Alexander Fyodori Miasnikian or Myasnikov; russian: Алекса́ндр Фёдорович Мяснико́в. Also spelled Myasnikyan. His patronymic is variously given as Asatur, Astvatsatur, Fyodor and Bogdan. (28 January February1886 – 22 March 1925), also known by his revolutionary ''

nom de guerre A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

'' Martuni, 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 ...

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

revolutionary, military leader and politician. During the

Russian Civil War , date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...

, he served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of Byelorussia from 1918 to 1919. As the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of

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 ''Ox ...

from 1921 to 1922, he is credited with rebuilding the Armenian republic at the beginning of

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...

New Economic Policy The New Economic Policy (NEP) () was an economic policy of the Soviet Union proposed by Vladimir Lenin in 1921 as a temporary expedient. Lenin characterized the NEP in 1922 as an economic system that would include "a free market and capitalism, ...

(NEP).

Biography

Miasnikian was born in the Armenian-populated city of

New Nakhichevan __NOTOC__ Nakhichevan-on-Don (russian: Нахичевань-на-Дону, ''Naxičevan’-na-Donu''), also known as New Nakhichevan ( hy, Նոր Նախիջևան, ''Nor Naxiĵevan''; as opposed to the "old" Nakhichevan), was an Armenian-populated ...

(now a part of

Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don ( rus, Ростов-на-Дону, r=Rostov-na-Donu, p=rɐˈstof nə dɐˈnu) is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East Eu ...

) to the family of a merchant. He graduated from the faculty of law of

Moscow 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 ...

in 1911. As a student in New Nakhichevan and later in Moscow, Miasnikian was active in underground groups starting in 1901. He took part in the

1905 Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution of 1905,. also known as the First Russian Revolution,. occurred on 22 January 1905, and was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. The mass unrest was directed again ...

and joined the

Russian Social Democratic Labour Party The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP; in , ''Rossiyskaya sotsial-demokraticheskaya rabochaya partiya (RSDRP)''), also known as the Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party or the Russian Social Democratic Party, was a socialist pol ...

in 1906. He was arrested and exiled to

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

that same year.Miasnikov, Aleksandr Federovich
Great Soviet Encyclopedia Between 1912 and 1914, Miasnikian worked as an assistant to a lawyer in Moscow while continuing his political activities. After the start 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 ...

in 1914, he was drafted into the Russian Army. He was a member of an underground party cell in the army and promoted revolutionary ideas among the soldiers. After the

February Revolution The February Revolution ( rus, Февра́льская револю́ция, r=Fevral'skaya revolyutsiya, p=fʲɪvˈralʲskəjə rʲɪvɐˈlʲutsɨjə), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and somet ...

of 1917, Miasnikian became a member of the Western Front's military committee, leading its

faction together with

Mikhail Frunze Mikhail Vasilyevich Frunze (russian: Михаил Васильевич Фрунзе; ro, Mihail Frunză; 2 February 1885 – 31 October 1925) was a Bolshevik leader during and just prior to the Russian Revolution of 1917. Born in the modern-day ...

. He also served as the editor of the Bolshevik newspaper '' Zvezda'' in

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

. He was elected a delegate to the 6th Congress of the Bolshevik Party (August 1917). In September 1917, he was elected chairman of the Northwestern Regional Committee of the Bolshevik Party (the predecessor of the Bolshevik party organization in Byelorussia). After the

October 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 ...

, he was elected chairman the Revolutionary Military Committee of the Northwestern Front. Miasnikian was then elected commander of the Western Front at the soldiers' congress of deputies. Despite being an active opponent of the idea of a Byelorussian autonomy, in 1918, he was appointed the first chairman of the Communist Party of Byelorussia. From 4–27 February 1919, Miasnikian was chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the

Socialist Soviet Republic of Byelorussia The Socialist Soviet Republic of Byelorussia or Soviet Socialist Republic of Belarus (SSRB; be, Савецкая Сацыялістычная Рэспубліка Беларусь, Savieckaja Sacyjalistyčnaja Respublika Biełaruś; russian: � ...

that briefly existed in January and February of that year. He was a member of the Central Committee of the

Bolshevik Party " Hymn of the Bolshevik Party" , headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow , general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first)Mikhail Gorbachev (last) , founded = , banned = , founder = Vladimir Lenin , newspaper ...

for the short-lived Lithuanian–Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. When

Nikolai Krylenko Nikolai Vasilyevich Krylenko ( rus, Никола́й Васи́льевич Крыле́нко, p=krɨˈlʲenkə; May 2, 1885 – July 29, 1938) was an Old Bolshevik and Soviet politician. Krylenko served in a variety of posts in the Sovie ...

was appointed Supreme Commander in Chief of the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

, he appointed Miasnikian as his deputy. In March 1921, following the

February Uprising The February Uprising ( classical hy, Փետրուարեան ապստամբութիւն, reformed: Փետրվարյան ապստամբություն, ''P'etrvaryan apstambut'yun'') was an anti-Bolshevik rebellion by the nationalist Armenian R ...

