Armenian Revolutionary Federation
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2008-06-26T12:41:58Z
Alain08
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{{Infobox Political party
| name_english = Armenian Revolutionary Federation
| name_native = ''''' Հայ Յեղափոխական Դաշնակցութիւն '''''
| logo = [[Image:Arf logo.jpg|ARF logo]]<br>
| colorcode = #c00
| colors = Red{{ref label|Precision|α|none}}
| leader = [[Hrant Markarian]]
| leader1_title = Founders
| leader1_name = [[Christapor Mikaelian]], [[Stepan Zorian]], [[Simon Zavarian]]
| chairman =
| spokesperson =
| foundation = 1890
| ideology = [[Socialism]],<ref name="ARF news 'Yerkir'">{{cite web | url= http://www.yerkir.am/eng/index.php?sub=newspaper_arm&exp=policy&month=12&year=2006&number=15&id=7786| title=ARF news 'Yerkir', Hrant Markarian Speech|accessdate=2006-12-25}}</ref> [[Nationalism]],<ref name="AZG Armenian Daily">{{cite web | url= http://www.azg.am/?lang=EN&num=2006122302 | title=U.S. Embassy releases study on Armenian-Americans | accessdate=2006-12-27}}</ref> [[United Armenia]]
| headquarters =
| international = [[Socialist International]]<ref name="ARF news 'Yerkir'"/>
| website = [http://www.arfd.am/eng/index.php?c=14 www.arfd.am]
| footnotes = <!-- Seats:
*'''Armenia''' — 16 seats out of 131
*'''Nagorno-Karabakh''' — 3 seats out of 33
*'''Lebanon''' — 2 seats out of 128 -->
}}
The '''Armenian Revolutionary Federation''' ('''ARF''' or '''ՀՅԴ''') ({{lang-hy|Հայ Յեղափոխական Դաշնակցութիւն}} — ''Hay Heghapokhakan Dashnaktsutiun'' or ''Hay Heghapokhagan Tashnagtsutiun'', {{lang|hy|Դաշնակ}} — ''Dashnak'' or ''Tashnag'') is an [[Armenian people|Armenian]] [[political party]] founded in [[Tbilisi|Tiflis]] (Tbilisi in modern day [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]]) in 1890 by [[Christapor Mikaelian]], [[Stepan Zorian]], and [[Simon Zavarian]].<ref name="Foundation of the ARF">{{cite web | url= http://www.littlearmenia.com/html/history/detail.asp?id=217| title=Armenian Revolutionary Federation Founded, Armenian history timeline|accessdate=2006-12-25}}</ref> The party operates in [[Armenia]] and in countries where the [[Armenian diaspora]] is present, notably in [[Lebanon]] and the ethnically Armenian-dominated [[de facto]] [[Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh]].<ref name="The Lebanon">{{cite web | url= http://www.unhcr.org/home/RSDCOI/456567564.pdf |title= Tachnaq party holds 2 seats in Lebanese National Assembly.|accessdate=2006-12-30}}</ref><ref name="Karabakh and ARF">{{cite web | url= http://www.bhhrg.org/CountryReport.asp?ChapterID=768&CountryID=2&ReportID=249&keyword= | title=ARF among parties running in NKR elections |accessdate=2007-01-03}}</ref>
The ARF advocates [[socialism]] and is a member of the [[Socialist International]].<ref name="ARF news 'Yerkir'"/> It possesses the largest number of members from the political parties present in the Armenian diaspora, having established affiliates in more than 200 countries.<ref name="AZG Armenian Daily"/> Compared to other Armenian parties which tend to primarily focus on educational or humanitarian projects, the Dashnaktsutiun is the most politically oriented of the organizations and traditionally has been one of the staunchest supporters of Armenian [[nationalism]].<ref name="AZG Armenian Daily"/> The party campaigns for the [[Recognition of the Armenian Genocide|recognition]] of the [[Armenian Genocide]] and the right to reparations. It also advocates the establishment of [[Greater Armenia (political concept)|Greater Armenia]] based on the [[Treaty of Sèvres]].
