Arkady Ter-Tadevosyan

Arkady Ivani Ter-Tadevosyan (Armenian: Արկադի Իվանի (Հովհաննեսի) Տեր-Թադևոսյան; Russian: Аркадий Иванович Тер-Тадевосян; May 22, 1939 – March 31, 2021), also known by his nom-de-guerre Komandos (Armenian: Կոմանդոս), was a Soviet and Armenian Major General, a military leader of the Armenian forces during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War and Armenia's former Deputy Minister of Defense.[2] Ter-Tadevosyan is best known as the commander of the operation to capture the town of Shushi on 8–9 May 1992.[3]

Arkady Ter-Tadevosyan
Ter-Tadevosyan in Shushi in 2012
Native name
Արկադի Տեր-Թադևոսյան
Birth nameArtush Tadevosyan
Nickname(s)Komandos (in Nagorno-Karabakh)
Mountain Fox (in Afghanistan)
Born(1939-05-22)22 May 1939
Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union
DiedMarch 31, 2021(2021-03-31) (aged 81)
Yerevan, Armenia
AllegianceSoviet Union Soviet Union
Republic of Artsakh Artsakh
Armenia Armenia
Service/branch Soviet Army
Artsakh Defense Army
Armed Forces of Armenia
RankMajor General (1992)
Commands heldNagorno-Karabakh Defense Army[1]
Battles/warsSoviet–Afghan War
First Nagorno-Karabakh War
Capture of Shushi
Awardssee below

Biography

Arkady Ter-Tadevosyan was born Artush Oganesovich Tadevosyan in Tbilisi, Georgian SSR.[4] 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 where he earned the nickname "Mountain Fox." He continued his military service in the Soviet Army in Leninakan (modern-day Gyumri), East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Belarus, and Yerevan.[4] He also served as a lecturer at the Armenian State Agrarian University. With the breakup of the Soviet Union and the brewing conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, 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 Azerbaijani 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 First Nagorno-Karabakh War. Ter-Tadevosyan is known in Armenia as the "mastermind of the liberation of Shushi."[5] He participated in the formation of the Armed Forces of Armenia and assisted it to overcome significant challenges before it could emerge as a well-developed institution.[6] 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 (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.[7]

The President of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, Bako Sahakyan, 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.[8] The region continued to hold much meaning for Ter-Tadevosyan, who spent at least one week each month there.[9]

During the later years of his military career Ter-Tadevosyan supervised the training of specialists in the Armenian armed forces.[5] He died in Yerevan on 31 March 2021.[10] Condolences were sent by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan,[11] President Armen Sarksyan[12] and former president Robert Kocharyan.[13] A requiem service for the commander took place on 2 April at the Karen Demirchyan Complex 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.[14]

Legacy

On 8 May 2021, which is the Shushi Liberation Day, Ter-Tadevosyan was posthumously named National Hero of Armenia [15] Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan also awarded Ter-Tadevosyan with the Order of the Motherland, which he handed over to his son Hayk Ter-Tadevosyan.[16] A house museum is planned for Ter-Tadevosyan.[17]

Awards

References
  1. Anon. Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict: Chronology of Key Events February 1988-June 2003 Archived 2008-06-07 at the Wayback Machine. NKR Office in Washington D.C. Retrieved July 16, 2008.
  2. "Armenian general on OSCE MG co-chairs’ parity." Tert. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
  3. Melkonian, Markar. My Brother's Road: An American's Fateful Journey to Armenia. New York: I. B. Tauris, 2005, pp. 219-220 ISBN 1-85043-635-5
  4. Khachatryan, H. M. (2004). "Ter-Tadevosyan, Arkadi Ivani". In Ayvazyan, H. M. (ed.). Ղարաբաղյան ազատագրական պատերազմ [Karabakh Liberation War]. Yerevan: Armenian Encyclopedia. p. 629. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  5. (in Armenian) Կոմանդոս. Կենաց պայքար (Komandos: A Struggle for Survival) Archived 2018-07-18 at the Wayback Machine." Panarmenian.net. November 2, 2010.
  6. "ACNIS Salutes the Armenian Armed Forces on Army Day". January 28, 2010. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved May 19, 2012.
  7. Ter-Saakyan, Karine. "Karabakh Veterans Split by Conflicting Loyalties." Institute for War & Peace Reporting. CRS No. 52, October 6, 2000. Retrieved July 16, 2008.
  8. NKR President decorates Arkady Ter-Tadevosyan with the Golden Eagle Order Archived 2013-10-29 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved May 18, 2012.
  9. Commandos: struggle for survival, Panarmenian.net, 2010 Archived 2017-10-08 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved May 19, 2012.
  10. "Legendary commander Arkady Ter-Tadevosyan dies aged 81". Public Radio of Armenia. Retrieved 2021-03-31.
  11. "Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's condolence message on passing of Artsakh Hero Arkady Ter-Tadevosyan". www.primeminister.am. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
  12. "The life of Arkady Ter-Tadevosyan is a guide to military courage, military education and military-patriotic upbringing. President Armen Sarkissian - Press releases - Updates - The President of the Republic of Armenia". www.president.am. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
  13. "Armenia ex-President Kocharyan extends condolences on Arkady Ter-Tadevosyan's death". news.am. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
  14. "Requiem Service for Artsakh hero Arkady Ter-Tadevosyan to be held at Yerevan sport-concert complex". news.am. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
  15. "Major-General Arkady Ter-Tadevosyan posthumously named National Hero of Armenia".
  16. "Acting PM hands over Arkady Ter-Tadevosyan's Order of Motherland to his son". Public Radio of Armenia. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
  17. "He was not only a hero and a legendary commander, but, first of all, an honest intellectual and a simple man. President Sarkissian visited the family of the Artsakh Hero, Major General Arkady Ter-Tadevosyan - Press releases - Updates - The President of the Republic of Armenia". www.president.am. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
  18. "Легендарному Коммандосу посмертно присвоено звание Национального героя Армении". newsarmenia.am (in Russian). Novosti-Armenia. 2021-05-08.

Further reading
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