; Tsovan, 1925; The library girl, 1926; Fire, 1927, etc.).Stepan Zoryan
Russian Literary Encyclopedia One of his most notable works is the historical novel ''Pap tagavor'' ("King Pap"), which has been published many times and is included in the school curriculum in Armenia. Zoryan's compositions have been translated into 22 different languages.

Zoryan Museum

The Stepan Zoryan state museum was opened in 1972 in Kirovakan (current

), at the writer's own house, called by the local inhabitants an "Armenian fortress". It was partially destroyed during the

1988 Spitak earthquake The 1988 Armenian earthquake, also known as the Spitak earthquake ( hy, Սպիտակի երկրաշարժ, ), occurred on December 7 at with a surface wave magnitude of 6.8 and a maximum MSK intensity of X (''Devastating''). The shock occurred ...

and reopened in 1990.

Filmography

*''Stepan Zoryan'', 10 min, 1969, black and white documentary film, director S. Arakelian.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zoryan, Stepan 1890 births 1967 deaths 20th-century Armenian writers People from Vanadzor Fourth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Fifth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Seventh convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Armenian male writers Soviet male writers Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Burials at the Komitas Pantheon