Hovhannes Tumanyan: Toast to the virgins

Vaհe  H Apelian

Hovhannes Tumanyan is endearingly referred to as the “All-Armenian Poet”. He is known for hosting in his fourth-floor house in Tiblisi, Georgia, social gatherings of who’s who in the Armenian world. His house came to known as the "vernatun" (vernadoun), that is to say the upper floor. The term has entered in the Armenian lexicon for informal get together of those who matter.

The vernatun (vernadoun) existed for a number of years. The gathering became the cornerstone of the "Caucasian Society of Armenian Writers", which was founded in 1922, with Hovhannes Toumanian as its president.

The following anecdote, in translation,  pertains to such a gathering. 

«Once, at one of the usual dinners at Hovhannes. Tumanyan's house, a group of writers and other intellectuals - teachers, doctors, lawyers, etc. - were present. Bishop Mesrop (note: Mesrop (baptismal name: Parsadan) Vardan Ter-Movsisyan (May 7, 1865, Shikahogh, Armenia - June 3, 1939[1], Yerevan, Armenian SSR, USSR), a master of Armenian philology), who was personally close to Tumanyan, was also present. Among the household members at the table was also Mrs. Tumanyan with her two eldest children, Mushegh and Miss Ashkhen.

The toastmaster, of course, was Hovhannes Tumanyan.

It so happened that Tumanyan divided the attendees into pairs and proposed a toast to each of the attendees in pairs.

-Let's drink a toast to our two novelists, Shirvan (Shirvanzade) and Avetis (Aharonian)... And this is a toast to our two poets, Avo (Isahakyan) and Derenik (Demirchyan)... And this is a toast to our two doctors...

Thus one by one, everyone present was toasted, except Bishop Mesrob. 

Tumanyan stood up with his glass in hand. The same question arose in the minds of everyone present: how would Tumanyan pair Bishop Mesrop who was the only celibate at the table?

The clever Tumanyan had certainly had already figured a way out. But what was that way out? We were all impatient to know.

-Now the toast to our pontiff remains, - said Tumanyan and glanced quickly at Bishop Mesrop, and then at his eldest daughter, the young lady Ashkhen.

-I propose to drink this glass as a toast to the two virgins sitting at the table with us, Bishop Mesrop and my Ashkhen...

Although Bishop Mesrop blushed, he laughed heartily and heartily with the others.»

The picture of the painting posted below  is the artist’s rendering of some of the notables in Armenian history who met in Hovhannes Tumanyan’s house. Not all who attended the get together in the Tumanyan’s upper floor apartment were always men of letters. It is claimed that General Antranig attended also whenever he was in Tbilisi. It is also said that he was a superb raconteur and mesmerized his audience.

The following are depicted in the painting.

1. ԱԼԵՔՍԱՆԴՐ ՍՊԵՆԴԻԱՐՅԱՆ (ALEXANDER SPENDIARYAN)

Born on November 1, 1871 in Kakhovka, Ukraine

Died on May 7, 1928 in Yerevan, Armenia

Alexander Afanasyevich Spendiaranov was a Russian and Soviet composer, conductor, founder of Armenian national symphonic music. 

2. ԱԼԵՔՍԱՆԴՐ ՇԻՐՎԱՆԶԱԴԵ (ALEXANDER SHIRVANZADE)

Born on April 18, 1858 in Sirvan, Azerbaijan

Died on August 7, 1936, Kislovodsk, Russia

Alexander Movsisian, better known by his pen name Alexander Shirvanzade, was  an Armenian playwright and novelist.

3. ԳևՈՐԳ ԲԱՇԻՆՋԱՂՅԱՆ (GEVORG PASHINJAGHIAN)

Born on  October 28, 1857 in Sighnaghi, Georgia

Died on October 4, 1925 in Tbilisi, Georgia

He was an Armenian painter who had a significant influence  on Armenian landscape painting.

4. ՎԱՀԱՆ ՏԵՐՅԱՆ (VAHAN TERIAN)

Born on January 28, 1885 in Tiflis Governorate

Died on January 7, 1920 in Orenburg, Russia

Was an Armenian poet, lyrist, and public activist. He is known for hos sorrowful, romantic poems, the most famous of which are still read and sung in their musical versions.

