Samvel Babayan

{{Short description|Armenian general}} {{for|the Uzbek football coach|Samvel Babayan (football coach)}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Samvel Babayan | image = Սամվել Բաբայան.jpg | image_size = | caption = | office = Secretary of the Security Council of Artsakh | term_start = 29 May 2020 | term_end = 10 November 2020 | president = Arayik Harutyunyan | predecessor = Vitaly Balasanyan | successor = Vitaly Balasanyan | predecessor2 = ''position established'' | term_start2 = January 1995 | term_end2 = August 1999 | successor2 = Seyran Ohanyan | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1965|03|05}} | birth_place = Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh AO, Soviet Union | death_date = | death_place = | resting_place = | office2 = Minister of Defence of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic | president2 = Leonard Petrosyan Arkadi Ghukasyan | party = Liberal Party Dashink (previously) United Homeland Party (Artsakh) | relations = | alma_mater = | occupation = Soldier, Politician | profession = | signature =  | nickname = | branch = {{flagicon|USSR}} Soviet Army {{flagicon image|Flag of Artsakh.svg}} Artsakh Defense Army | service_years = 1983–1985 1988–2000 2020 | rank = Lieutenant General | battles = {{tree list}} *First Nagorno-Karabakh War **Battle of Shusha **Battle of Kalbajar **Battle of Aghdam **Operation Kalbajar *Second Nagorno-Karabakh War {{tree list/end}} | awards = Hero of Artsakh (Renounced in 2020) | allegiance = {{flagicon|USSR}} Soviet Union {{flagicon image|Flag of Artsakh.svg}} Republic of Artsakh }}

'''Samvel Andraniki Babayan''' ({{langx|hy|Սամվել Անդրանիկի Բաբայան}}; born 5 March 1965) is an Armenian military officer and politician. He was one of the founders and main commanders of the Artsakh Defence Army during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War and became a war hero among Armenians for the military victories achieved under his command.

Following the war, he served as the Defense Minister of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic from 1994 to 2000. During this period, Babayan "became not only the military leader but the most powerful man in Karabakh overall, controlling its government and economy" until his arrest and imprisonment in 2000 on charges of attempting to assassinate Arkadi Ghukasyan, President of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.<ref name=":0">{{cite news|last1=Ohanian|first1=Karine|title=Freeing of Karabakh Military Chief Stirs Debate|url=https://iwpr.net/global-voices/freeing-karabakh-military-chief-stirs-debate|publisher=Institute for War and Peace Reporting|date=29 September 2004}}</ref> Babayan was released from prison early in 2004. He served as Secretary of the Security Council of Artsakh from May 2020 until November 2020, when he resigned after Armenia's defeat in the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War.

== Biography ==

=== Early life === Babayan was born on 5 March 1965 in Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast, Azerbaijan SSR. In 1982, he finished Armenian secondary school #7 named after Yeghishe Charents in Stepanakert. From 1983 to 1985, he served in the Soviet military contingent in East Germany.<ref name="personsam">{{cite web | url= http://www.persons.am/en/info.php?id=278| title=Samvel Babayan|work=persons.am}}</ref> According to Thomas de Waal, Babayan made his living as a garage mechanic and car-washer and also worked at a café before the First Nagorno-Karabakh War.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=De Waal|first=Thomas|title=Black garden : Armenia and Azerbaijan through peace and war|date=2003|publisher=New York University Press|isbn=0-8147-1944-9|location=New York|pages=210, 227, 242|oclc=50959080|quote=The twenty-seven-year-old former garage mechanic Samvel Babayan employed ruthless tactics to form a Karabakh Armenian 'army'... He was uneducated and had previously made his living washing cars and working in a café. In 1991, he had been arrested and jailed by the Azerbaijanis, becoming a local hero on his release...}}</ref>

