Karnig Sarkissian - Karekin Njdehi Yerke

Born in Nakhichevan, Karekin Ndeh (Karekin Der Haroutiunian joined the Armenian Revolutionary Federation early on. He graduated from the Sofia Military Academy in 1907, then went to the Caucasus, where he was arrested. He escaped in 1911, returning to Bulgaria and joining Antranig's brigade, which took part in the Balkans War on the Bulgarian side. In 1914, he was in the volunteer movement and was Dro's aide in the 3rd Battalion. In 1918, he was in Gharakiliseh under the command of General Nazarbegian. In 1919, he repressed the Tatar rebellions in the Nakhichevan region. After July 11, he led the fighting in Zankezour against the Tatars, and later against the Bolshevik forces (1920-1921). When the agreement on the Sovietization of Armenia was signed in Yerevan on December 2, 1920, Njdeh proclaimed the independence of Lernahayastan, the mountainous region of Zankezour. He then went to Iran and later to Bulgaria. In America in 1933, he founded the Tseghagron young Dashnaktsakan movement, which later became the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF). In Eastern Europe, he worked with General Dro in World War II, at the end of which he was arrested by Soviet forces in the Balkans and deported to Siberia. He died in exile.