Ruben Zaryan

Ruben Zaryan was born in Alexandrapol (Gyumri). He moved to Tiflis in early childhood, in 1929 he finished Pedagogical College of Tiflis named after A. Myasnikyan, and until 1932 worked at Akhalkalaki School as a teacher of Armenian language and literature. In 1933 he was the executive secretary of the Tiflis magazine "Attack", and since 1934 – a member of the Writers Union of Armenia. In 1936 Ruben Zaryan graduated from the Faculty of Philology of the Yerevan State University, and from 1937-1939 taught at Pedagogical College of Yerevan. In 1938 he was a junior researcher at the Armenian branch of the Institute of Literature of the USSR Academy of Sciences, from 1940 to 1943, he was editor-in-chief of "The Soviet Literature" magazine, and from 1950 started working at the Department of Art History and Theory of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia as a senior researcher, and from 1953 to 1958 he was the head of the department. 1958-1987 he was the director of the Institute of Arts of RA State Academy of Arts and the head of the theater department. 1962 defended a doctoral thesis (since 1963: professor). 1966 under the Institute of Arts of the RA Academy of Arts. He founded the Armenian Center of Shakespeare Studies. He has published works on theater figures, which ware translated into Russian, Georgian, German, French, Italian, and Spanish. He also authored studies dedicated to Khachatur Abovyan, Nar-Dos, Vrtanes Papazyan, and Hovhannes Hovhannisyan. In 1974 he was a Corresponding member of the Armenian Academy of Sciences, In 1986 - Academician of the Armenian Academy of Sciences. From 1949 to 1990, he taught at the Yerevan Fine Arts Theater Institute, from 1948 to 1958 he directed the Department of History and Theory of Art of the Yerevan Theater Institute. 1974-81 he led the committee awarding state prizes in the field of literature, art, architecture, and urban planning under the Council of Ministers of the ASSR, from 1984 to 1990 the works of the Scientific Council of Kh. Abovyan House-Museum. 1953 Ruben Zaryan was awarded the "Badge of Honor", the "Friendship of Peoples" medals in 1979, the title of Honored Artist of Armenia in 1961, and the State Prize of Armenia in 1981. Ruben Zaryan died in Yerevan.