Norat Grigoryevich Ter-Grigoryants ( hy, Նորատ Գրիգորիի Տեր-Գրիգորյանց, russian: Нора́т Григо́рьевич Тер-Григорья́нц; born 16 July 1936) is a retired

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

and

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 lieutenant-general who played a leading role in developing the Armed Forces of Armenia in 1992–1995, including during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. 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 ...

from the

Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

who served as chief of staff for the Soviet 40th Army 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 bordere ...

and deputy chief of the

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

' main staff before the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ter-Grigoryants took up the Armenian government's invitation to take command of the

Armenian Ground Forces The Armenian Ground Forces () is the collective term for personnel branches of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Armenia that are responsible for the country's land-based operations. It was established in conjunction with the other compone ...

in 1992. Ter-Grigoryants became the head of the general staff and the Armenian government's first deputy minister of defense in 1992–1995. He briefly served named Acting

Defence minister of Armenia The Defence Minister of Armenia () is the head of the country's Ministry of Defence, who is charged with the political leadership of the Armed Forces of Armenia. The position was originally created in 1918 and was re-established in January 1992 f ...

in 1993. He returned to the

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

since his retirement in 1995 and is a member of the board of the Union of Armenians of Russia.Avagyan, Karine (24 September 2011)
"I Have Strong Ties with my Homeland..."
''Hayern Aysor''. Retrieved 19 December 2011.

Biography

Norat Ter-Grigoryants was born and educated in the city of

Vladikavkaz Vladikavkaz (russian: Владикавка́з, , os, Дзæуджыхъæу, translit=Dzæwdžyqæw, ;), formerly known as Ordzhonikidze () and Dzaudzhikau (), is the capital city of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, Russia. It is located i ...

in the

of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

, where his

family had come in the 1920s after fleeing from the

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

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) ...

. His parents were from

Erzurum Province Erzurum Province ( tr, Erzurum ili) is a province of Turkey in the Eastern Anatolia Region of the country. The capital of the province is the city of Erzurum. It is bordered by the provinces of Kars and Ağrı to the east, Muş and Bingöl to the ...

(part of the Ottoman Empire) and Kars (an Armenian province in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

annexed by the Turks in the aftermath of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Soviet Army: 1955–1991

Ter-Grigoryants initially entered 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 ...

as a

conscript Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

in 1955, but rejoined in 1957 to become an officer and graduated from the

Ulyanovsk Ulyanovsk, known until 1924 as Simbirsk, is a city and the administrative center of Ulyanovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Volga River east of Moscow. Population: The city, founded as Simbirsk (), was the birthplace of Vladimir Lenin (born ...

Tank School in 1960. He subsequently attended the '' Vystrel'' higher officers' course and graduated from the Malinovsky Military Academy of the Armored Troops in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

in 1973. He attended the Voroshilov General Staff Academy as a

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 ...

and graduated in 1980.''"Intervyu s legendarnym generalom"''.
(16 October 2011). Miacum.ru. Retrieved 20 December 2011. Ter-Grigoryants was stationed in

for three years in the early 1980s and was awarded the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration ...

for his work as chief of staff to

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 ...

Viktor Yermakov The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

's 40th Army in Afghanistan in 1982–1983. Ter-Grigoryants was made deputy chief of the Main Staff of the Ground Forces of the USSR upon returning from Afghanistan in late 1983 and remained deputy chief as a lieutenant-general until 1991.

Armenian Army: 1992–1995

The dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 turned the violent and increasingly warlike ethnic conflict between

Armenians Armenians ( hy, հայեր, '' hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diasp ...

and

Azeris Azerbaijanis (; az, Azərbaycanlılar, ), Azeris ( az, Azərilər, ), or Azerbaijani Turks ( az, Azərbaycan Türkləri, ) are a Turkic people living mainly in northwestern Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan. They are the second-most nume ...

that had developed during the Gorbachev period over the

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 ...

region into a full-scale undeclared war between the newly independent

n and

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 t ...

i states. Armenia's government invited Ter-Grigoryants to assume command of the

Armenian Army 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 ...

