Misplaced Pages

Drastamat Kanayan: Difference between revisions

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Browse history interactively← Previous editContent deleted Content addedVisualWikitext
Revision as of 18:39, 4 April 2016 editWleifbwilue~vanished (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users928 edits The Armenische Legion was a unit of Nazi Germany← Previous edit Latest revision as of 22:51, 2 December 2024 edit undoWikiCleanerBot (talk | contribs)Bots926,203 editsm v2.05b - Bot T12 CW#548 - Fix errors for CW project (Punctuation in link)Tag: WPCleaner 
(168 intermediate revisions by 96 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox Defense Minister
{{Short description|Armenian revolutionary}}{{Infobox officeholder
|honorific-prefix =
| honorific-prefix =
|name=Drastamat Kanayan <br/> Դրաստամատ Կանայեան
| name = Drastamat Kanayan
|honorific-suffix =
| honorific-suffix =
|image = Db Tro1.jpg
| native_name = {{No bold|Դրաստամատ Կանայեան}}
|caption =
| image = Դրաստամատ Կանայան (Դրո) - Drastamat Kanayan (Dro).jpg
| office = ]
| term_start = 24 November 1920
| term_end = 2 December 1920
| predecessor = ]
| successor = ''position abolished''
| office1 = ]
| term_start1 = December 1917
| term_end1 = 7 April 1918
| predecessor1 = ''position established''
| successor1 = ''position abolished''
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1884|05|31}}
| birth_place = Igdyr (]), ], ], ]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1956|03|08|1884|05|31}}
| death_place = ], ]
| nationality = ]
| party = ]
| nickname = General Dro
| allegiance = {{flagicon image|Armenian Revolutionary Federation logo 1915.png}} ]<br />{{flag|Russian Empire}} <small>(1914–1917)</small><br />{{flagicon|Armenia}} ] <small>(1918–1920)</small>
| branch =
| serviceyears = 1914–1920<br />1941–1945
| commands = ]<br />Armed Forces of ]<br />]
| battles = {{tree list}}
* ]
** ]
*** ]
*** ]
* ]
** ]
* Aras War
**]
**]
* ]
**]


* ]
|office = ]
** ]
|term_start = 24 November 1920
* ]
|term_end = 2 December 1920
{{tree list/end}}
|predecessor = ]
}}
|successor = ''position abolished''


'''Drastamat Kanayan''' ({{Langx|hy|Դրաստամատ Կանայեան}}; 31 May 1884{{spaced ndash}} 8 March 1956), better known as '''Dro''' ({{lang|hy|Դրո}}), was an Armenian military commander and politician. He was a member of the ]. He briefly served as ] of the ] in 1920, during the country's brief independence. During ], he led the ], which consisted of Armenian POWs who opted to fight for Nazi Germany rather than face the brutal conditions of the Nazis' camps.<ref>{{cite book|first=Thomas |last=De Waal |author-link=Thomas de Waal |title=Great Catastrophe: Armenians and Turks in the Shadow of Genocide |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2015 |page=112}}</ref>
|office1 = ]
|term_start1 = December 1917
|term_end1 = 7 April 1918
|predecessor1 = ''position established''
|successor1 = ''position abolished''

|birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1884|05|31}}
|birth_place = ], ], ]
|death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1956|03|08|1884|05|31}}
|death_place = ], U.S.
|nationality = ]n
|party = ]
|nickname = General Dro
|allegiance = {{flagicon image|Armenian Revolutionary Federation logo 1915.png}} ]<br />{{flag|Russian Empire}} <small>(1914–17)</small><br>{{flagicon|Armenia}} ] <small>(1918–20)</small>
|branch =
|serviceyears = 1914—1920<br>1941—1945
|commands = ]<br>Armed Forces of ]<br>]
|battles = ]<br>]<br>]<br>]<br>]<br>]}}

'''Drastamat Kanayan''' ({{Lang-hy|Դրաստամատ Կանայեան}}; 31 May 1884{{spaced ndash}} 8 March 1956), better known as '''Dro''' (Դրօ), was an Armenian military commander and politician, a member of the ]. He served as ] in 1920, during the country's brief independence. During World War II, he led the ]<ref>Thomas de Waal. Great Catastrophe: Armenians and Turks in the Shadow of Genocide. Oxford University Press, 2015, p. 112</ref> of the Wehrmacht, the armed forces of the ], he hoped that if Germany succeeded in conquering the ], they would be able to grant ] her independence.<ref>, James Russell</ref>


==Early life== ==Early life==
Drastamat Kanayan was born in ], ] (present-day ], ]) in 1884. He was the son of Martiros Kanayan, the head of the Kanayan clan in Igdir, and his wife, Horom. At an early age, Martiros enrolled his son to the parish school of Igdir. Drastamat would skip school to hang out near the military barracks of Igdir because of his interest in the military exercises held there. Igdir at the time was an important military post where between 8000 and 10000 Russian troops were stationed including infantry, Cossacks, cavalry and border guards. Most of the inhabitants of the village thrived by trading with the soldiers. Noticing that his son had no interest in books and learning, Martiros pulled him out of the village school and enrolled him to the ] Gymnasium school.<ref name=chalabian>{{cite book|last1=Chelebian|first1=Antranig|title=Dro (Drastamat Kanayan) : Armenia's first defense minister of the modern era|date=2009|publisher=Indo-European Pub.|location=Los Angeles, CA|isbn=1604440783|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=HUusPn5T9GcC}}</ref> Drastamat Kanayan was born in Igdyr (present-day ], ]) in the ] of the ] in 1884. He was the son of Martiros Kanayan, the head of the Kanayan clan in Igdir, and his wife, Horom. At an early age, Martiros enrolled his son to the parish school of Igdir. Drastamat would skip school, preferring to visit the military barracks of Igdir because of his interest in its military exercises. Igdir at the time was an important military post where between 8,000 and 10,000 Russian troops were stationed (including infantry, Cossacks, cavalry and border guards). Most of the inhabitants of the village thrived by trading with the soldiers. Noticing that his son had no interest in books and learning, Martiros pulled him out of the village school and enrolled him to the ] Gymnasium school.<ref name="chalabian">{{cite book|last1=Chalabian|first1=Antranig|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h2oUvgAACAAJ|title=Dro (Drastamat Kanayan): Armenia's First Defense Minister of the Modern Era |year=2009|publisher=Indo-European Publishing |isbn=978-1604440782|location=Los Angeles}}</ref>


