Soghomon Tehlirian is the people's avenger of Armenians, famous for the scandalous murder of the former dictator Talaat Pasha. His name will forever remain in history, as his deeds deserve it. After all, despite all the cruelty of his act, he only avenged the death of many of his brothers.
Soghomon Tehlirian: biography of early years
Soghomon was born on April 2, 1897 in the small village of Nerkin-Bagari, which was located in the east of the Ottoman Empire. His parents were simple workers, so they did not have the necessary amount of funds for a carefree life. Tired of all this, the elder Tehlirian leaves for Serbia in the hope of settling down there and eventually taking his family there.
However, as soon as he returned from Serbia, he was imprisoned for six months. But, worst of all, because of this, his family was deported to the city of Erzincan, which subsequently played a terrifying role in the history of their family. As for Soghomon, he quickly came to terms with the move and enrolled in a local Protestant school.
Coup d'état in the country
January 23, 1913 inA coup d'etat takes place in the country, during which Enver Pasha kills Nazim Pasha and usurps power. The policy of the new leader is characterized by extremely radical views based on the purity of the nation. In general, it can be compared with the Nazism of Germany, with the slight difference that here the root of all evil lay in religious differences.
Thus, the Armenian people, not being Muslim, was despised and considered second-rate. In addition, the authorities have always presented the Armenians as an example of meanness and cunning, which added fuel to the fire even more. Therefore, when the new leader ordered to wipe them off the face of the earth in April 1915, the soldiers immediately began to carry out this order.
The horrors of the Armenian genocide
Soghomon Tehlirian, like no one else, was aware of the pain that came with the new government. After all, he witnessed how his hometown turned into a real massacre. Later, he will tell the whole world how state troops killed his family and friends, covering houses and streets with rivers of scarlet blood.
At the same time, the terrible fate did not bypass Soghomon himself. Before his eyes, his sisters and mother were raped. They were later executed along with their brother in the house where they had spent most of their lives. Soghomon Tehlirian himself survived by a miracle: the wounded man was thrown into a pile of dead bodies, counted as a corpse.
He didn't remember how long he lay there, but he didn't die. He decided not to follow fate and overcome everything that she had prepared for him. Therefore, after waiting for the cover of night, Soghomon fled. Overcoming many obstacles, he got intoConstantinople, where he lived for the next five years. And in early 1920, he emigrated to the United States in the hope of finding support among his immigrant relatives.
Seeking revenge
Arriving in the new world, Soghomon Tehlirian found like-minded people who, just like him, sought to take revenge on the bloody elite of the country. The political party "Dashnaktsutyun" became the heart of this movement. It was she who developed the sensational punitive operation called Nemesis.
Nemesis is a carefully crafted plan of revenge against all those responsible for the genocide of the Armenian people. Initially, the list of potential enemies included more than 600 people, but given the limited capacity of the party, their number was reduced to 41. This included the most hated people who stood at the top of the Ottoman Empire.
Naturally, Soghomon Tehlirian could not miss his chance and joined the ranks of those who were destined to become the punishing hand of "justice". He knew that he would do everything possible to take revenge on such a hated enemy who dared to desecrate his people and family.
Murder of Talaat Pasha
Soghomon Tehlirian was sitting in the corner of the room. A photo of his victim lay nearby on the table. Of all the participants in Operation Nemesis, he had the honor of killing the main one - Talaat Pasha. The man knew that this man signed most of the orders that later became death sentences for his relatives. Therefore, he did not feel sorry for him, but only thought about how he would perform an act of retribution.
The execution of the former Interior Minister Talaat Pasha took place on 15March 1921. Soghomon, following on the heels of his victim, brought him to one of the squares in Berlin. After that, he called out to Talaat Pasha and publicly shot him with his pistol. After that, the young Armenian quietly surrendered to the police, dutifully accepting his fate.
Court decision
Soon, the German authorities began a trial in the case of Soghomon Tehlirian. It was significant that it was here that Europe first learned about the horrors that the Ottoman Empire did to the Armenian people. This caused a real shock among the listeners, which played an important role in the final decision.
Thus, in June 1921, a German court acquitted Soghomon Tehlirian, referring to the fact that the crime was completely under the influence of a deep emotional trauma. Later, the French writer J. Chalyan notes: “This event is a rare example of justified violence. After all, only by committing it, it was possible to restore justice, thereby honoring the memory of the victims of the bloody battle.”
The further fate of the people's avenger
After acquittal, the victim of the Armenian genocide Soghomon Tehlirian went to live in Serbia. Here he met a wonderful woman Anahit, who later became his wife. In early 1951, they moved to the USA with their children.
Soghomon Tehlirian died in extreme old age, namely on May 23, 1960. Today, his grave is in Fresno, near California.
