Arkady Ter-Tadevosyan | |
|---|---|
 Ter-Tadevosyan in 2012 | |
| Native name | Արկադի Տեր-Թադևոսյան |
| Birth name | Artush Tadevosyan |
| Nickname(s) | Komandos (in Nagorno-Karabakh) Mountain Fox (in Afghanistan) |
| Born | (1939-05-22)22 May 1939 Tbilisi,Georgian SSR,Soviet Union |
| Died | March 31, 2021(2021-03-31) (aged 81) Yerevan,Armenia |
| Allegiance |  Soviet Union Artsakh Armenia |
| Service | .svg) Soviet Army Artsakh Defense ArmyArmed Forces of Armenia |
| Rank | Major General (1992) |
| Commands | Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army[1] |
| Battles / wars | Soviet–Afghan War First Nagorno-Karabakh War |
| Awards | seebelow |
Arkady Ivani Ter-Tadevosyan (Armenian:Արկադի Իվանի (Հովհաննեսի) Տեր-Թադևոսյան;Russian:Аркадий Иванович Тер-Тадевосян; May 22, 1939 – March 31, 2021), also known by hisnom-de-guerreKomandos (Armenian:Կոմանդոս), was a Soviet and ArmenianMajor General, a military leader of theArmenian forces during theFirst Nagorno-Karabakh War and Armenia's former Deputy Minister of Defense.[2] Ter-Tadevosyan is best known as the commander of the operation tocapture the town of Shushi on 8–9 May 1992.[3]
Arkady Ter-Tadevosyan was bornArtush Oganesovich Tadevosyan inTbilisi,Georgian SSR.[4] After graduating from a high school in Tbilisi, he decided to become an officer. He attended theBaku Combined Arms Command School and later theLeningrad Military Academy of Rear Services and Transportation. He served inAfghanistan where he earned the nickname "Mountain Fox." He continued his military service in the Soviet Army inLeninakan (modern-day Gyumri),East Germany,Czechoslovakia,Belarus, andYerevan.[4] He also served as a lecturer at theArmenian State Agrarian University. With the breakup of the Soviet Union and the brewing conflict inNagorno-Karabakh, Ter-Tadevosyan took part in organizing in 1990 the defense of Armenian villages straddling the borders ofSoviet Azerbaijan. He joined the Sasuntsi Davit Detachment to defend villages from constant attacks launched byAzerbaijani militants.[citation needed]
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 theFirst Nagorno-Karabakh War. Ter-Tadevosyan is known in Armenia as the "mastermind of the liberation of Shushi."[5] He participated in the formation of theArmed 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 theOrder of the Combat Cross (1st class).[citation needed]
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 theNagorno-Karabakh Republic,Bako Sahakyan, awarded him the Order of the Golden Eagle and the title ofHero 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 MinisterNikol Pashinyan,[11] PresidentArmen Sarksyan[12] and former presidentRobert Kocharyan.[13] A requiem service for the commander took place on 2 April at theKaren Demirchyan Complex and a religious ceremony was also held on 3 April at theSt. John's Church in Yerevan. Upon his request, he was buried at the family cemetery inDavitashen District.[14]
On 8 May 2021, which is theShushi 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] Ahouse museum is planned for Ter-Tadevosyan.[17]
Order of the Red BannerOrder of the Badge of HonourMedal "Veteran of the Armed Forces of the USSR"Jubilee Medal "Twenty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945"Jubilee Medal "50 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"Jubilee Medal "60 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"Jubilee Medal "70 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"Jubilee Medal "50 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945"Medal "For Impeccable Service", 1st classMedal "For Impeccable Service", 2nd classMedal "For Impeccable Service", 3rd classOrder of the Combat Cross, 1st classHero of Artsakh (2009)National Hero of Armenia (2021, posthumously)[18]
