Arkady Ivani Ter-Tadevosyan ( hy, Արկադի Իվանի (Հովհաննեսի) Տեր-Թադևոսյան; russian: Аркадий Иванович Тер-Тадевосян; May 22, 1939 – March 31, 2021), also known by his nom-de-guerre Komandos ( hy, Կոմանդոս), was a Soviet and Armenian

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

, a military leader of the Armenian forces 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 conflict, ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 t ...

and Armenia's former Deputy Minister of Defense. Ter-Tadevosyan is best known as the commander of the operation to capture the town of Shushi on 8–9 May 1992.

Biography

Arkady Ter-Tadevosyan was born Artush Oganesovich Tadevosyan in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million pe ...

, Georgian SSR. After graduating from a high school in Tbilisi, he decided to become an officer. He attended the Baku Combined Arms Command School and later the Leningrad Military Academy of Rear Services and Transportation. He served in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...

where he earned the nickname "Mountain Fox." He continued his military service in the Soviet Army in

Leninakan Gyumri ( hy, Գյումրի, ) is an urban municipal community and the second-largest city in Armenia, serving as the administrative center of Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. By the end of the 19th century, when the city w ...

(modern-day Gyumri),

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In t ...

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

, and

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

. He also served as a lecturer at the

Armenian State Agrarian University Armenian National Agrarian University (ANAU) ( hy, Հայաստանի Ազգային Ագրարային Համալսարան, ՀԱԱՀ), is a state university and higher educational institution based in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia.The universi ...

. With the breakup of the Soviet Union and the brewing conflict in

Nagorno-Karabakh Nagorno-Karabakh ( ) is a landlocked region in the South Caucasus, within the mountainous range of Karabakh, lying between Lower Karabakh and Syunik, and covering the southeastern range of the Lesser Caucasus mountains. The region is m ...

, Ter-Tadevosyan took part in organizing in 1990 the defense of Armenian villages straddling the borders of Soviet Azerbaijan. He joined the Sasuntsi Davit Detachment to defend villages from constant attacks launched by

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

i militants.

First Nagorno-Karabakh War

Thereafter, he went to Nagorno-Karabakh to train soldiers. Ter-Tadevosyan was appointed Head of Training Corps Defense Committee in 1991. In 1992 he was named commander of the operation (dubbed "Operation Wedding in the Mountains") to seize the strategic town of Shushi, the capture of which on 9 May 1992 marked the first significant military victory by Armenian forces during the

. Ter-Tadevosyan is known in Armenia as the "mastermind of the liberation of Shushi."Կոմանդոս. Կենաց պայքար (Komandos: A Struggle for Survival)
." ''Panarmenian.net''. November 2, 2010. He participated in the formation of the

Armed Forces of Armenia The Armed Forces of Armenia ( hy, Հայաստանի զինված ուժեր, Hayastani zinvats uzher), sometimes referred to as the Armenian Army ( hy, Հայկական Բանակ, Haykakan Banak), is the national military of Armenia. It consist ...

and assisted it to overcome significant challenges before it could emerge as a well-developed institution. On 25 May 1992, Ter-Tadevosyan was awarded the rank of Major General for his accomplishments during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. He also received the

Order of the Combat Cross Awards and decorations of Armenia are military and civil decorations of Armenia which are bestowed by various agencies of the Armenian government for acts of accomplishment benefiting the government and the Armenian nation as a whole. National Her ...

(1st class).

Later life and death

In May 2000, Ter-Tadevosyan left the Yerkrapah veterans union and founded the Veterans of the War of Liberation organization, although he left it in July of that year, expressing personal grievances about those who had joined it. The President of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic,

Bako Sahakyan Bako Sahaki Sahakyan ( hy, Բակո Սահակի Սահակյան; born 30 August 1960) is an Artsakhi politician who served as the third president of the ''de facto''-independent Republic of Artsakh from 2007 to 2020. He is the longest-serving p ...

, awarded him the Order of the Golden Eagle and the title of Hero of Artsakh on the 17th anniversary of the Capture of Shushi in 2009. The region continued to hold much meaning for Ter-Tadevosyan, who spent at least one week each month there. During the later years of his military career Ter-Tadevosyan supervised the training of specialists in the Armenian armed forces. He died in Yerevan on 31 March 2021. Condolences were sent by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, President

Armen Sarksyan Armen Vardani Sarkissian ( hy, Արմեն Վարդանի Սարգսյան; also written as Sarksyan and Sargsyan) (born 23 June 1952) is an Armenian politician, physicist and computer scientist who served as the 4th president of Armenia from 9 A ...

and former president Robert Kocharyan. A requiem service for the commander took place on 2 April at the

Karen Demirchyan Complex Karen Demirchyan Sports and Concerts Complex (Armenian: ), also known as Demirchyan Arena, Sports & Music Complex, or simply Hamalir (for complex in Armenian), is a large multi-purpose sports and concert complex with 184 stairs leading up Tsitsern ...

and a religious ceremony was also held on 3 April at the St. John's Church in Yerevan. Upon his request, he was buried at the family cemetery in Davitashen District.

Legacy

On 8 May 2021, which is the Shushi Liberation Day, Ter-Tadevosyan was posthumously named National Hero of Armenia Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan also awarded Ter-Tadevosyan with the Order of the Motherland, which he handed over to his son Hayk Ter-Tadevosyan. A house museum is planned for Ter-Tadevosyan.

Awards

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of th ...

* Order of the Badge of Honour * Medal "Veteran of the Armed Forces of the USSR" * Jubilee Medal "Twenty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" * Jubilee Medal "50 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" * Jubilee Medal "60 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" * Jubilee Medal "70 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" *

Jubilee Medal "50 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" The Jubilee Medal "50 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" (russian: Юбилейная медаль «50 лет Победы в Великой Отечественной войне 1941–1945 гг.») is a state commemorativ ...

* Medal "For Impeccable Service", 1st class * Medal "For Impeccable Service", 2nd class * Medal "For Impeccable Service", 3rd class *

, 1st class * Hero of Artsakh (2009) * National Hero of Armenia (2021, posthumously)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ter-Tadevosyan, Arkadi 1939 births 2021 deaths Military personnel from Tbilisi Armenian generals Armenian military personnel of the Nagorno-Karabakh War Artsakh military personnel Soviet military personnel of the Soviet–Afghan War Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Heroes of Artsakh Georgian people of Armenian descent