where forces of the

Armenian Revolutionary Federation The Armenian Revolutionary Federation ( hy, Հայ Յեղափոխական Դաշնակցութիւն, ՀՅԴ ( classical spelling), abbr. ARF or ARF-D) also known as Dashnaktsutyun (collectively referred to as Dashnaks for short), is an Armenian ...

briefly overthrew Soviet authority in Armenia, the Bolshevik leadership in Moscow decided to appoint Miasnikian head of the newly installed government of the

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

. On his way to Armenia, he delivered Lenin's letter "To the Comrade Communists of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, Dagestan, and the Mountainous Republic" to the Caucasian Bolshevik leadership in

Tiflis 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 ...

, which called on them to exercise moderation and slow down their transition to socialism. After arriving in Soviet Armenia in May 1921 and taking leadership of the government, Miasnikian was faced with two urgent issues: the anti-Bolshevik rebellion in the southern region of

Zangezur Zangezur ( hy, Զանգեզուր) is a historical and geographical region in Eastern Armenia on the slopes of the Zangezur Mountains which largely corresponds to the Syunik Province of the Republic of Armenia. It was ceded to Russia by Qajar I ...

and the question of Mountainous Karabakh, an Armenian-populated region disputed between Soviet Armenia and Soviet Azerbaijan. Miasnikian engaged in negotiations with the rebels in Zangezur, offering a number of concessions in return for accepting Soviet authority in Armenia, but on June 3, 1921 the Kavbiuro (the Bolshevik Party's decision-making body in the Caucasus) resolved to suppress the rebellion. The rebels were defeated and fled into Persia in July. The resolution adopted at the Kavbiuro meeting on June 3 (at which Miasnikian was present) included a point which stated that Mountainous Karabakh should be declared a part of Armenia. On June 12, Miasnikian signed a decree adopted by the Soviet Armenian government which stated that the Revkoms of Armenia and Azerbaijan had agreed that Mountainous Karabakh was now an inalienable part of Armenia. However, there was disagreement from the Azerbaijani side, which insisted on leaving the final resolution of the status of Karabakh for future Kavbiuro meetings. At a Kavbiuro meeting on July 4, 1921, Miasnikian and a majority of members voted to conduct a referendum in the Armenian-populated mountainous part of Karabakh and make it part of Armenia. Just the next day, Kavbiuro decided to revise the decision and adopt a new one whereby Mountainous Karabakh would become an autonomous region within the Azerbaijani SSR. The Central Committee of the Armenian Communist Party unsuccessfully protested the decision. Six months later, Miasnikian told the First Congress of the Armenian Communist Party that Azerbaijan had threatened to cut off Armenia's supply of kerosene if they demanded Karabakh. Miasnikian was instrumental in the formation of state institutions and economy of the republic. Miasnikian also initiated active work towards eradicating the illiteracy and developing local manufacturing in Armenia. He was succeeded as head of government of Soviet Armenia by

Sargis Lukashin Sargis Lukyani Lukashin ( hy, Սարգիս Լուկյանի Լուկաշին; russian: Сергей Лукьянович Лукашин, born Sargis Srapionyan (Սրապիոնյան); 1883 or 1885 – 1937) was an Armenian Bolshevik politician an ...

in January 1922. After the formation of the

Transcaucasian SFSR , conventional_long_name = Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic , common_name = Transcaucasian SFSR , p1 = Armenian Soviet Socialist RepublicArmenian SSR , flag_p1 = Flag of SSRA ...

in March 1922, Miasnikian held a number of leading positions in the federation's government, working from

. Miasnikian wrote several works about the theory of Marxism-Leninism, the history of the revolutionary movement, and Armenian literature. He began writing reviews for theater in 1906. His works about Armenian literature include the article "

Mikael Nalbandian Mikayel Nalbandian ( hy, Միքայել Նալբանդյան; ) was a Russian-Armenian writer, poet, political theorist and activist. Nalbandian was born in Nakhichevan-on-Don, an Armenian town in southern Russia, and traveled extensively, al ...

" and pamphlets on the poetry of

Hovhannes Hovhannisyan Hovhannes Hovhannisyan ( hy, Հովհաննես Հովհաննիսյան, – 29 September 1929) was an Armenians, Armenian poet, linguist, translator and educator. He was a key contributor to the Ashkharabar (Modern Armenian) literature moveme ...

and

Hovhannes Tumanyan Hovhannes Tumanyan ( hy, Հովհաննես Թումանյան, classical spelling: Յովհաննէս Թումանեան, – March 23, 1923) was an Armenian poet, writer, translator, and literary and public activist. He is the nationa ...

. In literature, Miasnikian criticized apolitical approaches to literature and the concept of "art for art's sake" in articles like "Philanthropy and its Lackeys" (1912).

