Zarian, Nairi

(pseudonym of Aiastan Egiazar’ian). Born Dec. 31, 1900 (Jan. 13, 1901), in the village of Harakonis, in the Western Armenian vilayet of Van (Turkey); died July 12, 1969, in Yerevan. Soviet Armenian writer. Member of the CPSU from 1930. Son of a peasant.

Zar’ian fled to Russia in 1915 during the bloody repression of the Armenians by the Turkish authorities. In 1923 he began studying at the University of Yerevan. His works were first published in 1921. In the narrative poem The Rushan Cliff (1930), Zar’ian describes the socialist transformation of the village and the overcoming of proprietary attitudes. In the verse collections The Fortress (1935) and Everlasting Peaks (1937), Zar’ian sings the praises of the socialist order. The theme of collectivization was vividly incarnated in the novel Atsavan (1937-47; Russian translation, 1965), which was translated into many languages. During the Great Patriotic War of 1941-45, Zar’ian published the collections Battle Cry (1941), Vengeance (1942), and Hear, O Centuries (1942) and the narrative poem Voice of the Motherland (1943). His historical tragedy Ara the Beautiful (1946) and the comedies At the Spring (1948)-and Field of Experiment (1950), which were produced in Armenian theaters, are notable for their wealth of expression. In the novel Mister Petros and His Ministers (1958; Russian translation, 1961) Zar’ian depicts the awakening of revolutionary consciousness among the popular masses during the period of Dashnak rule. The theme of the struggle for peace occupies a prominent place in Zar’ian’s poetry. His best works have a simplicity of expression and emotional richness of style. Zar’ian was the chairman of the Armenian Committee for the Defense of Peace. He was elected several times to leading organs of the Writers’ Union of the USSR. Zar’ian was awarded the Order of Lenin, two other orders, and various medals.