The ARF became active within the [[Ottoman Empire]] in the early 1890s with the aim of unifying the various small groups in the empire that were advocating for reform and defending Armenian villages from massacres that were widespread in some of the Armenian-populated areas of the empire. ARF members formed [[fedayee]] groups that defended Armenian civilians through armed resistance.{{Ref_label|Supernova|β|none}} The Dashnaks also worked for the wider goal of creating a "free, independent and unified" Armenia, although they sometimes set aside this goal in favor of a more realistic approach, such as advocating autonomy.
In 1917, the party was instrumental in the creation of the short-lived [[Democratic Republic of Armenia]], which fell to the [[Soviet]] communists in 1920.<ref name="ARF.am">{{cite web | url= http://arf.am/English| title=ARF.am Home|accessdate=2006-12-27}}</ref> After its leadership was exiled by the communists, the ARF established itself within Armenian diaspora communities, where it helped Armenians preserve their cultural identity.<ref name="ARF Shant Student Association"/> After the fall of the [[USSR]], it returned to Armenia, where it now again has a significant presence.
== Early history ==
{{seealso|Armenian national liberation movement}}
In the late [[19th century]], [[Eastern Europe]] and [[Russia]] became the hub of small groups advocating reform in Armenian-populated areas in the [[Ottoman Empire]]. In 1890, recognizing the need to unify these groups in order to be more efficient, [[Christapor Mikaelian]], [[Simon Zavarian]] and [[Stepan Zorian]] created a new political party called the "Federation of Armenian Revolutionaries" ({{lang|hy|Հայ Յեղափոխականներու Դաշնակցութիւն}}), which would eventually be called the "Armenian Revolutionary Federation" or "Dashnaktsutiun" in 1890.<ref name="Origins of the ARF">{{cite book |first = Gerard J. | last = Libaridian | title = Modern Armenia: People, Nation, State | publisher = Transaction Publishers | pages = p. 103, p. 106 | year = 2004 | id = ISBN 0765802058}}</ref>
[[Image:Arf.jpg|thumb|280px|left|ARF Founders left to right: [[Stepan Zorian]], [[Christapor Mikaelian]], [[Simon Zavarian]]]] The [[Social Democrat Hunchakian Party]] at one point had agreed to join as well, seeing that the ARF's political ideology was [[socialism]]. However, the Hunchakians claimed the new party was not [[Marxist]] enough and withdrew from the union.<ref name="Foundation of the ARF">{{cite web | url= http://www.littlearmenia.com/html/history/detail.asp?id=217| title=Armenian Revolutionary Federation Founded, Armenian history timeline|accessdate=2006-12-25}}</ref> The original aim of the ARF was to gain autonomy for the Armenian-populated areas in the Ottoman Empire. The party began to organize itself in the Ottoman Empire in the early 1890s and held its first major meeting in [[Tiflis]], [[Russian Empire]], in 1892.<ref name="Foundation of the ARF"/><ref name="Origins of the ARF">{{cite book |first = Gerard J. | last = Libaridian | title = Modern Armenia: People, Nation, State | publisher = Transaction Publishers | pages = p. 106 | year = 2004 | id = ISBN 0765802058}}</ref> At that meeting, the party adopted a decentralized ''modus operandi'' according to which the chapters in different countries were allowed to plan and implement policies in tune with their local political atmosphere. The party set its goal of a society based on the democratic principles of [[freedom of assembly]], [[freedom of speech]], [[freedom of religion]] and [[agrarian reform]].<ref name="Foundation of the ARF">{{cite web | url= http://www.littlearmenia.com/html/history/detail.asp?id=217| title=Armenian Revolutionary Federation Founded, Armenian history timeline|accessdate=2006-12-25}}</ref><ref name="Origins of the ARF">{{cite book |first = Gerard J. | last = Libaridian | title = Modern Armenia: People, Nation, State | publisher = Transaction Publishers | pages = p. 106 | year = 2004 | id = ISBN 0765802058}}</ref>