in 1992.Harutyunyan, Mark (29 October 1992). "Steps for Creation of Army Urged". In Brzezinski, Zbigniew & Paige Sullivan (Eds.)
''Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States: Documents, Data, and Analysis''
pp. 222-223. Washington, D.C.: Center for Strategic and International Studies, 1997. . Assisting the minister of defense, a military non-professional, Grigoryants was simultaneously named to the post of first deputy defense minister. His formal position was changed to head of the general staff and first deputy minister of defense soon after, when the position of the overall Armenian Army commander was phased out in the course of the ongoing military reform, but he remained a key figure in organizing the Armenian military into an effective force and developing the country's military doctrine. In June 1993, Ter-Grigoryants replaced Defense Minister

Vazgen Manukyan Vazgen Mikayeli Manukyan (Armenian: , born 13 February 1946) is an Armenian politician who served as the first Prime Minister of Armenia from 1990 to 1991. From 1992 to 1993, during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, Manukyan was acting Defence Min ...

in acting capacity following his leave until the appointment of

Serzh Sargsyan Serzh Azati Sargsyan ( hy, Սերժ Ազատի Սարգսյան, ; born 30 June 1954)Of ...

a month later. Ter-Grigoryants' development of Armenian military doctrine emphasized the role of motorized brigades to allow for operational mobility and flexibility.Adalian, Rouben Paul (2010)
''Historical Dictionary of Armenia''.
Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. pp. 114-115. . The air defense forces, previously almost non-existent, were also equipped and organized.Curtis, Glenn E. (1995)
''Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia: Country Studies.''
Washington, D.C.: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. p. 74. .

Since 1995

Ter-Grigoryants retired in 1995, shortly after the end of the war in Nagorno-Karabakh in 1994. He has resided in the

since 1995, but maintains his ties to Armenia and Russia's Armenian community. Ter-Grigoryants is a president emeritus of the Council of Veterans of Russian Land Forces and a board member of the Union of Armenians of Russia.

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 t ...

* Order of the Red Star *

Order for Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

, 2nd class *

, 3rd class *

Jubilee Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary since the Birth of Vladimir Il'ich Lenin" A jubilee is a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term is often now used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of a monarch after a milestone number of ...

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

Medal "Veteran of the Armed Forces of the USSR" The Medal "Veteran of the Armed Forces of the USSR" (russian: Медаль «Ветеран Вооружённых Сил СССР») was a long service award of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union established on May 20, 1976 by decree of the P ...

* Medal "For Strengthening of Brotherhood in Arms" *

Jubilee Medal "50 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" The Jubilee Medal "50 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" (russian: Юбилейная медаль «50 лет Вооружённых Сил СССР») was a state military commemorative medal of the Soviet Union established on December 26, 1 ...

Jubilee Medal "60 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" The Jubilee Medal "60 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" (russian: Юбилейная медаль «60 лет Вооружённых Сил СССР») was a state military commemorative medal of the Soviet Union established and bestowed to m ...

Jubilee Medal "70 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" The Jubilee Medal "70 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" (russian: Юбилейная медаль «70 лет Вооружённых Сил СССР») was a state military commemorative medal of the Soviet Union established on January 28, 198 ...

Medal "For Impeccable Service" The Medal "For Impeccable Service" (russian: Медаль «За безупречную службу») was a Soviet military award for long service awarded to deserving members of the military personnel of the armed forces of the USSR, of the Int ...

, 1st class *

, 2nd class * Medal "30 Years of Victory over militaristic Japan" *

* Medal "Soldiers-internationalists" * Order of the Combat Cross, 1st degree *

Medal of Marshal Baghramyan A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ter-Grigoryants, Norat 1936 births Living people Armenian generals Government ministers of Armenia Armenian military personnel of the Nagorno-Karabakh War People from Vladikavkaz Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR", 2nd class Russian people of Armenian descent Soviet lieutenant generals Soviet military personnel of the Soviet–Afghan War Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union alumni Soviet Armenians Chiefs of the General Staff (Armenia)