Axel Bakunts

Axel Bakunts in the 1930s

Axel Bakunts , Armenian Ակսել Բակունց Aksel Bakunz , actually Alexandr Stepani Thevosian (born June 13, 1899 in Goris ; † July 8, 1937 in Yerevan ), was an Armenian writer , translator and screenwriter who was killed in the course of the Great Terror .

Life

Axel Bakunts was born into an impoverished farming family. He wrote about his childhood that he himself had seen nothing of the former prosperity of his parents and only remembered a house with many children and bitter poverty. Initially, Bakunts was sent to the local parish school. When his thirst for education became apparent, however, he switched to the Gevorgian seminary (named after Gevorg IV of Constantinople ). There he specialized in Armenian literature , which strengthened his patriotism. In 1916 he volunteered for military service, but was rejected because of his young age. In 1917 he finally took part in the battles of Erzurum , Mamkhatoun , Ardahan and the battle of Sardarapat .

In 1923 he graduated from the Kharkiv Agricultural College and became the chief agronomist of the Sangesur mountain region . On his explorations he discovered the ruins of the medieval monastery of Bgheno-Noravank in a wooded area . In 1936 Bakunts was arrested for "anti-Soviet activities" and "national deviance". Out of prison he wrote that literature was his true reason for being. His request to read and write has been refused. After 11 months in prison, he was sentenced to death on July 8, 1937 and executed by firing squad 25 minutes later. His last wish was supposed to have been a cigarette, the tobacco of which he stretched with dry grass.

Act

Bakunts was a typical Armenian intellectual of the early 20th century who, like many of his compatriots, dreamed of a renewal of Armenian culture. Accordingly, Bakunts joined the Armenian revolutionary movement early on, which was committed to the welfare of the people. After the Bolshevik takeover of power in Armenia, he became a writing activist for the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic and in 1924 became a member of the CPSU . In addition to his work as an agronomist, he taught in remote Armenian mountain villages and translated large amounts of propaganda literature. Also from 1924 onwards Bakunts devoted himself more and more to his literary commitment from Yerevan . Together with Jeghische Tscharenz , Mkrtitsch Armen and Gurgen Mahari he belonged to the November group . Until his death he wrote prose, mostly short stories and some scripts. A museum about Bakunt's life and work is located in the house where he was born in Goris .

Works

Books

• Alpiakan manushak
• Lar-Markar
• Namak rusats tagavorin (letter to the Russian tsar)
• Kyores (1935)
• Mtnadzor . The first lines of the book read:

“The only path that leads to Mtnadzor is impassable when it first snows and nobody can cross the forests until spring. To this day there are areas in the dense forests of Mtnadzors that no one has ever entered. Trees fall and rot. A new tree grows in place of the old one. Bears dance whistling like shepherds, wolves howl to the moon. The wild boar plows the earth with its tusks and eats the acorns of last autumn. "

Filmography

Screenwriter

• 1930: Sev tevi tak . Soldier Ando, ​​just back from World War I , incites the residents of his home village to fight class enemies.
• 1938: Sangesur . The film is about the civil war in the Armenian province of Sangesur. It is set in the early 1920s. The last Dashnakenbattalione (fighters of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation) oppose the Red Army and Bolshevik partisans led by Sparapet Nschdeh .

literature

• Aksel Bakunts: Alpiiskaia fialka . Khudozh. lit-ra, 1988.

Web links

• Biography at Armenian News Network (English)
• Armenian literature (overview) (English)
• Axel Bakunts in theInternet Movie Database(English)