Death

Miasnikian was killed in a mysterious plane crash on 22 March 1925, along with

Solomon Mogilevsky Solomon Grigorevich Mogilevsky (russian: Соломо́н Григо́рьевич Могиле́вский; 1885 – March 22, 1925) headed the Soviet Union, Soviet foreign intelligence service, the ''INO'' of the State Political Directorate, GPU ...

Georgi Atarbekov Georgiy Aleksandrovich Atarbekov (russian: Георгий Александрович Атарбеков; born Atarbekyan; March 2, 1891 – March 22, 1925) was an Armenian Bolshevik and Soviet security police official. Biography Atarbekov was bo ...

, the pilot and flight engineer. They had been on their way to

Sukhumi Sukhumi (russian: Суху́м(и), ) or Sokhumi ( ka, სოხუმი, ), also known by its Abkhaz name Aqwa ( ab, Аҟәа, ''Aqwa''), is a city in a wide bay on the Black Sea's eastern coast. It is both the capital and largest city of ...

for a communist conference in

Abkhazia Abkhazia, ka, აფხაზეთი, tr, , xmf, აბჟუა, abzhua, or ( or ), officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, recognised by most countries as part of Georgia, which vi ...

. Shortly after taking off from

, the

Junkers F 13 The Junkers F 13 was the world's first all-metal transport aircraft, developed in Germany at the end of World War I. It was an advanced cantilever-wing monoplane, with enclosed accommodation for four passengers. 322 planes of the type were manufa ...

aircraft caught fire. According to eyewitness reports, people were seen jumping to their deaths to escape the burning plane. The cause of the fire was never established, despite separate investigatory commissions chaired by

Lavrentiy Beria Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria (; rus, Лавре́нтий Па́влович Бе́рия, Lavréntiy Pávlovich Bériya, p=ˈbʲerʲiə; ka, ლავრენტი ბერია, tr, ; – 23 December 1953) was a Georgian Bolshevik ...

(first) and

Karl Pauker Karl Viktorovich Pauker (January 1893, in Lviv – 14 August 1937, in Moscow) was an NKVD officer and head of Joseph Stalin's personal security until his arrest and execution. Pauker was born into Jewish family in Lviv, which was then part of ...

(second and third). Nothing was found to be wrong with the plane mechanically.

Leon Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian ...

, who left Sukhumi for the funeral in Tiflis, was suspicious of the cause of the crash. Others who believed it was deliberate suspected Beria himself had organized it.

Legacy

Anastas Mikoyan Anastas Ivanovich Mikoyan (; russian: Анаста́с Ива́нович Микоя́н; hy, Անաստաս Հովհաննեսի Միկոյան; 25 November 1895 – 21 October 1978) was an Armenian Communist revolutionary, Old Bolshevik an ...

called for reviving the memory of Miasnikian, alongside the writers

Raffi Raffi Cavoukian, ( hy, Րաֆֆի, born July 8, 1948), known professionally by the mononym Raffi, is a Canadian singer-lyricist and author of Armenian descent born in Egypt, best known for his children's music. He developed his career as a " ...

Raphael Patkanian Raphael Patkanian ( hy, Ռափայել Պատկանյան, also known as Kamar Katiba; 20 November 1830 – 3 September 1892) was one of the most popular Armenian poets.The Survey - Page 259 by Survey Associates Biography Patkanian was born i ...

, and

Yeghishe Charents Yeghishe Charents (; March 13, 1897 – November 27, 1937) was an Armenian poet, writer and public activist. Charents' literary subject matter ranged from his experiences in the First World War, socialist revolution, and frequently Armenia an ...

, in his March 1954 speech in

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 ...

. In 1976, a film directed by

Frunze Dovlatyan Frunze Vaghinaki Dovlatyan ( hy, Ֆրունզե Վաղինակի Դովլաթյան; May 26, 1927 in Gavar – August 30, 1997 in Yerevan) was an Armenian film director and actor. People's Artist of USSR (1983). Biography Frunze Dovlatyan was bo ...

about Miasnikian's life titled ''Yerkunk'' was released where Miasnikian is portrayed by

Khoren Abrahamyan Khoren Babkeni Abrahamyan ( hy, Խորեն Բաբկենի Աբրահամյան, April 1, 1930, Yerevan – December 10, 2004) was an Armenian actor and director, and People's Artist of the USSR. Abrahamyan was honored with the title People’s A ...

. Several locations within the Soviet Union were named after him (including "Martuni", his ''nom de guerre''): In Armenia, a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

and two villages (in Gegharkunik and Armavir provinces); In Russia's

Rostov Oblast Rostov Oblast ( rus, Росто́вская о́бласть, r=Rostovskaya oblast, p=rɐˈstofskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the Southern Federal District. The oblast has an area of and a populati ...

, an Armenian-populated ''raion'' (district) is named after him; and in the disputed

Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Artsakh, officially the Republic of Artsakh () or the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (),, is a list of states with limited recognition, breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan ...

, a

and a

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

are called Martuni.

Biography

Death

Legacy

References

Notes

Citations

Further reading