77 Facts About Andranik

Andranik became active in an armed struggle against the Ottoman government and Kurdish irregulars in the late 1880s.

In 1907, Andranik left Dashnaktustyun because he disapproved of its cooperation with the Young Turks, a party which years later perpetrated the Armenian genocide.

Between 1912 and 1913, together with Garegin Nzhdeh, Andranik led a few hundred Armenian volunteers within the Bulgarian army against the Ottomans during the First Balkan War.

Andranik led the defense of Erzurum in early 1918, but was forced to retreat eastward.

Andranik never accepted the existence of the First Republic of Armenia because it included only a small part of the area many Armenians hoped to make independent.

Andranik left Armenia in 1919 due to disagreements with the Armenian government and spent his last years of life in Europe and the United States seeking relief for Armenian refugees.

Andranik settled in Fresno, California in 1922 and died five years later in 1927.

Andranik is greatly admired as a national hero by Armenians; numerous statues of him have been erected in several countries.

Andranik Ozanian was born on 25 February 1865, in the town of Shabin-Karahisar, Sivas Vilayet, Ottoman Empire, to Mariam and Toros Ozanian.

Andranik's ancestors took the surname Ozanian in honor of their hometown.

Andranik's mother died when he was one year old and his elder sister Nazeli took care of him.

Andranik went to the local Musheghian School from 1875 to 1882 and thereafter worked in his father's carpentry shop.

In 1882, Andranik was arrested for assaulting a Turkish gendarme for mistreating Armenians.

Andranik settled in the Ottoman capital Constantinople in 1884 and stayed there until 1886, working as a carpenter.

Andranik began his revolutionary activities in 1888 in the province of Sivas.

Andranik returned to Turkish Armenia "entrusted with extensive powers, and with a large supply of arms" for the fedayi.

Andranik replaced Serob as the head of the Armenian irregular forces "with 38 villages under his command" in the Mush-Sasun region of Western Armenia, where a "warlike semi-independent Armenian peasantry" lived.

Andranik sought to kill Bey; he captured and reportedly decapitated the chieftain, and took the medal given to Bey by Sultan Abdul Hamid II.

One of the best-known episodes of Andranik's revolutionary activities, it was an attempt by the Ottoman government to suppress his activities.

Since Andranik had gained more influence over the region, more than 5,000 Turkish soldiers were sent after him and his band.

Andranik became so popular that the men he led came to refer to him always by his first name.

Andranik intended to attract the attention of the foreign consuls at Mush to the plight of the Armenian peasants and to provide hope for the oppressed Armenians of the eastern provinces.

In 1903, Andranik demanded the Ottoman government stop the harassment of Armenians and implement reforms in the Armenian provinces.

Andranik suggested a widespread uprising of the Armenians of Taron and Vaspurakan; Hrayr opposed his view and suggested a small, local uprising in Sasun, because the Armenian irregulars lacked resources.

Andranik was chosen as the main commander of the uprising.

Hrayr was killed during the intense fighting; Andranik survived and resumed the fight.

From Persia, Andranik moved to the Caucasus, where he met the Armenian leaders in Baku and Tiflis.

Andranik then left Russia and traveled to Europe, where he was engaged in advocacy in support of the Armenians' national liberation struggle.

Andranik was given the rank of a first lieutenant by the Bulgarian government.

Andranik distinguished himself in several battles, including in the Battle of Merhamli, when he helped the Bulgarians to capture Turkish commander Yaver Pasha.

Andranik was honored with the Order of Bravery by General Protogerov in 1913.

Andranik was appointed the commander of the first Armenian volunteer battalion by the Russian government.

From November 1914 to August 1915, Andranik took part in the Caucasus Campaign as the head commander of the first Armenian battalion of about 1,200 volunteers within the Imperial Russian Army.

Andranik subsequently helped the Russian army to take control of Shatakh, Moks and Tatvan on the southern shore of Lake Van.

Andranik resigned as the commander of the first Armenian battalion.

Until December 1917, Andranik remained in the South Caucasus where he sought to help the Armenian refugees from the Ottoman Empire in their search for basic needs.

Two of the Corps' three divisions were made up of Russian Armenians, while Andranik commanded the Turkish Armenian division.

Andranik was unable to defend Erzurum for long and the outnumbering Turks captured the city on 12 March 1918, forcing the Armenians to evacuate.

Andranik condemned this move and denounced the Armenian Revolutionary Federation.

Andranik subsequently tried to help the Armenian refugees from Van at Khoy, Iran.