Drastamat was no better in the Gymnasium school as the grades he achieved were barely enough for a promotion. Like all government schools in the provinces of Russia, there was a policy of ] that limited education in the ] to religion only. Inspired by stories of ]'s triumphs in the ] and the spread of nationalism by the ], Drastamat joined a secret youth movement in his school that opposed the ]'s government and promoted ].<ref name="tempest">{{cite book|first=Simon|last=Vratsian|title=Tempest-Born DRO|publisher=Armenian Prelacy, New York, translated by Tamar Der-Ohannesian|pages=13–22|year=2000}}</ref> Drastamat was no better in the Gymnasium school as the grades he achieved were barely enough for a promotion. Like all government schools in the provinces of Russia, there was a policy of ] that limited education in the ] to religion only. Inspired by stories of ]'s triumphs in the ] and the spread of nationalism by the ] (ARF), Drastamat joined a secret youth movement in his school that opposed the tsar's government and promoted ].<ref name="tempest">{{cite book|first=Simon|last=Vratsian|title=Tempest-Born Dro|publisher=Armenian Prelacy |location=New York | translator= Tamar Der-Ohannesian|pages=13–22|year=2000|author-link=Simon Vratsian}}</ref>


===Edict on Armenian church property=== ===Edict on Armenian church property and Armenian-Tatar clashes===
On 12 June 1903, the tsarist authorities passed an edict to bring all Armenian Church property under imperial control. This was faced by strong Armenian opposition because it perceived the Tsarist edict as a threat to the Armenian national existence. As a result, the Armenian leadership decided to actively defend Armenian churches by dispatching militiamen who acted as guards and holding mass demonstrations.<ref name="Anna Geifman">{{cite book|last=Geifman|first=Anna|title=Thou Shalt Kill: Revolutionary Terrorism in Russia, 1894-1917|pages=21–22|isbn=0-691-02549-5}}</ref> This prompted Drastamat to join the ranks of the ] in order to defend churches from confiscation through public demonstrations and guard duty.<ref name="tempest"/> On 12 June 1903, the tsarist authorities passed an edict to bring all Armenian Church property under imperial control. This was faced by strong Armenian opposition because it perceived the tsarist edict as a threat to the Armenian national existence. As a result, the Armenian leadership decided to actively defend Armenian churches by dispatching militiamen who acted as guards and holding mass demonstrations.<ref name="Anna Geifman">{{cite book|last=Geifman|first=Anna|title=Thou Shalt Kill: Revolutionary Terrorism in Russia, 1894-1917|date=31 December 1995|pages=21–22|publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=0-691-02549-5}}</ref> This prompted Drastamat to join the ranks of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation in order to defend churches from confiscation through public demonstrations and guard duty.<ref name="tempest"/> In May 1905, using a bomb he carried out the assassination of the governor of ], Prince Mikhail Nakashidze,<ref name=":5" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Vosganian |first=Varujan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mGo3DwAAQBAJ&dq=Drastamat+Kanayan+assassinated&pg=PA206 |title=The Book of Whispers |date=2017-10-24 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-23117-5 |language=en}}</ref> whom the ARF blamed for inciting Tatar attacks against Armenians in Baku.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=2016-06-16 |title=Dro |url=https://hairenik.com/vfp/dro/ |access-date=2022-03-30 |website=Hairenik }}</ref> During the ], Dro participated in the organization of Armenian defense militias in the regions of Kotayk, Nakhijevan, and Zangezur.<ref name=":2" /> In 1907, Dro assassinated Tsarist general ] in ].<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Habeshian |first=Vahe |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aI1eAwAAQBAJ&dq=Dro+assassinated&pg=RA1-PT72 |title=Voices from the Past: Excerpts from Writings of Armenian Revolutionaries |date=2014-04-16 |publisher=Hairenik Association |isbn=978-1-940573-09-0 |language=en}}</ref> Prior to the ], Dro had killed more than one Russian official.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book |last=Bechhofer Roberts |first=Carl Eric |title=In Denikin's Russia and The Caucasus, 1919-1920: Being a Record of a Journey to South Russia, the Crimea, Armenia, Georgia, and Baku in 1919 and 1920 |year=1921 |pages=271 |quote=}}</ref>