=== Russian Empire ===
The ARF gradually acquired significant strength and sympathy among [[Russian Armenians]]. Mainly because of the ARF's stance towards the Ottoman Empire, the party enjoyed the support of the central Russian administration, as [[tsarist]] and ARF foreign policy had the same alignment until 1903.<ref name="Anna Geifman">{{cite book | last = Geifman | first = Anna | title = Thou Shalt Kill: Revolutionary Terrorism in Russia, 1894–1917 | pages = p. 21–22 | id = ISBN 0-691-02549-5}}</ref> On [[June 12]] [[1903]], the tsarist authorities passed an edict to bring all Armenian Church property under imperial control. This was faced by strong ARF opposition, because the ARF perceived the tsarist edict as a threat to the Armenian national existence. As a result, the ARF leadership decided to defend Armenian churches by dispatching militiamen who acted as guards and by holding mass demonstrations.<ref name="Anna Geifman">{{cite book | last = Geifman | first = Anna | title = Thou Shalt Kill: Revolutionary Terrorism in Russia, 1894–1917 | pages = p. 21–22 | id = ISBN 0-691-02549-5}}</ref><ref name="tempest">{{cite book |first = Simon | last = Vratsian | title = Tempest-Born DRO | publisher = Armenian Prelacy, New York, translated by Tamar Der-Ohannesian | pages = pp. 13–22 | year = 2000}}</ref>
In 1905–06, the [[Armenian-Tatar massacres]] broke out during which the ARF became involved in armed activities. Some sources claim that the Russian government incited the massacres in order to reinforce its authority during the revolutionary turmoil of 1905.<ref name="Stalin">{{cite web | url= http://www.marxists.org/history/etol/writers/souvar/works/stalin/ch03.htm |title=
"A Critical Survey of Bolshevism" - Stalin|accessdate=2007-08-05}}</ref> The first outbreak of violence occurred in [[Baku]], in February 1905. Some sources claim that it was caused by the murder of a [[Muslim]] by the Dashnaks.<ref name="Tadeusz">{{cite book |first = Tadeusz | last = Swietochowski | title = Russian Azerbaijan, 1905–1920. The Shaping of a National Identity in a Muslim Community | publisher = Cambridge University Press | pages = p. 41–42 | year = 1985 | id = ISBN 0521522455}}</ref> The ARF held the Russian authorities responsible for inaction and instigation of massacres that were part of a larger [[Anti-Armenianism|anti-Armenian]] policy. On [[May 11]], [[1905]], Dashnak revolutionary [[Drastamat Kanayan]] assassinated Russian governor general [[Nakashidze]], who was considered by the Armenian population as the main instigator of hate and confrontation between the Armenians and the Tatars. Unable to rely on government forces to protect their interests and properties, the Armenian bourgeoisie turned to the ARF for protection. The Dashnak leaders argued that, given employment discrimination against Armenian workers in non-Armenian concerns, the defence provided to the Armenian bourgeoisie was essential to the safekeeping of employment opportunities for Armenian laborers.<ref>{{cite book | last = Libaridian | first = Gerard J. | title = Modern Armenia: People, Nation, State | pages = p. 17 | id = ISBN 0-691-02549-5}}</ref> The Russian Tsar's envoy in the [[Caucasus]], Vorontsov-Dashkov, reported that the ARF bore a major portion of responsibilities for perpetrating the massacres. According to him, their bands would attack the Muslims and often exterminate the population of entire villages.