Mikayel Nalbandian

Mikayel Nalbandian
Born	14 November [O.S. 2 November] 1829 Nakhichevan-on-Don, Don Host Oblast, Russian Empire
Died	12 April [O.S. 31 March] 1866 (aged 36) Kamyshin, Saratov Governorate, Russia
Resting place	Holy Cross Armenian Church, Rostov-on-Don
Occupation	Poet writer translator political activist
Language	Modern Eastern Armenian
Nationality	Armenian
Education	Moscow University (auditing student) Saint Petersburg University (doctorate)
Genre	Poems novels essays articles[1]
Subjects	Philosophy religion linguistics political economy education,[2] literary criticism[1]
Literary movement	Realism
Years active	1851–1866
Notable works	"Freedom" "Mer Hayrenik"
Signature

Mikayel Nalbandian^[a] (Armenian: Միքայել Նալբանդյան; 14 November [O.S. 2 November] 1829 – 12 April [O.S. 31 March] 1866) was a Russian-Armenian writer, poet, political theorist and activist.

Nalbandian was born in Nakhichevan-on-Don, an Armenian town in southern Russia, and traveled extensively, although he visited Armenia itself only once. A radical intellectual, Nalbandian was an avid advocate of secularism and anti-clericalism, the use of modern Armenian (as opposed to classical Armenian) and a vocal critic of the conservative clergy of the Armenian Apostolic Church. He also espoused anti-Catholicism. Inspired by the Enlightenment and the Italian unification, Nalbandian advocated reform, cultural nationalism and agrarianism among Armenians. In his later years he was influenced by Russian radicals such as Alexander Herzen and Nikolay Chernyshevsky. For his association with them, he was persecuted and died in exile at 37.

A champion of modernism, he is seen as a follower of Khachatur Abovian. In turn, he influenced many others, including the novelist Raffi, Armenian nationalist revolutionaries (especially the Dashnaks), and Armenian Marxists, such as Alexander Miasnikian. Nalbandian was widely revered in the Soviet period, while Dashnaks adopted "Mer Hayrenik", based on his poem "The Song of an Italian Girl", as the anthem of the First Republic of Armenia in 1918. It was re-adopted by independent Armenia in 1991. Another poem by Nalbandian, glorifying freedom, has become a celebrated anthem since it was written in 1859.

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