==World War I== ==World War I==
]; ], Drastamat Kanayan, and ], 1914]] ]; ], Drastamat Kanayan, and ], 1914]]
He served as ] commander in the ] during World War I. He was one of the commanders of the ] and decorated by the Tsar.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.armenian-history.com/Nyuter/BIOGRAPHY/drastamat_kanayan.htm |title=HISTORY OF ARTSAKH |accessdate=16 January 2007|author=Smbat Minasyan}}</ref> He served as ] commander in the ] during World War I. He was one of the commanders of the ] and was decorated by the Tsar.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.armenian-history.com/Nyuter/BIOGRAPHY/drastamat_kanayan.htm |title=Drastamat Kanayan – Dro |access-date=16 January 2007|first=Smbat |last=Minasyan|date=2 August 2005 }}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable (]).|date=April 2024}}
] ]
In November 1914, he had the second battalion of the Armenian volunteers. At the ], the second battalion of the Armenian volunteers engaged in battle for the first time, near Bayazid. In the course of a bloody combat which lasted twenty-four hours, Dro, commander of the battalion, was seriously wounded. From that day to March of the following year, he remained in critical condition, but his battalion led into eleven battles in the neighborhood of Alashkert, Toutakh, and Malashkert, until Dro recovered and returned to resume the command. Kanayan had already become a popular military leader after the victories over the ] at the ]. {{citation needed|date=September 2013}} In November 1914, he commanded the second battalion of the Armenian volunteers.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Habeshian |first=Vahe |url=https://www.google.am/books/edition/Voices_from_the_Past/aI1eAwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=he+commanded+the+second+battalion+of+the+Armenian+volunteers&pg=RA1-PT78&printsec=frontcover |title=Voices from the Past: Excerpts from Writings of Armenian Revolutionaries |date=2014-04-16 |publisher=Hairenik Association |isbn=978-1-940573-09-0 |language=en}}</ref> The second battalion of the Armenian volunteers engaged in battle for the first time near ] during the ]. In the course of a bloody combat which lasted twenty-four hours, Dro, commander of the battalion, was seriously wounded.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pasdermadjian |first=G. |url=https://www.google.am/books/edition/Why_Armenia_Should_Be_Free/LSmvEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=armenian+volunteers+engaged+in+battle+for+the+first+time+near+Bayazid&pg=PT14&printsec=frontcover |title=Why Armenia Should Be Free: Armenia's Role in the Present War |date=2017-06-21 |publisher= |isbn=978-3-7364-2088-5 |language=en}}</ref> From that day to March of the following year, he remained in critical condition, but his battalion participated in eleven battles near ] and ], until Dro recovered and returned to resume the command. Kanayan had already become a popular military leader after the victories over the ] at the ].{{citation needed|date=September 2013}}


Between March 1918 and April 1918 he was appointed by the ] military commissar to the ] of the Ararat region. He was the commander of the Armenian forces in the ].<ref name=chalabian /> Between March 1918 and April 1918 he was appointed by the ] military commissar to the ] of the Ararat region. He was the commander of the Armenian forces in the ].<ref name=chalabian /> The Armenian victories at Bash Abaran, ], and ] stopped the advance of the Ottoman Army and are credited with preventing the destruction of the Armenian nation and allowing the creation of the ].<ref>{{cite book|last=Hovannisian|first=Richard G.|author-link=Richard Hovannisian|editor-last=Hovannisian|editor-first=Richard G. |chapter=Armenia's Road to Independence |year=1997 |title=The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times|volume=2|location=New York|publisher=Macmillan |page=299}}</ref><ref name="Walker">{{cite book|last=Walker |first=Christopher J. |title=Armenia: The Survival of a Nation|location=New York|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|year=1990|page=254|author-link=Christopher J. Walker}}</ref>


==First Republic of Armenia== ==First Republic of Armenia==
{{See also|First Republic of Armenia}} {{See also|First Republic of Armenia}}
] ]
Dro was one of the chief military commanders of the First Republic of Armenia. He commanded Armenian forces during the brief ] in December 1918 over the disputed ] (]) and ] ''uezds'' ("counties").<ref name="chalabian" />
From 24 November to 2 December 1920, Kanayan was the ] of the short-lived ] and commanded Armenian troops in various successful wars. The last battles against the ] at the ] essentially saved the Armenian Republic from total destruction. As a Defence Minister before the end of 1918, he took responsibility at the ] and ]. Later in 1920, ]. In 1920, after the establishment of the Soviet regime in Armenia, Drastamat Kanayan remained in the country. He was exiled with 1,200 officers of the Republican army in January 1921; he later went to Moscow, finally settling in ] in 1925.<ref name=chalabian />


===Armenian-Azerbaijani war=== ===Armenian–Azerbaijani War===
{{See also| Armenian–Azerbaijani war (1918–1920)}}
{{See also|Armenian-Azerbaijani War}}
During much of 1919, Dro and his army fought Ottoman-backed insurrections by Muslims against the First Republic of Armenia, defending the area south of Yerevan in what is now ] of Armenia.<ref>{{cite book|first=Richard G. |last=Hovannisian |title=The Republic of Armenia, Vol. II: From Versailles to London, 1919-1920 |page=77|location=Berkeley |publisher=University of California Press|year=1971}}</ref> In December 1919, Dro went to ] with a force of 600 soldiers with the intention of establishing Armenian control over the ] and ] regions, which were fiercely disputed between Armenia and Azerbaijan.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Gevorgyan|first=Hamlet|url=http://tert.nla.am/archive/HAY%20GIRQ/Ardy/1981-2000/Dro_2000.pdf|title=Dro|publisher=Hayastan|year=2000|isbn=5540017501|location=Yerevan|pages=356–364|language=hy}}</ref> In a short amount of time, Dro, along with ] and other commanders, drove out the Azerbaijani army and expelled most of the Turkic-speaking Muslims from ], solidifying Armenian control over the region.<ref name=":0" />
In 1920, Drastamat Kanayan advanced to the vicinity of Shushi.<ref name="ReferenceA">Richard G. Hovannisian, "Historical Memory and Armenian-Azerbaijani Relations", ''The Armenian Perspective'', 14 September 2000</ref> On the night from 21–22 March 1920, when the Azerbaijanis were celebrating Novruz Bayram, the Armenians of Karabakh revolted and organized a surprise attack.<ref>Richard G. Hovannisian. The Republic of Armenia, Vol. III: From London to Sèvres, February–August 1920, ISBN 978-0520088030</ref> During these clashes thousands of people from both the Armenian and Azerbaijani sides were killed, with more than 7,000 houses burned, with Shusha virtually cleansed of its Armenian population.