=== First Nagorno-Karabakh War === In 1988, Samvel Babayan enlisted in a paramilitary unit and rose to command his own unit. From 1989 to 1991 he was the commander of the Stepanakert Second Volunteers Company and a member of the Stepanakert underground central headquarters. In 1991 he was arrested by Azerbaijani authorities for his paramilitary activities but was released the same year in exchange for an Azerbaijani official captured by Armenian forces.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last=Sanamyan|first=Emil|date=29 November 2017|title=Armenia: War Hero Sentenced to Six Years in Prison {{!}} Eurasianet|url=https://eurasianet.org/armenia-war-hero-sentenced-to-six-years-in-prison|access-date=2021-02-24|website=eurasianet.org|language=en}}</ref> Babayan rose to prominence during the military phase of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, in 1991–1994. Babayan coordinated Armenian operations in Karabakh, participated in the planning of the capture of Shusha and was the commander of the Lachin front.<ref name="personsam" /> As unified military command began to be established in Nagorno-Karabakh in 1992–1993, Babayan became the Commander of the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army in 1993, after his predecessor Serzh Sargsyan left to become Armenia's Defense Minister. Under his command, the Karabakhi military won a number of strategic battles against the Azerbaijani military and regained control over most of Nagorno-Karabakh as well as partially controlling 7 districts of Azerbaijan. Babayan was one of the signatories of the 1994 ceasefire which ended the First Nagorno-Karabakh War.<ref>{{Cite web|date=26 May 2016|title=Պարզաբանում. Սամվել Բաբայան|trans-title=Clarification: Samvel Babayan|url=https://mediamax.am/am/news/parzabanum/18415/|access-date=2021-02-24|website=mediamax.am|language=hy|quote=Samvel Babayan's signature is on the 1994 Bishkek protocol, the ceasefire agreement between the NKR, Azerbaijan and Armenia.}}</ref>

=== Post-war leadership and arrest === Samvel Babayan established himself as the most powerful man in Nagorno-Karabakh in the aftermath of the war.<ref name=":0" /> According to Thomas de Waal, Babayan acquired significant wealth by selling materials taken from the Azerbaijani districts surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh and by establishing a monopoly over cigarette and fuel imports to Nagorno-Karabakh through a company registered in his wife's name.<ref name=":1" /> Babayan used his position to acquire land, businesses and tax privileges.<ref name="groong" /> After Nagorno-Karabakh's president Robert Kocharyan left his position to become prime minister of Armenia, Babayan became even more influential in Karabakh's civilian politics.<ref name="groong" /> In June 1998, he forced Nagorno-Karabakh's prime minister Leonard Petrosyan to resign. At a joint session of the security councils of Armenia and the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic in January 1998, at the urging of Vazgen Sargsyan, Robert Kocharyan, and Serzh Sargsyan, Babayan spoke strongly against President of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosyan's plan to accept the OSCE Minsk Group's proposals to return some of the territory captured from Azerbaijan during the war and deploy international peacekeepers there; Ter-Petrosyan was forced to resign a month later.<ref name="groong" /> Babayan then began to intervene in Armenian politics, funding the "Law and Unity" bloc in the 1999 Armenian parliamentary election, where the bloc came in third. After this, Armenia's prime minister Vazgen Sargsyan and Robert Kocharyan (now president of Armenia) decided to restrain Babayan's growing influence.<ref name="groong" />

Robert Kocharyan was unable to deal with the Babayan issue directly due to the political chaos in Armenia following the Armenian parliament shooting in October 1999, leaving it to the government of Nagorno-Karabakh under president Arkadi Ghukasyan and the new Karabakh Army leadership.<ref name="groong" /> In December 1999, Babayan was forced to relinquish his position as the commander of the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army. On 22 March 2000, Babayan was arrested on charges of launching an assassination attempt on Arkadi Ghukasyan, which left the president seriously wounded but alive.<ref name="groong">{{cite web |date=6 October 2004 |title=The rise and fall of Samvel Babayan |url=http://www.groong.com/ro/ro-20041006.html |url-status= |website=Armenian News Network / Groong |publisher=University of Southern California}}</ref> After Babayan's arrest, Nagorno-Karabakh authorities confiscated Babayan's real estate, nationalized or closed down his enterprises, and detained or removed from office hundreds of officials loyal to him.<ref name="groong" />

