Requiem On Komitas's Memory

He was born in the city of Kars in Western Armenia. In 1908–12 he studied at the local Armenian school and then at the Russian real school, and in 1916–17 at the Shanyavsky People's University in Moscow. In 1922 he enrolled as an auditor at the Higher Institute of Literature and Art founded by V. Bryusov, but did not graduate. In 1918–19 he took part in the civil war battles in Russia, in 1920 in the May Uprising in Armenia, and in 1921 in the February Uprising. In 1920 he worked at the People's Commissariat of Education of Armenia as head of the arts department. In 1922 the writer's intense literary and organisational activity began. On 20 November 1924 he set out from Batumi on a journey abroad; on 31 July 1925 he returned to Yerevan and took over the leadership of the newly formed literary organisation "Noyember" (November). On 5 September 1926 he was arrested and ended up in the Yerevan house of correction. In 1926–28 he worked on the editorial staffs of the newspaper "Khorhrdayin Hayastan" (Soviet Armenia) and the journal "Nork", and in 1928–35 at Haypethrat (the State Publishing House of Armenia). In 1914 his first booklet, "Yerek yerg tkhradaluk aghjkan" (Three Songs to a Sad, Pale Girl), was published in Kars. In 1915, having enlisted in an Armenian volunteer group, he reached the approaches to Van. He translated works of renowned writers and compiled textbooks for general education schools. In 1935 he was removed from the publishing house and from the Writers' Union. From 24 September 1936 he was placed under house arrest. In July 1937 he was subjected to repression. He died in the hospital of the Yerevan prison. He was rehabilitated posthumously.