On the night from 21–22 March 1920, when the Azerbaijanis were celebrating ], the Armenians of Artsakh revolted and organized a surprise attack.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Altstadt |first=Audrey L. |url=https://www.google.am/books/edition/The_Azerbaijani_Turks/7eyoAAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=when+the+Azerbaijanis+were+celebrating+Novruz+Bayram,+the+Armenians&pg=PT219&printsec=frontcover |title=The Azerbaijani Turks: Power and Identity under Russian Rule |date=2013-09-01 |publisher=Hoover Press |isbn=978-0-8179-9183-8 |language=en}}</ref> During these clashes thousands of people from both the Armenian and Azerbaijani sides were killed, with more than 7,000 houses burned and Shushi virtually cleansed of its Armenian population. Dro, who had not expected the Armenian uprising, arrived in Artsakh only in April, when many Armenian villages had already been destroyed by the Azerbaijani army.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hovannisian |first=Richard G. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/238471 |title=The Republic of Armenia, Vol. III: From London to Sèvres, February–August 1920 |date=1996 |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley |isbn=978-0520088030|oclc=238471|author-link=Richard Hovannisian|page=158}}</ref>
In April 1920, the Bolshevik leadership of the Red Army informed from the Drastamat Kanayan to leave Karabagh. Karabagh-Zangezur was on the break of armed confrontation between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and Drastamat Kanayan knew that if he did not compy with this demand the Red Army and the armed forces of Azerbaijan would have to act jointly.<ref name="Government source">{{cite web|url=http://www.nkr.am/eng/history/svlast.htm|title=HISTORY OF ARTSAKH|accessdate=16 January 2007|author=Government source|publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs NKR, 2001.}}</ref>


He was forced to withdraw due to the Sovietization of Azerbaijan and the assurances given by the emissaries of Sergo Ordzhonikidze {{Who|date=September 2013}} regarding a just solution to the Karabagh conflict.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> On 26 May 1920, the 10th Congress of the ], which took place in Taghavard village, proclaimed the change of position. The "Armenian National Council of Karabagh" was replaced with the ''The Revolutionary Committee of Nagorno Karabagh'', headed by S. Hambartsumian. That same day, Kanayan along with his units was forced to leave Karabagh.<ref name="Government source"/> On 27 April 1920, the Red Army ] and established a Soviet government there. The leadership of the Red Army demanded that Dro and his army leave Artsakh and ]. Dro knew that if he did not comply with this demand the Red Army and the armed forces of Azerbaijan would act jointly against Armenia and the Armenians of Artsakh.<ref name="Government source">{{cite web|url=http://www.nkr.am/eng/history/svlast.htm|title=History of Artsakh|access-date=16 January 2007|publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs NKR, 2001.|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061211105534/http://www.nkr.am/eng/history/svlast.htm|archive-date=11 December 2006}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable (]).|date=April 2024}} Dro withdrew from Artsakh after he was given assurances by the emissaries of Bolshevik leader ] regarding a just solution to the Artsakh conflict.<ref name="ReferenceA">Richard G. Hovannisian, "Historical Memory and Armenian-Azerbaijani Relations", ''The Armenian Perspective'', 14 September 2000</ref> On 26 May 1920, the 10th Congress of the ], which took place in Taghavard village, proclaimed the establishment of Soviet power in Artsakh. The Armenian National Council of Artsakh was replaced with the Revolutionary Committee of Nagorno-Artsakh, headed by ]. That same day, Kanayan left Artsakh with his units and withdrew to ].<ref name="Government source"/>


In the July 1920, Dro and Minister of Defence ] led a campaign against Ottoman-backed Muslim rebels supported by Azerbaijan in the Vedibasar and Zangibasar districts (around modern-day ] and ], respectively), resettling Armenian refugees in the abandoned Muslim villages.<ref name="Hovannisian2">{{cite journal|last1=Hovannisian|first1=Richard G.|date=1974|title=Dimensions of Democracy and Authority in Caucasian Armenia, 1917-1920|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/127620|journal=The Russian Review|volume=33|issue=1|pages=37–49|doi=10.2307/127620|jstor=127620|access-date=25 January 2021}}</ref>
==World War II==
During Stalin's Red Terror, many Armenians were murdered or imprisoned. During World War II, the Dashnaks saw a good opportunity in free themselves from Stalin and create an Armenian nation in a post-WWII world dominated by the ]. {{citation needed|date=September 2013}}


In August 1920, Dro's forces engaged in skirmishes with the Red Army, which made attempts to advance into ]. Despite some initial success, Dro was forced to leave ] to the Red Army and withdraw to Daralayaz (modern-day ]).<ref>{{cite book|first=Richard G. |last=Hovannisian |title=The Republic of Armenia, Vol. IV: Between Crescent and Sickle |pages=84–89|year=1996|publisher=University of California Press|location=Berkeley}}</ref>
On 8 February 1942, they formed a Legion of 11 battalions from those Armenians, who were prisoners in the Nazi POW camps and had opted to fight for German forces rather than face the genocidal conditions of those camps. The Legion was 18,000-strong and had been known as ''Armenische Legion'', while the ''812th Armenian Battalion of Wehrmacht'' as each battalion of this unit, {{Clarify|date=September 2013}} had 1,000 men under the command of Kanayan. The Legion was trained by Wehrmacht officers and participated in the occupation of the ] and the ].<ref>, Yair Auron, p. 238, ISBN 978-0765808349</ref>


=== Turkish–Armenian War and Sovietization of Armenia ===
According to Joris Versteeg, {{Who|date=September 2013}} the total number of Armenians serving in the German armed forces during the war was 18,000: 11,000 were placed in field battalions, while 7,000 were placed in logistic and non-combat units. Ailsby {{Who|date=September 2013}} puts the number at 11,600. After World War II, Kanayan emigrated to the United States and continued his political activities with the purpose of advancing the Armenian Cause. In 1947, at the World Congress of the A.R.F., he was forgiven for his collaboration with Nazis, as he could justify it with powerful arguments, and was again elected a member of the Party.<ref>, membres.lycos.fr/armenianlegion</ref>
{{See also|Turkish–Armenian War|Red Army invasion of Armenia}}
On 24 September 1920, ] army invaded Armenia. Dro commanded the defence of his native district Surmalu. Although ], the ] and the further advance of Karabekir's army forced Dro's army to retreat to the other side of the ] into modern-day Armenia on November 12.<ref>Hovannisian, ''The Republic of Armenia, Vol. IV'', p. 284.</ref>

