Arsen Shahmazyan, government representative in Syunik

Arsen Shahmazyan was a colonel and, in 1919, the representative of the Armenian government in Syunik. That year, as commissioner and administrator, he organised the administration of Syunik (Zangezur) and coordinated the defence forces amid armed confrontation. Under his leadership, measures were taken to keep control of the territory and to prevent the growth of outside military influence.

In the second half of 1919 the defence of Syunik was strengthened by the arrival of Garegin Nzhdeh, who took over the military leadership of the region. After the Bolsheviks came to power, Shahmazyan was arrested, repressed and disappeared.

The photograph shows a man with curly hair, a beard and a moustache, wearing a jacket and waistcoat.