Rafael Patkanian Armenian writer Date of Birth: 20.11.1830 Country: Armenia

Biography of Rafael Patkanian

Rafael Patkanian was an Armenian writer born on November 8 (20), 1830, in the city of Nakhichevan-on-Don. He studied at the Lazarev Institute in Moscow, the University of Tartu, and the University of St. Petersburg.

He started publishing his works in 1850. From 1855 to 1857, he released literary collections called "Gamar Katipa," in which he published patriotic poems under the pseudonym Gamar Katipa.

In the late 1860s, Patkanian returned to his hometown and engaged in pedagogical activities. His works from the 1850s and 1860s, such as the poems "Tears of Arax," "Song of Agasi's Mother," and the historical poem "The Death of the Brave Vardan Mamikonian" (1856), aimed to awaken the national consciousness of the Armenian people.

During the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78, Patkanian created examples of civic poetry in his collection of poems called "Free Songs" (1878). He also published a series of satirical poems titled "The Lyre of New Nakhichevan" (1879), exposing the greed of the trading bourgeoisie and clergy.

Through his writings, Patkanian depicted the tragic life of the Armenian people under Turkish rule and called for national unity in the struggle for freedom, expressing the people's desire for liberation with the help of Russia.

His stories, such as "The Open Courtyard" (1874), "War" (1877), and "Walking Corpses" (1889), exposed the selfishness of the commercial bourgeoisie and clergy. His novels, "The Ambitious One" (1880) and "The Mistress and the Servant" (1884), were dedicated to the youth.

Rafael Patkanian passed away on August 22 (September 3), 1892, in Nakhichevan-on-Don.