From 24 November to 2 December 1920, Kanayan was the ] of Armenia. On 30 November 1920, Soviet Russia issued an ultimatum to the leadership of Armenia to peacefully hand over power to a Soviet government. Dro was authorized to negotiate with Soviet representative ] about the conditions of the transfer of power.<ref name=":1">Hovannisian, ''The Republic of Armenia, Vol. IV'', p. 384.</ref> Dro ordered the Armenian army not to show resistance against the Red Army if it advanced into Armenia.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Hille |first=Charlotte |url=https://www.google.am/books/edition/State_Building_and_Conflict_Resolution_i/mu15DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Kanayan+had+already+become+a+popular+military+leader&pg=PA156&printsec=frontcover |title=State Building and Conflict Resolution in the Caucasus |date=2010-04-16 |publisher= |isbn=978-90-474-4136-6 |language=en}}</ref> He was one of the signatories of the declaration of the transfer of power to a Soviet government made by the government of Armenia on 2 December 1920, which also declared Dro de facto leader of Armenia pending the arrival of the Revolutionary Committee of Armenia to Yerevan.<ref>Hovannisian, ''The Republic of Armenia, Vol. IV'', pp 387–388</ref>

Dro remained in the country and remained commander of Soviet Armenia's army until January 1921, when he was exiled to Russia along with 1,200 Armenian officers. He stayed in Moscow until 1923, and traveled in Europe before finally settling in ], ] in 1925.<ref name="chalabian" /> Dro's second wife, Arpenik (whom he married in 1915), and their two children were sent into internal exile in Siberia and remained separated from him for the rest of his life.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Vratsian |first=Simon |url=http://tert.nla.am/archive/HAY%20GIRQ/Ardy/1981-2000/mrrkatsin_dron_1996.pdf |title=Mrrkatsin Dron |publisher=Vahe Setian Publishing House |year=1996 |location=Beirut |pages=34–47, 173–178 |trans-title=''Tempest-born Dro''|author-link=Simon Vratsian}}</ref>

==World War II==
] with Drastamat Kanayan in Egypt in 1947.]]
During World War II, Dro was one of several members of the ARF who, without approval from the party leadership, entered negotiations with Nazi Germany with the hope of freeing Armenia of Soviet control in the event of Germany's victory over the Soviet Union.<ref>Walker, ''Armenia'', p. 357</ref> The ] was formed from Armenian POWs in the Nazi POW camps who opted to fight for Germany rather than face the brutal conditions of the camps. The Legion was placed under Dro's command. The Legion was trained by Wehrmacht officers and participated in the occupation of the ] and the ].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8STgD_e0vKcC&dq=drastamat+kanayan%2C+nazi&pg=PA238| title=The Banality of Denial: Israel and the Armenian Genocide|first=Yair |last=Auron |page=238 | publisher=Transaction Publishers|isbn=978-0765808349}}</ref>

With the end of World War II, Drastamat Kanayan was arrested by American forces in ], but soon released. After World War II, Kanayan emigrated to the United States and continued his political activities. In 1947, at the World Congress of the ARF, he was forgiven for his collaboration with Nazis and was again elected a member of the party.<ref> {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090208104917/http://membres.lycos.fr/armenianlegion/Dro_biography.html |date=February 8, 2009 }}, membres.lycos.fr/armenianlegion</ref>


==Death, burial, and legacy== ==Death, burial, and legacy==
Dro settled with the large Armenian community in ], where he lived for several years with the former prime minister of the First Republic of Armenia, ].<ref name=":2" /> He returned to the United States several times for medical treatment.<ref name=":2" /> Dro died in ], ] while there for medical treatment on 8 March 1956 and was buried there. He was survived by his third wife Gayane (whom he married in Bucharest in 1935), their son Mardiros (Martin) and Dro's stepdaughter Olga. His remains were taken to Armenia for final burial in ], on 28 May 2000, coinciding with the commemoration of the 82nd anniversary of the First Republic of Armenia.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=General Dro Reburied in Armenia|magazine=Armenian International Magazine|date=June 2000|page=26|url=http://issuu.com/armenianinternationalmagazine/docs/june2000}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Yeghiayan |first=Vartkes |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xYczDAAAQBAJ&dq=Drastamat+Kanayan+assassinated&pg=PA225 |title=The Armenians and the Okhrana, 1907-1915 |date=2016 |publisher=Lulu.com |isbn=978-1-365-05791-5 |language=en}}</ref>
], Watertown, Massachusetts (post-reinterment in Armenia)]]
With the end of World War II, Drastamat Kanayan was arrested by American forces, but soon released. Kanayan settled within the large ] of ]. When traveling to the U.S. for medical treatment, he died in ] on 8 March 1956. His remains were taken to Armenia for final burial in ], on 28 May 2000, within the commemoration of the 82nd anniversary of the ].<ref>{{cite magazine|title=General Dro Reburied in Armenia|magazine=Armenian International Magazine|date=June 2000|page=26|url=http://issuu.com/armenianinternationalmagazine/docs/june2000}}</ref>


The government of Armenia founded the General Dro National Institute of Strategic Studies, and the ] established a medal in his name to decorate military personnel and civilians who excelled in military teaching.<ref>{{cite web|title=Birth of Tro (May 31, 1884)|url=http://milwaukeearmenians.com/tag/drastamat-kanayan/|date=1 June 2013|publisher=Milwaukee Armenian Community|accessdate=19 September 2014}}</ref> In 2001, the ] of Armenia established the Drastamat Kanayan medal, which is awarded to military personnel and civilians who excel in military instruction.<ref name=":4" /> In 2005, the government of Armenia founded the Drastamat Kanayan Institute for National Strategic Studies, which in 2016 became a part of the ] under the Ministry of Defence.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Harutyunyan |first=Garik |date=2016-01-28 |script-title=hy:Բացվել է ՀՀ ՊՆ Պաշտպանական ազգային հետազոտական համալսարանը |trans-title=The national research university of the RA Ministry of Defense has opened |url=https://razm.info/79666 |website=Razm.info |language=hy}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{cite web|title=Birth of Tro (May 31, 1884)|url=http://milwaukeearmenians.com/tag/drastamat-kanayan/|date=1 June 2013|publisher=Milwaukee Armenian Community|access-date=19 September 2014}}</ref> A street in the ] of ] is named after Dro.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Yerevan Streets: Dro |url=https://www.1tv.am/en/video/Yerevan-Streets-Dro/74388 |access-date=2024-11-27 |website= |language=en}}</ref>{{Citation needed|date=April 2024}}


