Rafael Papayan Armenian politician and statesman. Date of Birth: 22.12.1942 Country: Armenia

1. Rafael Ashotovich Papayan
2. Early Life and Education
3. Academic and Political Career
4. Human Rights Advocacy and Political Engagement
5. Later Career and Recognitions

Rafael Ashotovich Papayan

Rafael Ashotovich Papayan (Armenian: Ռաֆաել Պապայան, born on December 22, 1942, in Yerevan) is an Armenian political and state figure. He has made significant contributions to the fields of politics, literature, and human rights advocacy.

Early Life and Education

Papayan graduated from the Yerevan Pedagogical Institute of Russian and Foreign Languages named after Bryusov in 1965. He then went on to work as a laboratory assistant and assistant professor at the Literature Department of Yerevan State University from 1965 to 1969.

In 1969, Papayan became a Ph.D. candidate in the Russian Literature Department at Tartu State University in Estonia. He successfully defended his dissertation in 1972, earning him the degree of Candidate of Philological Sciences.

Academic and Political Career

Papayan continued his career in academia, serving as a lecturer and later as an associate professor in the Literature Department at Yerevan State University from 1972 to 1980. He also worked as a senior researcher at the Armenian Studies Laboratory of Yerevan State University from 1980 to 1982.

In 1975, Papayan played a significant role in the establishment of the Armenian Helsinki Group, an organization dedicated to monitoring human rights violations in the Armenian SSR.

However, in 1982, Papayan was sentenced to four years in prison and an additional two years in exile on charges of anti-Soviet agitation and propaganda. He served his sentence in a high-security labor camp for political prisoners in Barashevo, Mordovian ASSR, and actively participated in hunger strikes and protests, resulting in several stays in solitary confinement. He was later exiled to Millerovo, Rostov Oblast. In May 1987, due to the reforms initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev, Papayan was released from exile ahead of schedule.

Human Rights Advocacy and Political Engagement

After his release, Papayan resumed his academic career. In 1989, he founded and became the head of the Armenian Studies Department at the Yerevan State Conservatory. In the same year, he organized and led the activities of the Armenian Human Rights League. In March 1990, he participated in a session of the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva, where he delivered a report on the Karabakh conflict.

In 1990, Papayan was elected as a member of the Supreme Council of Armenia, where he served as the Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Human Rights and National Minorities. He was also a member of the Constitutional Commission and later served on the Presidential Pardon Commission. Additionally, he was a member of the "AOD" organization.

Papayan was re-elected as a Member of Parliament in 1995 and served on the Standing Committee on Science, Culture, Education, and Youth. He was awarded the medal of Saint Daniel of Moscow by the Russian Orthodox Church on June 14, 1995, for his work in the service of the Holy Church.

Later Career and Recognitions

Since September 1997, Papayan has been a member of the Constitutional Court of Armenia. He has also been a member of the Supreme Spiritual Council of the Armenian Apostolic Church since 1991. On August 15, 2003, he was honored with the Order of Saint Nerses Shnorhali by the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Apart from his political and academic pursuits, Papayan is also an accomplished writer. He has published a collection of poems, artistic translations, and several monographs on theoretical literary studies, law, and theology.