Andranik sought to join the British forces in northern Iran, but after encountering a large number of Turkish soldiers he retreated to Nakhichevan.

Andranik's move was welcomed by Armenian Bolshevik leader Stepan Shahumyan and Vladimir Lenin.

Andranik arrived in Zangezur at a critical moment with around 30,000 refugees and an estimated force of between 3,000 and 5,000 men.

Andranik's irregulars remained in Zangezur surrounded by Muslim villages that controlled the key routes connecting the different parts of Zangezur.

In late 1918, Azerbaijan accused Andranik of killing innocent Azerbaijani peasants in Zangezur and demanded that he withdraw Armenian units from the area.

The Ottoman forces evacuated Karabakh in November 1918 and by the end of October of that year, Andranik's forces were concentrated between Zangezur and Karabakh.

Andranik agreed to such a proposal and on 23 December 1918, a group of Armenian leaders met in a conference and concluded that Zangezur could not cope with the influx of refugees until spring.

Andranik rejected this plan and on 22 March 1919, he left Goris and traveled across Sisian through deep snowdrifts to Daralagyaz, then moved to the Ararat plain with his few thousand irregulars.

Andranik was met by Dro, the Assistant Minister of Military Affairs and Sargis Manasian, the Assistant Minister of Internal Affairs, who offered to take him to visit Yerevan, but he rejected their invitation as he believed the Dashnak government had betrayed the Armenians and was responsible for the loss of his homeland and the annihilation of his people.

Zangezur became more vulnerable to Azerbaijani threats after Andranik left the district.

On 13 April 1919, Andranik reached Etchmiadzin, the seat of Catholicos of All Armenians and the religious center of the Armenians, who helped the troops prepare for disbanding.

From 1919 to 1922, Andranik traveled around Europe and the United States seeking support for the Armenian refugees.

Andranik visited Paris and London, where he tried to persuade the Allied powers to occupy Turkish Armenia.

In 1919, during his visit to France, Andranik was bestowed the title of Legion of Honor Officier by President Raymond Poincare.

In late 1919, Andranik led a delegation to the United States to lobby its support for a mandate for Armenia and fund-raising for the Armenian army.

Andranik was accompanied by General Jaques Bagratuni and Hovhannes Katchaznouni.

When he returned to Europe, Andranik married Nevarte Kurkjian in Paris on 15 May 1922; Boghos Nubar was their best man.

Andranik was a little under six feet tall, very solid and very strong.

In February 1926, Andranik left Fresno to reside in San Francisco in an unsuccessful attempt to regain his health.

Andranik's body was moved to Armenia on 17 February 2000.

Andranik was re-interred at Yerablur military cemetery in Yerevan on 20 February 2000, next to Vazgen Sargsyan.

Andranik promised them freedom and constantly endangered his life to keep up the spirits of my people.

Andranik represented the emerging new image of the Armenian who could fight.

Andranik is seen as a legendary figure in Armenian culture.

Andranik, generally seen as a pro-Russian figure, was criticized by the scholar-turned-political activist Rafael Ishkhanyan for his constant reliance on Russia.

Andranik contrasted them with Aram Manukian and his self-reliant stance.

Andranik opined that Andranik "doesn't have the right" to have a statue in the capital, because he did not do "anything real" for the First Republic and left Armenia.

Andranik called Andranik a popular hero and finds calling him a national hero unacceptable.

Statues and memorials of Andranik have been erected around the world, including in Bucharest, Romania, Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, Melkonian Educational Institute, Nicosia, Cyprus, Le Plessis-Robinson, Paris, Varna, Bulgaria, and Armavir, Russia.

In May 2011, a statue of Andranik was erected in Volonka village near Sochi, Russia; however, it was removed the same day, apparently under pressure from Turkey, which earlier announced that they would boycott the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics if the statue remained standing.

Elsewhere in Armenia, Andranik's statues stand in Voskevan and Navur villages of Tavush, in Gyumri's Victory Park, Arteni, and Angeghakot, among other places.

In 1995, General Andranik's Museum was founded in Komitas Park of Yerevan, but was closed because the building was privatized.

Andranik has been figured prominently in the Armenian literature, sometimes as a fictional character.

The Western Armenian writer Siamanto wrote a poem entitled "Andranik", which was published in Geneva in 1905.

The first book about Andranik was published during his lifetime.

The latter one, titled Statue to Andranik, was published in 1991 after Shiraz's death.

Sero Khanzadyan's novel Andranik was suppressed for years and was published in 1989 when the tight Soviet control over publications was relaxed.