==Gallery== ==Gallery==
Line 81: Line 106:
Image:General Dro's (Drastamat Kanayan's) grave in Watertown, MA.JPG|Dro's grave in ], ] (pre-reinterment in Armenia) Image:General Dro's (Drastamat Kanayan's) grave in Watertown, MA.JPG|Dro's grave in ], ] (pre-reinterment in Armenia)
File:Դրոյի Կիսանդրին Գյումրիում 01.jpg|Dro's bust in ] File:Դրոյի Կիսանդրին Գյումրիում 01.jpg|Dro's bust in ]
File:General Dro.jpg|General Dro
</gallery> </gallery>

==Sources==
*''Dimensions of Democracy and Authority in Caucasian Armenia, 1917-1920'', Richard G. Hovannisian, ], Vol. 33, No. 1 (January 1974)


==References== ==References==
{{Research help|Mil}}
{{reflist}} {{reflist}}


Line 106: Line 126:
] ]
] ]
] ]
] ]
] ]
] ]
] ]
] ]
] ]
] ]
] ]
] ]
] ]

Latest revision as of 22:51, 2 December 2024

Armenian revolutionary
Drastamat Kanayan
Դրաստամատ Կանայեան
Defense Minister of Armenia
In office
24 November 1920 – 2 December 1920
Preceded byRuben Ter-Minasian
Succeeded byposition abolished
Civil Commissioner of Van
In office
December 1917 – 7 April 1918
Preceded byposition established
Succeeded byposition abolished
Personal details
Born(1884-05-31)31 May 1884
Igdyr (Iğdır), Surmalu uezd, Erivan Governorate, Russian Empire
Died8 March 1956(1956-03-08) (aged 71)
Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
NationalityArmenian
Political partyArmenian Revolutionary Federation
NicknameGeneral Dro
Military service
Allegiance Dashnaktsutyun
 Russian Empire (1914–1917)
Armenia Republic of Armenia (1918–1920)
Years of service1914–1920
1941–1945
Commands2nd Battalion Volunteer Corps
Armed Forces of Yerevan
812th Armenian Battalion
Battles/wars

Drastamat Kanayan (Armenian: Դրաստամատ Կանայեան; 31 May 1884 – 8 March 1956), better known as Dro (Դրո), was an Armenian military commander and politician. He was a member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation. He briefly served as Defence Minister of the First Republic of Armenia in 1920, during the country's brief independence. During World War II, he led the Armenian Legion, which consisted of Armenian POWs who opted to fight for Nazi Germany rather than face the brutal conditions of the Nazis' camps.

Early life

Drastamat Kanayan was born in Igdyr (present-day Iğdır, Turkey) in the Surmalu uezd of the Russian Empire in 1884. He was the son of Martiros Kanayan, the head of the Kanayan clan in Igdir, and his wife, Horom. At an early age, Martiros enrolled his son to the parish school of Igdir. Drastamat would skip school, preferring to visit the military barracks of Igdir because of his interest in its military exercises. Igdir at the time was an important military post where between 8,000 and 10,000 Russian troops were stationed (including infantry, Cossacks, cavalry and border guards). Most of the inhabitants of the village thrived by trading with the soldiers. Noticing that his son had no interest in books and learning, Martiros pulled him out of the village school and enrolled him to the Yerevan Gymnasium school.

Drastamat was no better in the Gymnasium school as the grades he achieved were barely enough for a promotion. Like all government schools in the provinces of Russia, there was a policy of Russification that limited education in the Armenian language to religion only. Inspired by stories of General Andranik's triumphs in the Ottoman Empire and the spread of nationalism by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF), Drastamat joined a secret youth movement in his school that opposed the tsar's government and promoted Armenian nationalism.

Edict on Armenian church property and Armenian-Tatar clashes

On 12 June 1903, the tsarist authorities passed an edict to bring all Armenian Church property under imperial control. This was faced by strong Armenian opposition because it perceived the tsarist edict as a threat to the Armenian national existence. As a result, the Armenian leadership decided to actively defend Armenian churches by dispatching militiamen who acted as guards and holding mass demonstrations. This prompted Drastamat to join the ranks of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation in order to defend churches from confiscation through public demonstrations and guard duty. In May 1905, using a bomb he carried out the assassination of the governor of Baku, Prince Mikhail Nakashidze, whom the ARF blamed for inciting Tatar attacks against Armenians in Baku. During the Armenian–Tatar clashes of 1905–1907, Dro participated in the organization of Armenian defense militias in the regions of Kotayk, Nakhijevan, and Zangezur. In 1907, Dro assassinated Tsarist general Maksud Alikhanov in Alexandropol. Prior to the Russian Revolution, Dro had killed more than one Russian official.

World War I

Staff of Armenian volunteers; Khetcho, Drastamat Kanayan, and Karekin Pastermadjian, 1914

He served as detachment commander in the Russian Caucasus Army during World War I. He was one of the commanders of the Armenian volunteer units and was decorated by the Tsar.

General Dro, third from the right, leading the second battalion in 1915

In November 1914, he commanded the second battalion of the Armenian volunteers. The second battalion of the Armenian volunteers engaged in battle for the first time near Bayazid during the Bergmann Offensive. In the course of a bloody combat which lasted twenty-four hours, Dro, commander of the battalion, was seriously wounded. From that day to March of the following year, he remained in critical condition, but his battalion participated in eleven battles near Alashkert and Tutak, until Dro recovered and returned to resume the command. Kanayan had already become a popular military leader after the victories over the Ottoman Empire at the Caucasus Campaign.

