Levon Pashalian ( hy, Լեւոն Բաշալեան; 1868 in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

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) ...

- 1943 in

Vichy Vichy (, ; ; oc, Vichèi, link=no, ) is a city in the Allier department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of central France, in the historic province of Bourbonnais. It is a spa and resort town and in World War II was the capital of ...

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), 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 ...

short story writer, journalist, editor, novelist, and politician.

Biography

Levon Pashalian was born in 1868 in

Üsküdar Üsküdar () is a large and densely populated district of Istanbul, Turkey, on the Anatolian shore of the Bosphorus. It is bordered to the north by Beykoz, to the east by Ümraniye, to the southeast by Ataşehir and to the south by Kadıköy; ...

, a district of

that is situated on the Asiatic side of the Bosphorus. He attended the prestigious Berberian Varjaran (High School) and studied under famed principal and pedagogue Reteos Berberian (Who was the founder and principal of the school as well). He began his literary career in the local ''Massis'', Arevelk, and ''Hayrenik''

newspapers. He joined the Hnchakian political party but fled to safety in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

in the 1890s when the Ottoman government began persecuting

political activists. He met with Arpiar Arpiarian in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and began a newspaper called ''Nor Gyank'' dedicated to the newly found Reformed Hnchakist Party. This paper later merged into Hnchak, which would be the Party's official organ. In 1902 Levon Pashalian went to Baku in order to work for a French oil company. He remained in Baku until the

Bolshevik Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...

in 1920. After the revolution, he returned to

and continued his literary career and political activism. In 1922-1923 he was a member of the Armenian National Delegation led by

Boghos Nubar Boghos Nubar ( hyw, Պօղոս Նուպար), also known as Boghos Nubar Pasha () (2 August 1851 – 25 June 1930), was a chairman of the Armenian National Delegation, and the founder, alongside ten other Armenian national movement leaders, of th ...

which was a commission intent on dealing with the

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...

n plight after World War I. He joined the

Armenian General Benevolent Union The Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU, Eastern Armenian: Հայկական Բարեգործական Ընդհանուր Միություն, ՀԲԸՄ, ''Haykakan Baregortsakan Endhanur Miutyun'', or hyw, Հայ Բարեգործական Ընդ ...

and visited

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

in 1924 to help construct schools, hospitals, and settlements. In 1928 he founded the French-Armenian newspaper ''Le Foyer'' which lasted until 1932. He died in

Literary career

Levon Pashalian is known to be one of the leading realist writers in the

literary scene. His famous short stories and novels include ''Tratsuhin'' (The neighbor woman, 1888), ''Verchin Hampuyri'' (The last kiss, 1890), ''Nor Zkesdi'' (New outfit, 1890), ''Terterian Ukhdi'' (The vow of a priest); which was made into a short movie in

, ''Aghavniner'' (Pigeons, 1894). His short stories were scattered all over newspapers and journals until Arshag Chobanian collected them and published them under one book called ''Noraveber yev Patmvazkner'' (Short novels and stories).

References

1868 births 1943 deaths Armenian-language writers Writers from Istanbul People from Üsküdar 19th-century writers from the Ottoman Empire 20th-century writers from the Ottoman Empire Armenians from the Ottoman Empire Berberian School alumni Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire Immigrants to the Russian Empire Immigrants to France Date of death missing 19th-century journalists from the Ottoman Empire {{Turkey-writer-stub