5. ՂԱԶԱՐՈՍ ԱՂԱՅԱՆ (GHAZAROS AGHAYAN) 

Born on  April 4, 1840 in Tiflis Governorate

Died on July 20, 1911 in Tbilisi, Georgia

He was an Armenian writer, educator, folklorist, historian, linguist and public figure.

6. ԴԵՐԵՆԻԿ ԴԵՄԻՐՃՅԱՆ (TERENIG DEMIRCHIAN) 

Born on February 6, 1877 in Tbilisi

Died on December 6, 1936 in Yerevan.

He was an Armenian writer, novelist, poet, translator, and playwright

7.ՊԵՏՐՈՍ ԱԴԱՄՅԱՆ (BEDROS ADAMIAN)

Born on 1849, Constantinople (Istanbul), Ottoman Empire

Died on June 3, 1891, Constantinople (Istanbul), Ottoman Empire

He was an outstanding Armenian actor, poet, artist and pubic figure. According to Russian critics his interpretation of Hamlet and Othello put Adamian’s name among the best tragedians of the world.

8. ՎԱՐԴԳԵՍ ՍՈՒՐԵՆՅԱՆՑ (VARTGES SURENIANTS)

Born on February 27, 1860 Akhaltsikhe, Georgia

Died on April 6, 1921, Yalta

He was an Armenian painter, sculptor, illustrator, translator, art critic , and theater artist. He is considered the founder of Armenian historical painting. His paintings feature scenes from Armenian fairy-tales and various historical events.

9. ՄԱՐՏԻՐՈՍ ՍԱՐՅԱՆ (MARDIROS SARIAN) 

Born on February 28, 1880 in Nakhichevan-on-Don, Russia

Died on May 5, 1972 in Yerevan, Armenia 

He was an Armenian painter, the founder of modern Armenian national school of painting.

10. ԵՂԻՇԵ ԹԱԴևՈՍՅԱՆ, (YEGHISH TATIOSSIAN)  (1870-1936)

Born on September 14, 1870, in Vagharshabad (Armenia) 

Died on January 27, 1936,  in Tblisi, Georgia 

He was a famous Armenian landscape painter. This year (1920) the Armenian government celebrated the 150the anniversary of his birth.

11. ԿՈՄԻՏԱՍ (KOMIDAS) 

Born on October 8 1869 in Kutahya, Turkey 

Died on October 22 , 1935 Villejuif, France

He was an Armenian priest, musicologist, composer, arranger, singer and choirmaster who is considered the founder of the Armenian national school of music. He is recognized as the one of the pioneers of the ethnomusicology.

12. ՍՏԵՓԱՆ ԼԻՍԻՑՅԱՆ (STEPAN LISITSYAN)

Born on October 4, 1865, Tbilisi, Georgia

Died on January 4, 1947, Yerevan, Armenia 

He was an Armenian historian, translator, pet an public figure.

13. Ավետիք Իսահակյան (AVETIK ISAHAKYAN) 

Born on October 30, 1875 in Gyumri, Armenia

Died on October 17, 1957 in Yerevan, Armenia

He was a prominent Armenian lyric poet, writer, and public activist.

14. ՀԱԿՈԲ ՀԱԿՈԲՅԱՆ (HAKOB HAKOBYAN)

He was born on May 29, 1866, in Tblisi

Died on December 13, 1937 in Tbilisi, Georgia

He was a poet, translator and an influential writer. 

15. ՀՈՎՀԱՆՆԵՍ ԹՈՒՄԱՆՅԱՆ (HOVHANNES TOUMANYAN) 

Born on February 10, 1869, Lori Province, Armenia

Died on March 23, 1928 in Moscow, Russia

He was an Armenian poet, writer, translator, and literary and public activist. He is the national poet of Armenia. Tumanyan wrote poems, quatrains, ballads, novels, fables, and critics and journalistic articles.

Note: I would like to thank Paris Erganian for noting my error and correcting the biographical information about Hagob Hagobyan/Hagop Hagopian), 10/21/2021 

Hovhannes Tumanyan toasting: An anecdote

 Vaհe  H Apelian

Hovhannes Tumanyan is endearingly referred to as the “All-Armenian Poet”. He is known for hosting in his fourth-floor house in Tiblisi, Georgia, social gatherings of who’s who in the Armenian world. His house came to known as the "vernatun" (vernadoun), that is to say the upper floor. The term has entered in the Armenian lexicon for informal get together of those who matter.