Between March 1918 and April 1918 he was appointed by the Armenian National Council military commissar to the occupation of Turkish Armenia of the Ararat region. He was the commander of the Armenian forces in the Battle of Bash Abaran. The Armenian victories at Bash Abaran, Karakilisa, and Sardarabad stopped the advance of the Ottoman Army and are credited with preventing the destruction of the Armenian nation and allowing the creation of the First Republic of Armenia.

First Republic of Armenia

See also: First Republic of Armenia
Kanayan on horseback

Dro was one of the chief military commanders of the First Republic of Armenia. He commanded Armenian forces during the brief Armeno-Georgian War in December 1918 over the disputed Borchaly (Lori) and Akhalkalaki uezds ("counties").

Armenian–Azerbaijani War

See also: Armenian–Azerbaijani war (1918–1920)

During much of 1919, Dro and his army fought Ottoman-backed insurrections by Muslims against the First Republic of Armenia, defending the area south of Yerevan in what is now Ararat Province of Armenia. In December 1919, Dro went to Goris with a force of 600 soldiers with the intention of establishing Armenian control over the Syunik and Nagorno-Karabakh regions, which were fiercely disputed between Armenia and Azerbaijan. In a short amount of time, Dro, along with Garegin Nzhdeh and other commanders, drove out the Azerbaijani army and expelled most of the Turkic-speaking Muslims from Syunik, solidifying Armenian control over the region.

On the night from 21–22 March 1920, when the Azerbaijanis were celebrating Novruz Bayram, the Armenians of Artsakh revolted and organized a surprise attack. During these clashes thousands of people from both the Armenian and Azerbaijani sides were killed, with more than 7,000 houses burned and Shushi virtually cleansed of its Armenian population. Dro, who had not expected the Armenian uprising, arrived in Artsakh only in April, when many Armenian villages had already been destroyed by the Azerbaijani army.

On 27 April 1920, the Red Army invaded Azerbaijan and established a Soviet government there. The leadership of the Red Army demanded that Dro and his army leave Artsakh and Syunik. Dro knew that if he did not comply with this demand the Red Army and the armed forces of Azerbaijan would act jointly against Armenia and the Armenians of Artsakh. Dro withdrew from Artsakh after he was given assurances by the emissaries of Bolshevik leader Sergo Ordzhonikidze regarding a just solution to the Artsakh conflict. On 26 May 1920, the 10th Congress of the Armenian National Council of Karabakh, which took place in Taghavard village, proclaimed the establishment of Soviet power in Artsakh. The Armenian National Council of Artsakh was replaced with the Revolutionary Committee of Nagorno-Artsakh, headed by Sargis Hambardzumyan. That same day, Kanayan left Artsakh with his units and withdrew to Syunik.

In the July 1920, Dro and Minister of Defence Ruben Ter Minasian led a campaign against Ottoman-backed Muslim rebels supported by Azerbaijan in the Vedibasar and Zangibasar districts (around modern-day Vedi and Masis, respectively), resettling Armenian refugees in the abandoned Muslim villages.

In August 1920, Dro's forces engaged in skirmishes with the Red Army, which made attempts to advance into Syunik. Despite some initial success, Dro was forced to leave Goris to the Red Army and withdraw to Daralayaz (modern-day Vayots Dzor).

Turkish–Armenian War and Sovietization of Armenia

See also: Turkish–Armenian War and Red Army invasion of Armenia

On 24 September 1920, Kâzım Karabekir's army invaded Armenia. Dro commanded the defence of his native district Surmalu. Although Dro successfully defended Surmalu, the fall of Kars and the further advance of Karabekir's army forced Dro's army to retreat to the other side of the Arax River into modern-day Armenia on November 12.

From 24 November to 2 December 1920, Kanayan was the Defence Minister of Armenia. On 30 November 1920, Soviet Russia issued an ultimatum to the leadership of Armenia to peacefully hand over power to a Soviet government. Dro was authorized to negotiate with Soviet representative Boris Legran about the conditions of the transfer of power. Dro ordered the Armenian army not to show resistance against the Red Army if it advanced into Armenia. He was one of the signatories of the declaration of the transfer of power to a Soviet government made by the government of Armenia on 2 December 1920, which also declared Dro de facto leader of Armenia pending the arrival of the Revolutionary Committee of Armenia to Yerevan.

Dro remained in the country and remained commander of Soviet Armenia's army until January 1921, when he was exiled to Russia along with 1,200 Armenian officers. He stayed in Moscow until 1923, and traveled in Europe before finally settling in Bucharest, Romania in 1925. Dro's second wife, Arpenik (whom he married in 1915), and their two children were sent into internal exile in Siberia and remained separated from him for the rest of his life.

World War II

Sose Mayrig with Drastamat Kanayan in Egypt in 1947.

During World War II, Dro was one of several members of the ARF who, without approval from the party leadership, entered negotiations with Nazi Germany with the hope of freeing Armenia of Soviet control in the event of Germany's victory over the Soviet Union. The Armenian Legion was formed from Armenian POWs in the Nazi POW camps who opted to fight for Germany rather than face the brutal conditions of the camps. The Legion was placed under Dro's command. The Legion was trained by Wehrmacht officers and participated in the occupation of the Crimean Peninsula and the Caucasus.

With the end of World War II, Drastamat Kanayan was arrested by American forces in Heidelberg, but soon released. After World War II, Kanayan emigrated to the United States and continued his political activities. In 1947, at the World Congress of the ARF, he was forgiven for his collaboration with Nazis and was again elected a member of the party.

Death, burial, and legacy

Dro settled with the large Armenian community in Beirut, where he lived for several years with the former prime minister of the First Republic of Armenia, Simon Vratsian. He returned to the United States several times for medical treatment. Dro died in Boston, Massachusetts while there for medical treatment on 8 March 1956 and was buried there. He was survived by his third wife Gayane (whom he married in Bucharest in 1935), their son Mardiros (Martin) and Dro's stepdaughter Olga. His remains were taken to Armenia for final burial in Aparan, on 28 May 2000, coinciding with the commemoration of the 82nd anniversary of the First Republic of Armenia.

