Kristapor Araratyan 1876-1937

circa 1930

Kristapor Araratyan (1876-1937) was a prominent Armenian military figure, born on March 4, 1876. A colonel in both the Russian and Armenian armies, he played a key role in the Battle of Sardarapat (May 21-29, 1918) as commander of the artillery brigade. He also participated in battles at Etchmiadzin and Bashaparan. Araratyan graduated from several prestigious military institutions, including the Tiflis Cadet Corps (1892) and the Mikhailovsky Artillery School in St. Petersburg (1896). He served as the Minister of War of the Republic of Armenia from March to April 20, 1919, and was captured during the fall of Kars in 1920. Released in 1921, he returned to Armenia and later held positions such as deputy commander of the Armenian Rifle Division (1923-25).
On September 2, 1937, Araratyan and other officers were arrested by Soviet authorities. After three months in prison, he was executed on December 10, 1937, in Nork Canyon, labeled an "enemy of the nation." His wife, Nina Eyubov, unaware of his death, sought news of him for years. In 1955, his family received a falsified death certificate claiming he died of a heart attack in 1943. The truth emerged in 1956 when the Supreme Court of the USSR overturned the 1937 verdict, revealing the real date and circumstances of his execution.