The vernatun (vernadoun) existed for a number of years. The gathering became the cornerstone of the "Caucasian Society of Armenian Writers", which was founded in 1922, with Hovhannes Toumanian as its president.

The following anecdote, in translation,  pertains to such a gathering. 

«Once, at one of the usual dinners at Hovhannes. Tumanyan's house, a group of writers and other intellectuals - teachers, doctors, lawyers, etc. - were present. Bishop Mesrop (note: Mesrop (baptismal name: Parsadan) Vardan Ter-Movsisyan (May 7, 1865, Shikahogh, Armenia - June 3, 1939[1], Yerevan, Armenian SSR, USSR), a master of Armenian philology), who was personally close to Tumanyan, was also present. Among the household members at the table was also Mrs. Tumanyan with her two eldest children, Mushegh and Miss Ashkhen.

The toastmaster, of course, was Hovhannes Tumanyan.

It so happened that Tumanyan divided the attendees into pairs and proposed a toast to each of the attendees in pairs.

-Let's drink a toast to our two novelists, Shirvan (Shirvanzade) and Avetis (Aharonian)... And this is a toast to our two poets, Avo (Isahakyan) and Derenik (Demirchyan)... And this is a toast to our two doctors...

Thus one by one, everyone present was toasted, except Bishop Mesrob. 

Tumanyan stood up with his glass in hand. The same question arose in the minds of everyone present: how would Tumanyan pair Bishop Mesrop who was the only celibate at the table?

The clever Tumanyan had certainly had already figured a way out. But what was that way out? We were all impatient to know.

-Now the toast to our pontiff remains, - said Tumanyan and glanced quickly at Bishop Mesrop, and then at his eldest daughter, the young lady Ashkhen.

-I propose to drink this glass as a toast to the two virgins sitting at the table with us, Bishop Mesrop and my Ashkhen...

Although Bishop Mesrop blushed, he laughed heartily and heartily with the others.»

The picture of the painting posted below  is the artist’s rendering of some of the notables in Armenian history who met in Hovhannes Tumanyan’s house. Not all who attended the get together in the Tumanyan’s upper floor apartment were always men of letters. It is claimed that General Antranig attended also whenever he was in Tbilisi. It is also said that he was a superb raconteur and mesmerized his audience.

The following are depicted in the painting.

1. ԱԼԵՔՍԱՆԴՐ ՍՊԵՆԴԻԱՐՅԱՆ (ALEXANDER SPENDIARYAN)

Born on November 1, 1871 in Kakhovka, Ukraine

Died on May 7, 1928 in Yerevan, Armenia

Alexander Afanasyevich Spendiaranov was a Russian and Soviet composer, conductor, founder of Armenian national symphonic music. 

2. ԱԼԵՔՍԱՆԴՐ ՇԻՐՎԱՆԶԱԴԵ (ALEXANDER SHIRVANZADE)

Born on April 18, 1858 in Sirvan, Azerbaijan

Died on August 7, 1936, Kislovodsk, Russia

Alexander Movsisian, better known by his pen name Alexander Shirvanzade, was  an Armenian playwright and novelist.

3. ԳևՈՐԳ ԲԱՇԻՆՋԱՂՅԱՆ (GEVORG PASHINJAGHIAN)

Born on  October 28, 1857 in Sighnaghi, Georgia

Died on October 4, 1925 in Tbilisi, Georgia

He was an Armenian painter who had a significant influence  on Armenian landscape painting.

4. ՎԱՀԱՆ ՏԵՐՅԱՆ (VAHAN TERIAN)

Born on January 28, 1885 in Tiflis Governorate

Died on January 7, 1920 in Orenburg, Russia

Was an Armenian poet, lyrist, and public activist. He is known for hos sorrowful, romantic poems, the most famous of which are still read and sung in their musical versions.

5. ՂԱԶԱՐՈՍ ԱՂԱՅԱՆ (GHAZAROS AGHAYAN) 

Born on  April 4, 1840 in Tiflis Governorate

Died on July 20, 1911 in Tbilisi, Georgia

He was an Armenian writer, educator, folklorist, historian, linguist and public figure.

6. ԴԵՐԵՆԻԿ ԴԵՄԻՐՃՅԱՆ (TERENIG DEMIRCHIAN) 

Born on February 6, 1877 in Tbilisi

Died on December 6, 1936 in Yerevan.

He was an Armenian writer, novelist, poet, translator, and playwright

7.ՊԵՏՐՈՍ ԱԴԱՄՅԱՆ (BEDROS ADAMIAN)

Born on 1849, Constantinople (Istanbul), Ottoman Empire

Died on June 3, 1891, Constantinople (Istanbul), Ottoman Empire

He was an outstanding Armenian actor, poet, artist and pubic figure. According to Russian critics his interpretation of Hamlet and Othello put Adamian’s name among the best tragedians of the world.

8. ՎԱՐԴԳԵՍ ՍՈՒՐԵՆՅԱՆՑ (VARTGES SURENIANTS)

Born on February 27, 1860 Akhaltsikhe, Georgia

Died on April 6, 1921, Yalta

He was an Armenian painter, sculptor, illustrator, translator, art critic , and theater artist. He is considered the founder of Armenian historical painting. His paintings feature scenes from Armenian fairy-tales and various historical events.

9. ՄԱՐՏԻՐՈՍ ՍԱՐՅԱՆ (MARDIROS SARIAN) 

Born on February 28, 1880 in Nakhichevan-on-Don, Russia

Died on May 5, 1972 in Yerevan, Armenia 

He was an Armenian painter, the founder of modern Armenian national school of painting.

10. ԵՂԻՇԵ ԹԱԴևՈՍՅԱՆ, (YEGHISH TATIOSSIAN)  (1870-1936)

Born on September 14, 1870, in Vagharshabad (Armenia) 

Died on January 27, 1936,  in Tblisi, Georgia 

He was a famous Armenian landscape painter. This year (1920) the Armenian government celebrated the 150the anniversary of his birth.

11. ԿՈՄԻՏԱՍ (KOMIDAS) 

Born on October 8 1869 in Kutahya, Turkey 

Died on October 22 , 1935 Villejuif, France

He was an Armenian priest, musicologist, composer, arranger, singer and choirmaster who is considered the founder of the Armenian national school of music. He is recognized as the one of the pioneers of the ethnomusicology.

12. ՍՏԵՓԱՆ ԼԻՍԻՑՅԱՆ (STEPAN LISITSYAN)

Born on October 4, 1865, Tbilisi, Georgia

Died on January 4, 1947, Yerevan, Armenia 

He was an Armenian historian, translator, pet an public figure.

13. Ավետիք Իսահակյան (AVETIK ISAHAKYAN) 

Born on October 30, 1875 in Gyumri, Armenia

Died on October 17, 1957 in Yerevan, Armenia

He was a prominent Armenian lyric poet, writer, and public activist.

14. ՀԱԿՈԲ ՀԱԿՈԲՅԱՆ (HAKOB HAKOBYAN)

He was born on May 29, 1866, in Tblisi

Died on December 13, 1937 in Tbilisi, Georgia

He was a poet, translator and an influential writer. 

15. ՀՈՎՀԱՆՆԵՍ ԹՈՒՄԱՆՅԱՆ (HOVHANNES TOUMANYAN) 

Born on February 10, 1869, Lori Province, Armenia

Died on March 23, 1928 in Moscow, Russia

He was an Armenian poet, writer, translator, and literary and public activist. He is the national poet of Armenia. Tumanyan wrote poems, quatrains, ballads, novels, fables, and critics and journalistic articles.

Note: I would like to thank Paris Erganian for noting my error and correcting the biographical information about Hagob Hagobyan/Hagop Hagopian), 10/21/2021

ՀՄԸՄ-ի Գործունէութիւնը Մայր Հայրենիքի` Հայաստանի Հանրապետութեան Մէջ. 1918-1927

Նոր Գիրքերու Հետ. ՀՄԸՄ-ի Գործունէութիւնը Մայր Հայրենիքի` Հայաստանի Հանրապետութեան Մէջ. 1918-1927 ՝ Հեղինակ Յարութ Չէքիճեան։

Գիրքը՝

https://haroutchekijian.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/d580.d584.d4b8.d584.-d4bb-d4b3d588d590d4bed588d592d586d4b7d588d592d4b9d4bbd592d586d4b8-d584d4b1d585d590-d580d4b1d585d590d4b5d586d4bbd594d4bb-d580d4b1d585d4b1d58dd58fd4b1d586d4bb-d580d4b1-3.pdf

                                                                                    ***

Նոր Գիրքերու Հետ. ՀՄԸՄ-ի Գործունէութիւնը Մայր Հայրենիքի` Հայաստանի Հանրապետութեան Մէջ. 1918-1927 (Հեղինակ Յարութ Չէքիճեան): https://www.aztagdaily.com/archives/657798?fbclid=IwY2xjawMRTMJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHuVQoVSeDZdovxzIzMY8HOPGkvUEQJVlKPpdsq299tzutoh_GpzxDFEpxtnS_aem_ZfLKk4WVZ1XbM_RIsoVvSA

The relief aid for the nascent republic

 Vaհe H Apelian

The title  of this blog  pertains to the relief aid, the United States of America rendered to the nascent Republic of Armenia at a crucial time of the republic.

Anyone who has read about the founding of the Republic of Armenia in Wikipedia, would have come across the following paragraph: “By the time relief aid reached Armenia, some 150,000–180,000 refugees (20 percent of the population) had perished due to famine, exposure, or hunger. According to a report from February 1919, 40 percent of the inhabitants of the district of Sardarapat had died. By April 1919, 40 percent of the inhabitants of eight villages near Etchmiadzin and 25 percent of the sixteen villages in Ashtarak perished. During the winter, the population of the district of Talin declined by 50 percent, and nearly 60 percent of Armenians in Surmalu died of starvation. American historian Richard Pipes writes that Soviet estimates place the number of Armenians who perished due to famine and disease at 300,000. In 1919, 19,000 inhabitants of Yerevan contracted typhus and 10,000 died from exposure, famine, and pestilence. By mid-1919, 200,000 inhabitants of Armenia had perished; according to Hovannisian, there were 8.7 births and 204.2 deaths per 1,000 persons, yielding a net loss of 195.5—"it was verily a land of death". According to the data of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, 192,000 people died due to the typhus epidemic and famine by the summer of 1919.”

What was the relief aid that reached Armenia?  Who provided the relief aid? How did the relief aid get to Armenia?

Given the extraordinarily harsh situation in Armenia, the Armenian government dispatched a delegation to the United States of America headed by the Prime Minister Kachaznouni to solicit aid. The delegation’s efforts were supported by the Armenians in America.  This is what Kachaznouni has said at a reception given in honor of the delegation in New York in December 1919.

“At the cost of immense sacrifices, untold sufferings and deprivations, bloody battles and persistent work, the Republic of Armenia has been established today on and around the Ararat Valley.

- Today, it is the Republic of Armenia where we must seek and find our salvation, the fulfillment of our centuries-old desires. This is where the Armenian race must focus all its attention, its mind and soul, all its creative potential.

- The enemy of the Republic is the enemy of Armenians.

- An Armenian who dares to look at the Republic with a critical eye is a traitor to the great Armenian cause.

- To rally, sincerely and unconditionally, around the Republic, to give it strength and vitality - this is the demand of the day, this is the sacred duty of every Armenian.

- The Republic is in a period of organization. It needs goodwill and "effective aid, especially when it is organized in such hellish conditions, the like of which history has perhaps never seen.

-This is the help we have come to seek in distant America." (see note no 1)

How did the Armenian delegation effort pan out? This is wheat Simon Vratsian has written:

«The government’s delegation, the appeals by the government and the support of the Diaspora eventually were heard and aid was quickly dispatched. This time around it was the United States of America, the director of the U.S. Food Administration, Hoover, the one who salvaged Europe after the war, who became the real savior of the people of Armenia. Whatever happens, however we regard America’s role in the Armenian Question, we do not forget nor should we forget the U.S. humanitarian assistance to Armenia and the provisions they provided.   

The first American boat arrived to Batumi on March 21 carrying 125,000 sacks of flour. A week later another shipment of 600,000 sacks of flour arrived. To transport the provision, the American government requested from the Armenian Government 579 train wagons and 14 locomotives at a time when all that the Armenian Government had was 16 locomotives and 520 train wagons. The intervention of the American and the British governments was needed. For four days human traffic over the Armenian rail lines was halted and all facilities were appropriated for the transpiration of the flour only.

With the arrival of the American flour, the famine slowly started receding. The country started to embark on its normal course. The people and the government started to devote themselves towards reconstruction and structuring of the governance.” (Republic of Armenia, 2nd edition, Lebanon).» (see note no. 2)

The rest is history unfolding right in front of this generation interconnected like no time before.  

***

Note 1:  Credited to Avo G Boghossian’s posting on his Facebook page on Sunday August, 17, 2025. The quote if form Kachaznouni’s collective writings by ANI Armenian Research Center.