In 2001, the Ministry of Defence of Armenia established the Drastamat Kanayan medal, which is awarded to military personnel and civilians who excel in military instruction. In 2005, the government of Armenia founded the Drastamat Kanayan Institute for National Strategic Studies, which in 2016 became a part of the National Institute of Strategic Studies under the Ministry of Defence. A street in the Kanaker-Zeytun District of Yerevan is named after Dro.

Gallery

References

  1. De Waal, Thomas (2015). Great Catastrophe: Armenians and Turks in the Shadow of Genocide. Oxford University Press. p. 112.
  2. ^ Chalabian, Antranig (2009). Dro (Drastamat Kanayan): Armenia's First Defense Minister of the Modern Era. Los Angeles: Indo-European Publishing. ISBN 978-1604440782.
  3. ^ Vratsian, Simon (2000). Tempest-Born Dro. Translated by Tamar Der-Ohannesian. New York: Armenian Prelacy. pp. 13–22.
  4. Geifman, Anna (31 December 1995). Thou Shalt Kill: Revolutionary Terrorism in Russia, 1894-1917. Princeton University Press. pp. 21–22. ISBN 0-691-02549-5.
  5. ^ Bechhofer Roberts, Carl Eric (1921). In Denikin's Russia and The Caucasus, 1919-1920: Being a Record of a Journey to South Russia, the Crimea, Armenia, Georgia, and Baku in 1919 and 1920. p. 271.
  6. Vosganian, Varujan (24 October 2017). The Book of Whispers. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-23117-5.
  7. ^ "Dro [1884–1956]". Hairenik. 16 June 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  8. ^ Vratsian, Simon (1996). Mrrkatsin Dron [Tempest-born Dro] (PDF). Beirut: Vahe Setian Publishing House. pp. 34–47, 173–178.
  9. Habeshian, Vahe (16 April 2014). Voices from the Past: Excerpts from Writings of Armenian Revolutionaries. Hairenik Association. ISBN 978-1-940573-09-0.
  10. Minasyan, Smbat (2 August 2005). "Drastamat Kanayan – Dro". Retrieved 16 January 2007.
  11. Habeshian, Vahe (16 April 2014). Voices from the Past: Excerpts from Writings of Armenian Revolutionaries. Hairenik Association. ISBN 978-1-940573-09-0.
  12. Pasdermadjian, G. (21 June 2017). Why Armenia Should Be Free: Armenia's Role in the Present War. ISBN 978-3-7364-2088-5.
  13. Hovannisian, Richard G. (1997). "Armenia's Road to Independence". In Hovannisian, Richard G. (ed.). The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times. Vol. 2. New York: Macmillan. p. 299.
  14. Walker, Christopher J. (1990). Armenia: The Survival of a Nation. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 254.
  15. Hovannisian, Richard G. (1971). The Republic of Armenia, Vol. II: From Versailles to London, 1919-1920. Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 77.
  16. ^ Gevorgyan, Hamlet (2000). Dro (PDF) (in Armenian). Yerevan: Hayastan. pp. 356–364. ISBN 5540017501.
  17. Altstadt, Audrey L. (1 September 2013). The Azerbaijani Turks: Power and Identity under Russian Rule. Hoover Press. ISBN 978-0-8179-9183-8.
  18. Hovannisian, Richard G. (1996). The Republic of Armenia, Vol. III: From London to Sèvres, February–August 1920. Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 158. ISBN 978-0520088030. OCLC 238471.
  19. ^ "History of Artsakh". Ministry of Foreign Affairs NKR, 2001. Archived from the original on 11 December 2006. Retrieved 16 January 2007.
  20. Richard G. Hovannisian, "Historical Memory and Armenian-Azerbaijani Relations", The Armenian Perspective, 14 September 2000
  21. Hovannisian, Richard G. (1974). "Dimensions of Democracy and Authority in Caucasian Armenia, 1917-1920". The Russian Review. 33 (1): 37–49. doi:10.2307/127620. JSTOR 127620. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  22. Hovannisian, Richard G. (1996). The Republic of Armenia, Vol. IV: Between Crescent and Sickle. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 84–89.
  23. Hovannisian, The Republic of Armenia, Vol. IV, p. 284.
  24. ^ Hovannisian, The Republic of Armenia, Vol. IV, p. 384.
  25. Hille, Charlotte (16 April 2010). State Building and Conflict Resolution in the Caucasus. ISBN 978-90-474-4136-6.
  26. Hovannisian, The Republic of Armenia, Vol. IV, pp 387–388
  27. Walker, Armenia, p. 357
  28. Auron, Yair. The Banality of Denial: Israel and the Armenian Genocide. Transaction Publishers. p. 238. ISBN 978-0765808349.
  29. Drastamat Kanayan profile Archived February 8, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, membres.lycos.fr/armenianlegion
  30. "General Dro Reburied in Armenia". Armenian International Magazine. June 2000. p. 26.
  31. Yeghiayan, Vartkes (2016). The Armenians and the Okhrana, 1907-1915. Lulu.com. ISBN 978-1-365-05791-5.
  32. ^ "Birth of Tro (May 31, 1884)". Milwaukee Armenian Community. 1 June 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  33. Harutyunyan, Garik (28 January 2016). Բացվել է ՀՀ ՊՆ Պաշտպանական ազգային հետազոտական համալսարանը [The national research university of the RA Ministry of Defense has opened]. Razm.info (in Armenian).
  34. "Yerevan Streets: Dro". Retrieved 27 November 2024.

External links

Defence ministers of Armenia
First Republic
(1918–1920)		 Armenia
Republic (since 1991)
Armenian national movement
HistoryPersecution of the ArmeniansPolitical and military leadersOrganizations and military units
Until World War I
Resistance during the genocide
Political parties
Units


Categories: