Leonid Rubeni Azgaldyan ( hy, Լեոնիդ Ռուբենի Ազգալդյան; 22 November 1942 – 21 June 1992) was an

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 ...

physicist who rose to prominence as a military leader during the

First Nagorno-Karabakh War The First Nagorno-Karabakh War, referred to in Armenia as the Artsakh Liberation War ( hy, Արցախյան ազատամարտ, Artsakhyan azatamart) was an ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in th ...

. He is best known as one of the founders and commander of a large

special operations force Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

known as the Liberation Army (Armenian: Ազատագրական Բանակ).

Biography

Leonid Azgaldyan was born on 22 November 1942 in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...

Georgian SSR The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic (Georgian SSR; ka, საქართველოს საბჭოთა სოციალისტური რესპუბლიკა, tr; russian: Грузинская Советская Соц� ...

to the family of Ruben Azgaldyan, who was originally from

Kamo The name Kamo may refer to the following: Places Japan (Note: ''kamo'' ( 鴨), is the common word for ''duck'' in Japanese, but the following names do not necessarily mean ''duck'' and are not necessarily written with that character.) * Kamo, N ...

(now Gavar),

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

. In 1959 he graduated from Yerevan School after A. Mravyan, and in 1960 he was admitted into the Physics Department of

Moscow State University M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...

. He later transferred and graduated with honors from the same department at

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 ...

, specializing in radiophysics. After graduating, he worked in various spheres of the Soviet economy, focusing mainly on planning methodology, automation of government systems and automated systems for scientific research. Leonid Azgaldyan was one of the pioneers of the

Karabakh movement The Karabakh movement ( hy, Ղարաբաղյան շարժում, also the Artsakh movement Արցախյան շարժում) was a national mass movement in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh from 1988 to 1991 that advocated for the transfer of the ma ...

and a key military strategist. He was a commander of the

Army of Independence The Army of Independence () was an Armenian armed group that was active in the period leading up to Armenia becoming an independent state in 1991. It was founded in late 1989 by members of the Union for National Self-Determination, including Ashot ...

, an armed group founded in 1989 that engaged in violent clashes with the Soviet and Soviet Azerbaijani authorities in the

and the

Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO), DQMV, hy, Լեռնային Ղարաբաղի Ինքնավար Մարզ, ԼՂԻՄ was an autonomous oblast within the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic that was created on July 7, 1923. Its cap ...

, until its dissolution in August 1990. From February 1990, he planned and organized the defense of several regions of Armenia and

Nagorno-Karabakh Nagorno-Karabakh ( ) is a landlocked country, landlocked region in the Transcaucasia, South Caucasus, within the mountainous range of Karabakh, lying between Lower Karabakh and Syunik Province, Syunik, and covering the southeastern range o ...

. He was especially instrumental in the defense of

Vardenis Vardenis ( hy, Վարդենիս) is a town and urban municipal community in the southeastern part of the Gegharkunik Province of Armenia. It is located in the valley of the Masrik River, on the territory of the Masrik artesian basin at above s ...

, organizing the first offensive against Azerbaijani military outposts in Nyuvadi and preventing the

Soviet army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

from entering Yerevan after clashes between Armenian militias and Soviet forces at Sovetashen and

Yerevan railway station Yerevan railway station ( hy, Երևան երկաթուղային կայարան, translit=Yerevan yerkat’ughayin kayaran) is the central station of Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, located south of downtown Yerevan, approximately 2.8 km fr ...

. He later moved to Nagorno-Karabakh and participated in the battles of Getashen,

Shahumian Shahumyan Province ( hy, Շահումյան, Shahumyan, also spelled ''Shaumyan'' and ''Shahumian'') is a claimed province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient ...

and

Martakert Martakert ( hy, Մարտակերտ, also , ) or Aghdara ( az, Ağdərə ) is a town ''de facto'' in the breakaway Republic of Artsakh as the administrative capital of its Martakert Province, ''de jure'' in the Tartar District of Azerbaijan, in ...

. In June 1991, together with Hovsep Hovsepyan he co-founded and commanded the Liberation Army

, whose declared goal was to preserve the self-determination and defense of the local Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh. Azgaldyan was killed on 21 June 1992 in

Tonashen Tonashen (; ) or Tapakend ( az, Təpəkənd) is a village ''de facto'' in the Martakert Province of the breakaway Republic of Artsakh, ''de jure'' in the Tartar District of Azerbaijan, in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The village has a ...

village of Martakert district, Nagorno-Karabakh. He was posthumously awarded with the Order of the Combat Cross of the First Degree and, in 2019, the title

Hero of Artsakh Hero of Artsakh ( hy, Արցախի հերոս, Artsakhi heros) is 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 se ...

.haybachdban.org: AN ESSAY ON THE PSYCHOLOGY OF THE ARMENIAN FIGHTERS OF ARTSAKH WAR (1988–1994)

References

External links

Leonid Azgaldyan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Azkaldian, Leonid 1942 births 1992 deaths Armenian soldiers Scientists from Tbilisi Moscow State University alumni Yerevan State University alumni Armenian military personnel of the Nagorno-Karabakh War Armenian military personnel killed in action Military personnel from Tbilisi