Note: Credited to Garo Armenian’s posting on his Facebook page on February 23, 2019. The quote is from Simon Vratsian’s book “Republic of Armenia”

 

Historically America has been good to Armenia

Vaհe H Apelian

The Armenian delegation to the United States in 1919.Top row (left to right): A. Piralyan, M. Ter-Poghosyan, S. Melikyan, Armen Garo, H. Bonapartyan. Bottom row (left to right): Artashes Enfiajyan, Jaques Bagratuni, Hovhannes Katchaznouni, Andranik Ozanian, A. Der-Hagopian

Historically America has been good to Armenia. 

Anyone who has read about the Republic of Armenia in Wikipedia, would have come across the following paragraph.

“By the time relief aid reached Armenia, some 150,000–180,000 refugees (20 percent of the population) had perished due to famine, exposure, or hunger. According to a report from February 1919, 40 percent of the inhabitants of the district of Sardarapat had died. By April 1919, 40 percent of the inhabitants of eight villages near Etchmiadzin and 25 percent of the sixteen villages in Ashtarak perished. During the winter, the population of the district of Talin declined by 50 percent, and nearly 60 percent of Armenians in Surmalu died of starvation. American historian Richard Pipes writes that Soviet estimates place the number of Armenians who perished due to famine and disease at 300,000. In 1919, 19,000 inhabitants of Yerevan contracted typhus and 10,000 died from exposure, famine, and pestilence. By mid-1919, 200,000 inhabitants of Armenia had perished; according to Hovannisian, there were 8.7 births and 204.2 deaths per 1,000 persons, yielding a net loss of 195.5—"it was verily a land of death". According to the data of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, 192,000 people died due to the typhus epidemic and famine by the summer of 1919.”

What was the relief aid that reached Armenia?  Who provided the relief aid? How did the relief aid get to Armenia?

Given the extraordinarily harsh situation in Armenia, the Armenian government dispatched a delegation to the United States of America headed by the Prime Minister Kachaznouni to solicit aid. The delegation’s efforts were supported by the Armenians in America.  This is what Kachaznouni has said at a reception given in honor of the delegation in New York in December 1919.

“At the cost of immense sacrifices, untold sufferings and deprivations, bloody battles and persistent work, the Republic of Armenia has been established today on and around the Ararat Valley.

- Today, it is the Republic of Armenia where we must seek and find our salvation, the fulfillment of our centuries-old desires. This is where the Armenian race must focus all its attention, its mind and soul, all its creative potential.

- The enemy of the Republic is the enemy of Armenians.

- An Armenian who dares to look at the Republic with a critical eye is a traitor to the great Armenian cause.

- To rally, sincerely and unconditionally, around the Republic, to give it strength and vitality - this is the demand of the day, this is the sacred duty of every Armenian.

- The Republic is in a period of organization. It needs goodwill and "effective aid, especially when it is organized in such hellish conditions, the like of which history has perhaps never seen.

-This is the help we have come to seek in distant America." (see note no 1)

How did the Armenian delegation effort pan out? This is wheat Simon Vratsian has written:

«The government’s delegation, the appeals by the government and the support of the Diaspora eventually were heard and aid was quickly dispatched. This time around it was the United States of America, the director of the U.S. Food Administration, Hoover, the one who salvaged Europe after the war, who became the real savior of the people of Armenia. Whatever happens, however we regard America’s role in the Armenian Question, we do not forget nor should we forget the U.S. humanitarian assistance to Armenia and the provisions they provided.   

The first American boat arrived to Batumi on March 21 carrying 125,000 sacks of flour. A week later another shipment of 600,000 sacks of flour arrived. To transport the provision, the American government requested from the Armenian Government 579 train wagons and 14 locomotives at a time when all that the Armenian Government had was 16 locomotives and 520 train wagons. The intervention of the American and the British governments was needed. For four days human traffic over the Armenian rail lines was halted and all facilities were appropriated for the transpiration of the flour only.

With the arrival of the American flour, the famine slowly started receding. The country started to embark on its normal course. The people and the government started to devote themselves towards reconstruction and structuring of the governance.” (Republic of Armenia, 2nd edition, Lebanon).» (see note no. 2)

The rest is history unfolding right in front of this generation interconnected like no time before.  