Babayan was tried for organizing the attempt on Ghukasyan's life along with 15 of his associates.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|date=26 February 2001|title=NKR EX DEFENSE MINISTER IS SENTENCED TO 14 YEARS OF IMPRISONMENT|url=https://www.panarmenian.net/m/eng/news/6775|access-date=2021-02-24|website=www.panarmenian.net}}</ref> The trial began on 18 September 2000 and ended on 26 February 2001, when Babayan was sentenced to 14 years of prison, stripped of several decorations and ranks, and disenfranchised.<ref name="groong" /> Two of his associates were also sentenced to 14 years and the other defendants were given lesser sentences.<ref name=":3" />

During the investigation and while serving his sentence, Babayan's health greatly deteriorated. He was said to suffer from hepatitis and other ailments which could not be treated in prison. On 18 September 2004, Samvel Babayan was released from maximum-security prison in Shusha due to health concerns, with the terms of release including a probationary period and continued disenfranchisement.<ref name="groong" />

=== Politics after release and 2017 arrest === In November 2005, Samvel Babayan founded the Dashink ("Alliance") political party with his supporters. The party did not achieve any major success.<ref name="ArmNow May16" />

Babayan returned to Armenia in May 2016 after a ''de facto'' exile in Moscow, shortly after major clashes on the Nagorno-Karabakh line of contact. He stated, "Whether I was in Karabakh, Armenia or abroad, the security concerns of my country, my people have always been on my mind. I have the full grasp of the military situation, the problems at the frontlines and possess all necessary information."<ref name="ArmNow May16" />

In the lead-up to the 2017 Armenian parliamentary election, Babayan supported the pre-election coalition of ex-defense minister of Armenia Seyran Ohanyan (a fellow Karabakh Armenian and ex-defense minister of Nagorno-Karabakh). In March 2017, Babayan was arrested by the Armenian National Security Service on charges of smuggling surface-to-air missiles and counterfeit Euros.<ref name=":2" /> On 28 November 2017, Babayan was convicted to six years in prison.<ref name=":2" /> He was released from detention following the 2018 Armenian revolution.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-07-26|title=Samvel Babayan's Push for Artsakh Presidency Hits Roadblocks|url=https://armenian.usc.edu/samvel-babayans-push-for-artsakh-presidency-hits-roadblocks/|access-date=2021-02-24|website=USC Institute of Armenian Studies|language=en-US}}</ref>

Babayan founded the United Homeland Party in Artsakh in September 2019.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web|last1=Manougian|first1=Harout|last2=Sargsyan|first2=Lusine|date=25 February 2020|title=Artsakh's 2020 Election: The Essential Primer|url=https://www.evnreport.com/politics/artsakh-s-2020-election-the-essential-primer|access-date=6 June 2021|website=www.evnreport.com|language=en}}</ref> Babayan launched a presidential campaign for the 2020 Artsakhian general election, but was disqualified from participation.<ref name=":6" /> He later endorsed Masis Mayilyan.<ref name=":6" />

On 29 May 2020, he was appointed Secretary of the Security Council of Artsakh.<ref name=":5">[https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1016768.html Samvel Babayan appointed Secretary of Security Council of Artsakh] Armenpress, May 29, 2020</ref>

