Tatul Krpeyan

National Hero of Armenia Tatul Krpeyan
Nickname(s)	Գետաշենի արծիվ(Getasheni artsiv,"Eagle of Getashen" )
Born	(1965-04-21)April 21, 1965 Areg,Armenian SSR,Soviet Union
Died	April 30, 1991(1991-04-30)(aged 26) Getashen,Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast,Soviet Union
Allegiance	Armenian Revolutionary Federation
Years of service	1990–1991
Battles/wars	First Nagorno-Karabakh War Operation Ring†
Awards	National Hero of Armenia(1996)

Tatul Zhorzhiki Krpeyan(Armenian:Թաթուլ Ժորժիկի Կրպեյան;21 April 1965 – 30 April 1991) was an Armenian commander. He was the self-appointed leader of paramilitary units inGetashenandMartunashenvillages inShahumyan DistrictofNagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblastduring theFirst Nagorno-Karabakh War.He was killed duringOperation Ringby the Soviet AzerbaijaniOMON(special police).

Biography

Born in the village ofAregnear the town ofTalin, Armenia,he completed his elementary and intermediary education in the Technical School of Talin. After serving in theSoviet Army,in 1987 he entered the Faculty of History ofYerevan State University.During his first year at university, Tatul joined the Armenian liberation movement. He was also a member of the "Miatsum" (Unification) organization, whose efforts were directed to unite theNagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblastwith Armenia.

Operation Ring

In September 1990, he traveled toNagorno-Karabakh,where the situation continued to deteriorate. Joining theArmenian Revolutionary Federation(ARF), Tatul founded the "Dashnaktsakanner" unit of volunteers in Karabakh.

Krpeyan headed the self-defense of the sub-district Getashen-Martunashen from September 1990 until late April 1991 against Azerbaijani armed forces units and police detachments (OMON). In the spring of 1991 the main battleground of the partisan war was the wooded hills to the north of Nagorno-Karabakh where fighters from Armenia infiltrated to Armenian inhabited villages. Tatul Krpeyan led his volunteers to Getashen and Martunashen. On 10 April 1991 the decision was made by the authorities to start operations against these villages.

Krpeyan was killed on 30 April 1991 in Getashen duringOperation Ring.The Moscow-based human rights group Memorial has reconstructed what happened. On 30 April 1991, 4th Army soldiers and then theAzerbaijaniOMON entered Getashen nearShahumian,where Krpeyan was killed․ The OMON raided and looted houses and attacked many of the inhabitants. The dozen or so killed were in their eighties and nineties.The OMON forces took fifty hostages, half of whom were exchanged for soldiers taken hostage by Tatul's men.The volunteer fighters retreated and the Armenian villagers of Getashen and Martunashen were deported.Fellow ARF volunteer fighter Harmik Hovsepyan described Krpeyan thus:

I remember Tatul well. He was like a ‘fedayi’ (freedom fighter) from Sasoun - broad-shouldered, with curly hair and a thick moustache. Not only did he serve as head of the detachment but he also taught in the local school there. The role he played wasn't limited to just fighting…

Legacy

Krpeyan was buried in his native village Areg, which was renamed Tatul after him. A monument made of tuff sculpted by Tariel Hakobyan was raised in his memory on his grave. He posthumously received the highest title inArmenia,theNational Hero of Armeniaaward in 1996․ Many works of art have been dedicated to Krpeyan. In 2004 Rafayel Sahakian published a historical fiction book namedArtsvapasht Yerkir(Eagle-worshipping Country) dedicated to him. The song "Leran Lanjin" ( "On the Mountain Slope" ), composed byNersik Ispiryan,mentions Krpeyan. "Mayramut Ijav" ( "The Sun Set" ) was composed by Ashugh Gevorg, as well as Ashot Babayan'ssonatafor cello and piano in 1993, were all reportedly dedicated to Tatul Krpeyan's memory.

In 2015, on his 50th birthday, a schooland a parkin Yerevan were named in his honor. Stamps depicting Krpeyan were issued.