***

Note 1:  Credited to Avo G Boghossian’s posting on his Facebook page on Sunday August, 17, 2025. The quote if form Kachaznouni’s collective writings by ANI Armenian Research Center.

Note: Credited to Garo Armenian’s posting on his Facebook page on February 23, 2019. The quote is from Simon Vratsian’s book “Republic of Armenia”

 

  

Hagop comments (3): It is about giving Armenia a chance to have a future.

This is the third time I post a comment Hagop made in the Armenian Weekly, I post in my blog. His first comment was on June 4, 2025, to “Profane and unbecoming”, Church leaders condemn Pashinyan’s attack on Clergy” article. The second comment I posted was on July 2, 2025 to “Victory has no alternative’: Armenian authorities raid church, arrest cleric amid escalating tensions” article. This comment pertained to “Trump’s “peace route” raises alarm over Armenian sovereignty” article on August 14, 2025 by Hoory Minoyan as well. Vaհe H Apelian 

“Let’s be clear: this deal was not about bending the knee — it was about making sure Armenia still has knees to stand on. For more than three decades, Armenia has been locked in a cycle of wars, blockades, and isolation that have cost lives, forced more than 1.3 million Armenians to flee the homeland, bled the economy dry, and left Armenia more vulnerable each year. Standing still was not an option. Signing this agreement was the only way to break that deadlock and open a path to actual stability.

People screaming “sellout” seem to forget Armenia lost the 2020 war and that the battlefield reality since then has been brutal. You don’t negotiate from a fantasy; you negotiate from the ground you’re standing on. And the ground was shifting against Armenia. Armenia had a choice: either secure a deal that locks in peace, brings in major U.S. investment, and opens Armenia to trade routes — or keep feeding its young people into another unwinnable war while the world moves on without us.

The so-called “Zangezur corridor” hysteria? Here’s the truth — it’s not a foreign-controlled strip carved out of Armenia. It’s infrastructure under Armenian sovereignty, regulated by Armenian law, and built with funding that will boost our economy. We’re not giving away territory; we’re monetising geography. Azerbaijan can’t just roll trucks in without our say-so, and anyone suggesting otherwise is deliberately fearmongering for political gain.

As for the constitution change — let’s stop pretending this is some unique betrayal. Every serious country in the modern world recognises internationally defined borders. Bringing the Armenian constitution into line with reality removes a constant excuse for Azerbaijan to escalate and puts Armenia on firmer legal ground internationally. That’s called statecraft, not surrender.

Yes, the deal doesn’t solve every single issue today — no peace agreement ever does. Prisoners of war, displaced persons, cultural heritage — these are ongoing negotiations, and they have a far better chance of resolution when Armenia is not under fire and when it has open channels to talk.

The loudest critics here aren’t offering an alternative beyond “fight more, lose more.” That’s not strategy — that’s emotional grandstanding dressed up as patriotism. Armenia chose a different path: one that keeps Armenia alive, opens its borders, strengthens its economy, and brings in allies we can actually rely on. It’s not perfect, but it’s a hell of a lot better than the alternative: national ruin and loss of statehood wrapped in the flag.

The peace framework is not about giving up Armenia. It is about giving Armenia a chance to have a future. It is about protecting Armenian sovereignty and territorial integrity, it is about placing Armenia on a sustainable path and chartering a trajectory to becoming a viable state."

The debate I will never forget

Vaհe H Apelian

This blog is not about rendering a judgement. It is about the encouraging the young to think for themselves and be critical, as we were invited in our youthful days to do so.

The Ottoman Bank, those who took part in the occupation, Papken Siuni, Armen Garo

The debate I will never forget is the debate we had in my youth about the occupation of the Ottoman Bank led by Papken Siuni. According to Wikipedia “on Wednesday, 26 August 1896, 13:00 o'clock, 26 Armenians from the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, armed with pistols and grenades and led by Papken Siuni, attacked and occupied the Ottoman Bank of Constantinople.” However, Tatul Hakobyan, in ANI Armenian Research Center, posted about this historical event on August 14, 2025 headlining it “ARF’seizure of the Ottoman Bank: August 14, 1896” («ՀՅԴ-ի կողմից Օսմանյան բանկի գրավումը. 14 օգոստոս, 1896». When I brought the date to his attention, he said it is because of the old Armenian calendar that differs from the standard calendar by 13 days.

