Simon Achikgyozyan ( hy, Սիմոն Աչիկգյոզյան, 6 February 1939 – 30 April 1991) was one of the earliest Armenian military commanders 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 considered a hero in Armenia.

Early life, education and career

Achikgyozyan was born in the city of

Galați Galați (, , ; also known by other alternative names) is the capital city of Galați County in the historical region of Western Moldavia, in eastern Romania. Galați is a port town on the Danube River. It has been the only port for the most par ...

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania ( ro, Regatul României) was a constitutional monarchy that existed in Romania from 13 March ( O.S.) / 25 March 1881 with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian ...

to Hovhannes and Siranush from 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) ...

, survivors of 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 ...

. In 1946, his family resettled in Soviet Armenia. Achikgyozyan graduated from the

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 ...

in 1960 as an engineer-geologist. From 1961 to 1990, he worked at the Institute of Geological Sciences of the

National Academy of Sciences of Armenia The National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia (NAS RA) ( hy, Հայաստանի Հանրապետության գիտությունների ազգային ակադեմիա, ՀՀ ԳԱԱ, ''Hayastani Hanrapetut’yan gitut’yunneri az ...

, earning a PhD in Geology in 1970. He is the author of over 70 scientific publications on geology and minerals of Armenia.

First Nagorno-Karabakh War

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 ...

that started in February 1988 demanded the unification of the mostly Armenian-population

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 ...

region of Soviet Azerbaijan with Armenia. The tensions between Armenians and Azerbaijanis soon escalated into an armed conflict known as the

. Achikgyozyan joined the

ARF ARF may refer to: Organizations * Advertising Research Foundation * Animal Rescue Foundation * Armenian Revolutionary Federation * ASEAN Regional Forum People * Cahit Arf (1910–1997), Turkish mathematician Science, medicine, and mathematics * ...

-affiliated

Arabo Detachment , dates = 4 October 1989-1994 , country = , size = 200 , garrison = Republic of Artsakh , nickname = "The Eagle" ( hy, Արծիվ ...

in 1989 and was elected into the

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 ...

City Council in 1990. By early 1991, the tensions rose gradually to a point where an armed conflict became inevitable. In late April 1991, Soviet and Azerbaijani security forces jointly perpetrated

Operation Ring Operation Ring (russian: link=no, Операция «Кольцо», translit=Operatsia Kol'tso; hy, «Օղակ» գործողություն, ), known in Azerbaijan as Operation Chaykand ( az, Çaykənd əməliyyatı) was the codename for th ...

, which included the deportation of thousands of civilian Armenians from the region. Armenian volunteer groups, led by

Tatul Krpeyan __NOTOC__ Tatul Zhorzhiki Krpeyan ( hy, Թաթուլ Ժորժիկի Կրպեյան; 21 April 1965 – 30 April 1991) was an Armenian commander. He was the self-appointed leader of paramilitary units in Getashen and Martunashen villages in Shahum ...

(posthumously awarded with the title

National Hero of Armenia , image = , caption = The Order of Fatherland , presenter = President of Armenia , country = , type = , eligibility = Armenian citizens, foreign citizens and stateless persons , award ...

) and Simon Achikgyozyan organized self-defense operations. However, their actions were suppressed by Soviet-Azerbaijani forces. On April 30, 1991, Achikgyozyan was killed in Martunashen village.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Achikgyozyan, Simon 1939 births 1991 deaths People from Galați Yerevan State University alumni Armenian geologists Armenian military personnel of the Nagorno-Karabakh War Armenian military personnel killed in action Soviet geologists