=== Second Nagorno-Karabakh War and aftermath === During the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, Babayan was involved in the mobilization of Karabakh Armenian reservists and participated in the planning of a number of operations with Artsakh Defense Army commander Jalal Harutyunyan.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|date=13 December 2020|title=Ձախողված օպերացիաներ, զենքի պակաս, հրամանների մերժում. Սամվել Բաբայանի բացահայտումները 44-օրյա պատերազմից|trans-title=Failed operations, lack of weapons, refusal of orders; Samvel Babayan's revelations from the 44 day war|url=https://www.civilnet.am/news/2020/12/13/Ձախողված-օպերացիաներ-զենքի-պակաս-հրամանների-մերժում-Սամվել-Բաբայանի-բացահայտումները-44-օրյա-պատերազմից/412869|access-date=2021-02-24|website=www.civilnet.am|language=hy}}</ref> After the end of the war, Babayan revealed that he was involved in the planning of the defense of Shusha in the last week of the war, but that three battalions had refused to carry out their orders.<ref name=":4" /> He also revealed after the war that he proposed the idea of the failed operation that occurred on October 5–6, 2020, which was an attempt to cut off the Azerbaijani breakthrough near Horadiz (the so-called "Lalatapa operation", although Babayan claimed that the operation took place some 10 kilometers away from Lalatapa).<ref>{{Cite web|date=18 April 2021|title=Լելե-Թեփեի օպերացիա չի եղել․ Սամվել Բաբայան|trans-title=Samvel Babayan: There was no 'Lele Tepe' operation|url=https://iravaban.net/327341.html|website=iravaban.net|quote=I proposed the idea of the operation... they say '[the defense] isn't working, we don't have the resources to stope the enemy in those three directions.' Therefore, only Horadiz remains... The operation as such does not take place, the officers refuse for various reasons.}}</ref>

On November 10, 2020 he resigned as Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Security Council Secretary and renounced the title Hero of Artsakh due to the conditions of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement, accusing both leaders of Armenia and Artsakh of treason and criminal actions.<ref>[https://www.eng.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/52737/ Babayan quits post of Security Council Secretary of Nagorno-Karabakh] Caucasian Knot, 11 November 2020</ref>

===Founding of the Liberal Party and 2021 Armenian elections=== In April 2021, Babayan announced his intention to participate in the 2021 Armenian parliamentary election.<ref>{{Cite web|date=12 April 2021|title=Սամվել Բաբայանը մասնակցելու է առաջիկա ընտրություններին. ՏԵՍԱՆՅՈՒԹ|trans-title=Samvel Babayan will participate in the upcoming elections. VIDEO|url=https://factor.am/358092.html|access-date=10 May 2021|website=factor.am}}</ref> Babayan ran in the Armenian parliamentary election in June 2021 as the prime ministerial candidate for the Liberal Party, which he founded in March 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Sargsyan|first1=Lusine|last2=Manougian|first2=Harout|date=3 June 2021|title=Armenia's June 2021 Parliamentary Election: The Essential Primer|url=https://www.evnreport.com/elections/armenia-s-june-2021-parliamentary-election-the-essential-primer|access-date=2021-06-06|website=www.evnreport.com|language=en}}</ref> The party received 14,936 votes, amounting to 1.17% of all votes, below the 5% threshold required to enter parliament.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Արդյունքներ - Ազգային Ժողովի|url=https://dashboards.elections.am/Elections/Parliamentary2/Result/Index/20_06_2021_9|access-date=2021-06-22|website=dashboards.elections.am|archive-date=2021-06-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210622021527/https://dashboards.elections.am/Elections/Parliamentary2/Result/Index/20_06_2021_9|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Personal information and titles ==

Babayan has been awarded with the army ranks of lieutenant colonel (1992), colonel (1993), major general (1994) and lieutenant general (1996). He has been awarded with the Golden Eagle medal of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (1997) and has been declared a Hero of Artsakh (he renounced the title after the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement).<ref name="personsam"/><ref name="groong"/> He is married and has three children.<ref name="personsam"/> His brother Karen Babayan previously served as Mayor of Stepanakert and Minister of Internal Affairs of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.

== References == <references> <ref name="ArmNow May16">{{cite news|title=Babayan's Back: Former Karabakh strongman returns to Armenia after four-day war|url=https://www.armenianow.com/en/news/politics/2016/05/26/armenia-samvel-babayan-karabakh-return-politics-security/3893/|work=ArmeniaNow|date=26 May 2016}}</ref> </references>

== See also == *Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army

{{DEFAULTSORT:Babayan, Samvel}} Category:1965 births Category:Living people Category:People from Stepanakert Category:Armenian generals Category:Members of the National Assembly (Artsakh) Category:Armenian military personnel of the First Nagorno-Karabakh War Category:Artsakh military personnel Category:Defence ministers of the Republic of Artsakh