My father enrolled me in the Papken Siuni Badanegan (Youth) Myoutyoun (Association), early in my youth. We held our meetings on Wednesday and Saturdy afternoons in the Beirut's ARF  Community Center that remained central in our lives until the unset of the Lebanese Civial War in 1975, when Ara  Yerevanian community came about in 1972. 

Every year we debated, maybe more than once, whether Papken Siuni led occupation of the Ottoman Bank was justified or it was a reckless act. None of us wanted to be in the team that debated against the occupation. A representative from the ARF Zavarian Student Association oversaw the Badanegan (Youth) Myoutyoun (Association). He took the matters into his hand and assigned a few  of us to the team that would argue against the occupation. 

Over sixty years have come and gone by from my youthful days as a member of Papken Siuni Badanegan (Youth) Myoutyoun (Association). I have vivid recollection of not only the debate but also of the room we had our meetings and held the debates. That corner room became the Central Committee's office in late 1960s or early 1970s. And for the very first time we were stunned to know that the CC had an executive secretary, who was once the principal of Sourp Nshan School, Hagop Iskenderian. 

I also remember the debate for the uneasiness to be in the team debating as the rest of the members remained seated in the room and watched us take turn to present our case. In 1972, Badanegan (Youth) Myoutyoun (Association) came to an end and the Lebanese youth Association came about as part of YOARF (Youth Organization of ARF). 

The occupation of the Ottoman Bank took place some 130 years ago. . This blog is not about rendering a judgement. It is about the encouraging the young to think for themselves and be critical, as we were invited in our youthful days to do so. Honestly, I wonder if members of YOARF nowadays are encouraged to question history and are urged to debate historical events without being concerned for backlash or the ridicule they may face. Of course in my days there was not the social media we have nowadays. But I can attest that the social circle we had, was as all-encompassing and as wide as social media is nowadays. It was the world we knew.

The Bank of Ottoman occupation's leader Papken, who was killed during the mayhem, beame an idol. It would not surprise me that Catholicos Coadjutor Papken Gulesserian was named in honor of Papken Siuni, much like Catholicos Aram I is most likely named in honor of Aram Manougian. My childhood friend Papken (Apelian) Bedirian is surely named after Papken Siuni.

Over the years, here and there, I have come across about the Ottoman Bank, its occupation. Here are some tidbits about the bank

*

The Ottoman Bank was a European conglomerate. It was Ottoman by name only. Greeks and Armenians used it as a metaphor, being Ottoman by name only but otherwise disfranchised.  The Ottoman authorities, the Sultan's Sublime Porte  would have cared the less that the Ottoman Bank was occupied. 

*

The Ottoman Bank put an end to the glorious era of the Armenian Amiras, the Rothschilds of the Ottoman Empire who for almost two centuries became trusted financiers of the Sultan and functionaries of the Ottoman Empire, until the Europeans put an end to their prominence.

*

Protestant missionaries wrote about the occupation of the Ottoman Bank. I quote the following: 

“Who originated this plot I do not know, but it is certain that the Turkish government knew all about it many days before, even to the exact time when the bank was to be entered; and the Minister of Police had made elaborate arrangements, not to arrest these men or prevent the attack on the bank, but to facilitate it and make it the occasion of a massacre of the Armenian population of the city. This was to be the crown of all the massacres of the year, one worthy of the capitol and the seat of the Sultan, a final defiance to the Christian world. Not many minutes after the attack on the bank the bands of Turks, who had been organized by the Minister of Police in Stamboul and Galata, commenced the work of killing every Armenian they could find, protected by large bodies of troops, who in some cases took part in the slaughter.” (Fifty Years in Constantinople and Recollections of Robert College. Front Cover. George Washburn. Houghton Mifflin, 1909 – Turkey – 316 pages)

*

“The Ottoman government again unleashed the mob. Softas and thugs started attacking Armenians in Haskoy, Tophane and Galata. The army and the police stood by, or assisted. Most people shut themselves up in their houses or behind the heavy iron doors.

An official of the Ottoman Bank, Louis Rambert, wrote in his diary: 'All Armenian houses are attacked and their little shops, people enter and pillage everything. It happens almost without a sound [since the killers used clubs, not guns]. Every Armenian found in the street is killed' - even on the Grande Rue de Pera. Carts took the corpses away. With his own eyes he saw the murder of rowers of a kayik, watched with visible pleasure by a large crowd on Galata bridge.” — Philip Mansel