<ref>{{ru icon}}«Всеподданейшая записка по управлению кавказским краем генерала адьютанта графа Воронцова-Дашкова», СПб.: Государственная Тип., 1907, с.12 </ref> The ARF, however, argued that it helped to organize the defence of the Armenian population against Muslim attacks. The blows suffered at the hands of the Dashnakist fighting squads proved a catalyst for the consolidation of the Muslim community of the Caucasus.<ref name="Tadeusz"/> During that period, the ARF regarded armed activity, including terror, as necessary for the achievement of political goals.<ref>{{cite book | last = Suny | first = Ronald | title = Transcaucasia, Nationalism, and Social Change: Essays in the History of Armenia, 2nd edition | pages = p. 166–167 | year = 1996 | id = ISBN 978-0472066179}}</ref>
In January 1912, 159 ARF members, being lawyers, bankers, merchants and other intellectuals, were tried before the Russian senate for their participation in the party. They were defended by then-lawyer [[Alexander Kerensky]], who challenged much of the evidence used against them as the "original investigators had been encouraged by the local administration to use any available means" to convict the men.<ref>{{cite book
| last = Abraham
| first = Richard
| title = Alexander Kerensky: The First Love of the Revolution
| publisher = Columbia University Press
| date = 1990
| location = New York
| pages = p. 53
| isbn = 0-2310-6109-9}}</ref> Kerensky succeeded in having the evidence reexamined for one of the defendants. He and several other lawyers "made openly contemptuous declarations" about this discrepancy to the Russian press, which was forbidden to attend the trials, and this in turn greatly embarrassed the senators. The Senate eventually opened an inquiry against the chief [[magistrate]] who had brought the charges against the Dashnak members and concluded that he was insane. Ninety-four of the accused were acquitted, while the rest were either imprisoned or exiled for varying periods, the most severe being six years.<ref>Abraham. ''Alexander Kerensky'', p. 54</ref>
=== Ottoman Empire ===
{{Main|Sasun Resistance|1896 Ottoman Bank takeover|Khanasor Expedition|Yildiz Attempt}}
The ARF became a major political force in Armenian life. It was especially active in the Ottoman Empire, where it organized or participated in many revolutionary activities. In 1894, the ARF took part in the [[First Sasun Resistance]], supplying arms to the local population to help the people of Sasun defend themselves against the Hamidian purges.<ref name="Hayots p.42–48">{{hy icon}} {{cite book | last = Kurdoghlian | first = Mihran | title = Hayots Badmoutioun (Armenian History) | publisher = Hradaragutiun Azkayin Oosoomnagan Khorhoortee, Athens Greece | pages = p. 42–48 | year = 1996 }}</ref> In June 1896, the [[Armenakan]]s organized the [[Defense of Van]] in the province of [[Van, Turkey|Van]], where Ottoman [[Hamidieh soldier]]s were to attack the city. The Armenakans, assisted by members of the Hunchakian and ARF parties, supplied all able-bodied men of Van with weapons. They rose to defend the civilians from the attack and subsequent massacre.<ref>Ministère des affaires étrangères, op. cit., no. 212. M. P. Cambon, Ambassadeur de la Republique française à Constantinople, ŕ M. Hanotaux, Ministre des affaires étrangères, p. 239; et no. 215 p. 240.</ref>
