ArmInfo. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that he had never discussed with the Russian authorities the status of the Armenian politician, the hero of the national liberation movement of the early 20th century, Garegin Ter-Harutyunyan (Nzhdeh).
Garegin Nzhdeh - a politician and hero of Armenia, one of the creators of the concept of a national Armenian state. At the beginning of the twentieth century, he fought against the Turkish occupation as part of the Bulgarian army during the Balkan War, and during the First World War as part of the Russian army. For which he was awarded numerous orders. During the Second World War, when there was a threat of Turkish invasion of Soviet Armenia, Garegin Nzhdeh established ties with Nazi Germany. For this, he was convicted in the USSR and died in prison in 1955. The name of Garegin Nzhdeh was voiced in the Russian media last week after the deputy of the city duma of Armavir (Krasnodar Territory) Alexei Vinogradov painted black on the plaque in honor of the politician. "The erection of monuments to those who have become soiled in cooperation with the Third Reich is an insult to the people who fought against the Nazi invaders. If Garegin Nzhdeh is a hero, then who are those who erect memorial plaques for him?" he declared. At the Armenian Embassy in the Russian Federation, the deputy's act was condemned and regarded as an "act of vandalism".
Answering the proposal of one of the Russian journalists to create a commission between the Russian Federation and Armenia to study the figure of Garegin Nzhdeh, Nikol Pashinyan said that this does not make sense. "For us, Garegin Nzhdeh and Ivan Baghramyan (Marshal of the Soviet Union.- Kommersant) have the same sources as historical figures. They fought for Armenia, for Armenians," said the head of the Armenian government. At the same time, Prime Minister Pashinyan compared Garegin Nzhdeh with the Soviet political leader, foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov, who signed the German-Soviet treaty "On Friendship and Border" in 1939. "They say a lot now that Garegin Nzhdeh had some kind of communication with the Third Reich. And what, Vyacheslav Molotov did not have communication with representatives of the Third Reich, "Nikol Pashinyan reminded." Let's create a joint commission and study what happened there. " Someone in Russia discussed these figures? If you start, so let's start with Molotov. What did he do? What for? What have you agreed on? If you want to put an equal sign between those who spoke with the Nazis, then let's. Let's start with Molotov. "
The question of the attitude of Yerevan towards Garegin Nzhdeh is periodically raised by the Azerbaijani authorities. So, in October 2019, this was announced at the CIS summit by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. He accused Armenia of the heroization of Garegin Nzhdeh and called for the demolition of the monument to him in Yerevan. Nikol Pashinyan then answered: "The truth is that Garegin Nzhdeh fought against the Turkish occupation! And in 1918, together with the Soviet (in fact, Soviet power was established in Armenia in 1920." Kommersant)) officers led a very important section of the front in the Armenian-Turkish war!>