Suren Spandarian Armenian literary critic, publicist Date of Birth: 15.12.1882 Country: Armenia

1. Biograhy of Suren Spandaryan
2. Revolutionary Activities
3. Literary Work
4. Arrest and Exile
5. Influence and Legacy

Biograhy of Suren Spandaryan

Suren Spandaryan was an Armenian literary critic and publicist, as well as a prominent figure in the revolutionary movement in Russia. He was born on December 3, 1882 in Tiflis, in a family of lawyers. He studied at Moscow University and was actively involved in propagating revolutionary ideas among the workers.

Revolutionary Activities

Spandaryan participated in the 1905-1907 revolution in Moscow and the Caucasus, and became a member of the Caucasian Union Committee of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party (RSDLP). In 1907, he joined the Baku Committee of the RSDLP and in 1910, he started working in Tbilisi. From 1911 to 1912, he was a member of the Russian Organizational Commission for the convening of the 6th (Prague) All-Russian Conference of the RSDLP. He was elected as a delegate to the conference and became a member of the Central Committee and the Russian Bureau of the Central Committee of the RSDLP.

Literary Work

Spandaryan contributed to various newspapers and journals, including "Kayts" ("Spark"), "Nor Hosk" ("New Word"), "Gudok," "Baku Proletarian," "Baku Worker," "Zvezda" ("Star"), "Social Democrat," and others. He wrote literary-critical articles and works on aesthetics, focusing on the works of M. Gorky, A. Akopyan, and others. He defended Lenin's principle of the party and national character of literature and criticized the theory of "art for art's sake," as well as reactionary literature.

Arrest and Exile

In March 1912, Spandaryan was arrested and sentenced to lifelong exile in Siberia. However, he continued his revolutionary activities while in exile. He passed away on September 11, 1916 in Krasnoyarsk.

Influence and Legacy

Suren Spandaryan played a significant role in the development of Armenian Marxist aesthetic thought. He highly valued the legacy of V.G. Belinsky, A.I. Herzen, N.G. Chernyshevsky, L.N. Tolstoy ("Celebration or Advertisement" article, 1911), A.P. Chekhov, T.G. Shevchenko, A. Shirvanzade ("Russian Index" and "Tiflis, January 13," both in 1910; "From Armenian Press," 1911, among others).