[[Image:Fedayees.JPG|thumb|300px|right|Fedayee group fighting under the ARF banner. Text in Armenian reads "Azadoutioun gam mah" (Liberty or Death).]] To raise awareness of the [[Hamidian massacres|massacres of 1895–96]], members of the Dashnaktsutiun led by [[Papken Siuni]], [[1896 Ottoman Bank takeover|occupied the Ottoman Bank]] in [[August 26]], [[1896]].<ref name="Bank Ottoman">{{cite book |first = Richard G. | last = Hovannisian | title = The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times | publisher = Palgrave Macmillan | pages = p. 224–225 | year = 1997 | id = ISBN 0312101686 }}</ref> The purpose of the raid was to dictate the ARF's demands of reform in the Armenian populated areas of the Ottoman Empire and to attract European attention to their cause since the Europeans had many assets in the bank. The operation caught European attention but at the cost of more massacres by Sultan [[Abdul Hamid II]].<ref name="Modern Armenian history">{{cite book |first = Richard G. | last = Hovannisian | title = The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times | publisher = Palgrave Macmillan | pages = p. 418 | year = 1997 | id = ISBN 0312101686 }}</ref>
The [[Khanasor Expedition]] was performed by the [[Armenian militia]] against the [[Kurdish people|Kurdish]] Mazrik tribe on [[July 25]], [[1897]]. During the Defense of Van, the Mazrik tribe had ambushed a squad of Armenian defenders and massacred them. The Khanasor Expedition was the ARF's retaliation.<ref name="Hayots p.42–48"/><ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.littlearmenia.com/html/history/detail.asp?id=223| title=Khanasor Expedition, Armenian history timeline|accessdate=2006-12-26}}</ref> Some Armenians consider this their first victory over the Ottoman Empire and celebrate each year in its remembrance.<ref>{{cite book |first = Varoujan | last = Karentz | title = Mitchnapert the Citadel: A History of Armenians in Rhode Island | publisher = iUniverse | pages = p. 166 | year = 2004 | id = ISBN 0595306624 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first = Arpena S. | last = Mesrobian | title = Like One Family: The Armenians of Syracuse | publisher = Gomidas Institute | pages = p. 222 | year = 2000 | id = ISBN 0953519112 }}</ref>
On [[March 30]], [[1904]], the ARF played a major role in the [[Second Sasun Resistance]]. The ARF sent arms and [[fedayees]] to defend the region for the second time.<ref name="Hayots p.42–48">{{hy icon}} {{cite book | last = Kurdoghlian | first = Mihran | title = Hayots Badmoutioun (Armenian History) | publisher = Hradaragutiun Azkayin Oosoomnagan Khorhoortee, Athens Greece | pages = p. 42–48 | year = 1996 }}</ref> Among the 500 fedayees participating in the resistance were top figures such as [[Kevork Chavush]], Sepasdatsi Murad and Hrayr Djoghk. They managed to hold off the Ottoman army for several months, despite their lack of fighters and firepower.<ref name="Hayots p.42–48">{{hy icon}} {{cite book | last = Kurdoghlian | first = Mihran | title = Hayots Badmoutioun (Armenian History) | publisher = Hradaragutiun Azkayin Oosoomnagan Khorhoortee, Athens Greece | pages = p. 42–48 | year = 1996 }}</ref>
In 1905, members of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation organized the [[Yildiz Attempt]], an assassination attempt on Sultan Abdul Hamid II in the capital of the Ottoman Empire, [[Constantinople]] (modern day [[Istanbul]]).<ref name="Hayots p.42–48"/> The Yildiz Attempt failed to assassinate the Sultan because the timed bomb missed its target by a few minutes. The Dashnaksutiun also lost one of its founders, Kristapor Mikaelian, in an accidental explosion during the planning of the operation.
