Hrachya Kochar (; 19 January 1910 – 2 May 1965), born Hrachya Kochari Gabrielyan, was an Armenian writer and publicist. He won the first state prize of the Armenian SSR for his novella ''Nahapet'', which was adapted into a film of the same name in 1977.

Biography

Hrachya Gabrielyan was born in 1910 in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, in the village of Kumlubucak (now located in the

Taşlıçay Taşlıçay ( ku, Avkevir, ) is a town in Ağrı Province in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey. It is the seat of Taşlıçay District.classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...n m ...

district of the

Ağrı Province The Ağrı Province ( tr, Ağrı ili, ku, Parêzgeha Agiriyê) is a Provinces of Turkey, province in eastern Turkey, bordering Iran to the east, Kars Province, Kars to the north, Erzurum Province, Erzurum to the northwest, Muş Province, Muş a ...

of Turkey), historically located in the province of

Bagrevand Bagrevand (also spelled Bagrewand) was a region of Armenia. The Old Iranian etymology of the name is disputed. It is either derived from ''*bāγa.raivanta'' ("rhubarb garden") or ''baga-raēvanta-'', which either means "the rich giver" (Mithra ...

Western Armenia Western Armenia (Western Armenian: Արեւմտեան Հայաստան, ''Arevmdian Hayasdan'') is a term to refer to the eastern parts of Turkey (formerly the Ottoman Empire) that are part of the historical homeland of the Armenians. Weste ...

. He lost both of his parents the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was ...

: his mother died during their flight to Eastern Armenia, while his father, Kochar, also known as Kocho, who fought in Andranik's army, died in 1918. Hrachya Kochar chose his pseudonym in honor of his father. Along with other people from his village, Hrachya managed to escape the massacres and reach

Eastern Armenia Eastern Armenia ( hy, Արևելյան Հայաստան ''Arevelyan Hayastan'') comprises the eastern part of the Armenian Highlands, the traditional homeland of the Armenian people. Between the 4th and the 20th centuries, Armenia was partitioned ...

. He worked as a shepherd and as a pitman in the mines of Alaverdi. He then moved to

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

and was accepted to the faculty of philology of

Yerevan State University Yerevan State University (YSU; hy, Երևանի Պետական Համալսարան, ԵՊՀ, ''Yerevani Petakan Hamalsaran''), also simply University of Yerevan, is the oldest continuously operating public university in Armenia. Founded in 1919 ...

. He published his first story, titled "Khaje", in 1931 in the monthly ''Nor Ughi''. In 1934, he edited the

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish languages *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern Kurdistan **Eastern Kurdistan **Northern Kurdistan **Western Kurdistan See also * Kurd (dis ...

-language newspaper '' Ria Taza''. He became a member of the

Union of Soviet Writers The Union of Soviet Writers, USSR Union of Writers, or Soviet Union of Writers (russian: Союз писателей СССР, translit=Soyuz Sovetstikh Pisatelei) was a creative union of professional writers in the Soviet Union. It was founded ...

in 1934 and of the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

in 1939. In 1939, he was penalized by the party and left unemployed, until

Martiros Saryan Martiros Saryan ( hy, Մարտիրոս Սարյան; russian: Мартиро́с Сарья́н; – 5 May 1972) was a Soviet Armenian painter, the founder of a modern Armenian national school of painting. Biography He was born into an Armenia ...

found him work in the Committee for the Preservation of Historical Monuments. Kochar traveled around Armenian to investigate the state of Armenian

monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

and chapels, summarizing his findings in the "Album-Guidebook of the Goris and Sisian regions". From 1941 to 1945, Kochar served in the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

and participated in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Kochar's writings from the front were published in a series of collections, starting with ''Herosneri tsnunde'' ("The Birth of Heroes") in 1942. One of his short stories written during the war, "The General's Sister", was published in ''

Pravda ''Pravda'' ( rus, Правда, p=ˈpravdə, a=Ru-правда.ogg, "Truth") is a Russian broadsheet newspaper, and was the official newspaper of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, when it was one of the most influential papers in the co ...

'' in 1945 and later translated into 24 languages. In the last years, he has printed the "White Book", where "The Nahapet", "The Yearning" and "Euphrate's Bridge" are the best novels of the writer. From 1946 to 1951, he was the secretary of the

Writers Union of Armenia The Writers' Union of Armenia was founded in August 1934, simultaneously with the USSR Union of Writers and as a component part of the USSR Union. 1930s The Constituent Assembly was held during 1 August - 5 August, after which the Armenian delegat ...

and the editor of the monthly ''Sovetakan Grakanutyun'' ("Soviet Literature"). In 1954 he edited the satirical magazine ''Vozni''. Kochar wrote the script for the film ''Hyusisayin Tsiatsan'' ("Northern Rainbow", Hayfilm, 1961). His works have been translated into Russian and other languages. He died in

in 1965.

Prizes

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star (russian: Орден Красной Звезды, Orden Krasnoy Zvezdy) was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 193 ...

* State Prize of

Armenian SSR The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic,; russian: Армянская Советская Социалистическая Республика, translit=Armyanskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialisticheskaya Respublika) also commonly referred to as Soviet A ...

for "The Nahabed" novel

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Qochar, Hrachya Armenian male writers 1910 births 1965 deaths Soviet male writers 20th-century Armenian writers Yerevan State University alumni 20th-century male writers