Mkrtich Harutyunyan (Armenian: Մկրտիչ Գրիգորի Հարությունյան), known by the pen name Mkrtich Armen (Armenian: Մկրտիչ Արմեն; December 14, 1906 in Alexandropol – December 22, 1972 in Yerevan) was a Soviet and Armenian writer[1] and poet.

Mkrtich Armen
Mkrtich Armen's plaque in Yerevan
Born
Mkrtich Harutyunyan

December 14, 1906
DiedDecember 22, 1972(1972-12-22) (aged 66)
Occupation(s)Writer, poet

Biography edit

He was born in Alexandropol (modern-day Gyumri) to a family of artisans, and studied at the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography in Moscow.

He wrote novels and short stories that made him famous in his native Armenia and in the wider Soviet Union. His magnum opus is the 1935 novel Heghnar aghbyur (The Fountain of Heghnar), which was later made into a film.[citation needed] He fell out of favor with the authorities, was deported to Siberia, and later released.[when?] He published an account of camp life in 1964 and died eight years later in Yerevan.[citation needed]

References edit