=== Young Turk Revolution ===
{{Seealso|Young Turk Revolution}}
[[Image:Pastermajian-Karekin.JPG|thumb|150px|[[Karekin Pastermadjian]] ARF member of "[[Chamber of Deputies]]" from [[Erzurum]] during [[Second Constitutional Era (Ottoman Empire)|Second Constitutional Era]]<ref>{{cite book |first = Garegin | last = Pasdermadjian | title = Why Armenia Should be Free: Armenia's Rôle in the Present War | publisher = Hairenik Pub. Co. | year = 1918 | url = http://armenian.tales.googlepages.com/Pastermadjian-1918.pdf }}</ref>]]
Two of the largest revolutionary groups trying to overthrow Sultan Abdul Hamid II had been the ARF and the [[Committee of Union and Progress]], a group of mostly European-educated Turks.<ref name="Dashnaktsutiun and Committee of Union and Progress">{{cite book |first = Aykut | last = Kansu | title = The Revolution of 1908 in Turkey | publisher = Brill Academic Publishers | pages = p. 78 | year = 1997 | id = ISBN 9004102833 }}</ref> In a general assembly meeting in 1907, the ARF acknowledged that the Armenian and [[Turkish people|Turkish]] revolutionaries had the same goals. Although the [[Tanzimat]] reforms had given Armenians more rights and seats in the parliament, the ARF hoped to gain autonomy to govern Armenian populated areas of the Ottoman Empire as a "state within a state". The "Second congress of the Ottoman opposition" took place in [[Paris, France]], in 1907. Opposition leaders including [[Ahmed Riza]] (liberal), [[Sabahheddin Bey]], and ARF member [[Khachatur Maloumian]] attended. During the meeting, an alliance between the two parties was officially declared.<ref name="Dashnaktsutiun and Committee of Union and Progress">{{cite book |first = Aykut | last = Kansu | title = The Revolution of 1908 in Turkey | publisher = Brill Academic Publishers | pages = p. 78 | year = 1997 | id = ISBN 9004102833 }}</ref><ref name="ARF and Young Turks">{{hy icon}} {{cite book |first = Mihran | last = Kurdoghlian | title = Hayots Badmoutioun (Armenian History) | publisher = Hradaragutiun Azkayin Oosoomnagan Khorhoortee, Athens Greece | pages = p. 52–53 | year = 1996 }}</ref> The ARF decided to cooperate with the Committee of Union and Progress, hoping that if the Young Turks came to power, autonomy would be granted to the Armenians.
In 1908, Abdul Hamid II was overthrown during the [[Young Turk Revolution]], which launched the [[Second Constitutional Era (Ottoman Empire)|Second Constitutional Era of the Ottoman Empire]]. Armenians gained more seats in the 1908 parliament, but the reforms fell short of the greater autonomy that the ARF had hoped for. The [[Adana massacre]] in 1909 also created antipathy between Armenians and Turks, and the ARF cut relations with the Young Turks in 1912.<ref name="ARF and Young Turks">{{hy icon}} {{cite book |first = Mihran | last = Kurdoghlian | title = Hayots Badmoutioun (Armenian History) | publisher = Hradaragutiun Azkayin Oosoomnagan Khorhoortee, Athens Greece | pages = p. 52–53 | year = 1996 }}</ref>
=== Iranian Constitutional Revolution ===
{{Seealso|Iranian Constitutional Revolution}}
The Dashnaktsutiun held a meeting on [[April 26]], [[1907]], dubbed the Fourth General Congress, at which ARF leaders such as [[Aram Manougian]], [[Hamo Ohanjanyan]] and [[Stepan Stepanian]] discussed their engagement in the [[Iranian Constitutional Revolution]].<ref name="Early Dashnaktsutiun role in Iranian Constitutional Revolution">{{cite book |first = Houri | last = Berberian | title = Armenians and the Iranian Constitutional Revolution of 1905–1911 | publisher = Westview Press | pages = p. 116–117 | year = 2001 | id=ISBN 0813338174 }}</ref> They established that the movement was one that had political, ideological and economic components and thus were aimed at the establishment of law and order, human rights and the interests of all working people. They also felt that it would work for the benefit and interest of [[Armenian-Iranians]]. The final vote was 25 votes in favour and one absentia.<ref name="Early Dashnaktsutiun role in Iranian Constitutional Revolution">{{cite book | last = Berberian | first = Houri| title = Armenians and the Iranian Constitutional Revolution of 1905–1911 | publisher = Westview Press | date = 2001 | pages = p. 116–117 | id=ISBN 0813338174 }}</ref>
[[Image:Yeprem khan.jpg|thumb|140px|left|[[Yeprem Khan]] was a revolutionary leader of [[Iran]].]]
From 1907 to 1908, during the time when the Young Turks came to power in the Ottoman Empire, Armenians from the [[Caucasus]], [[Western Armenia]], and [[Iran]] started to collaborate with Iranian constitutionalists and revolutionaries.<ref name="Early Dashnaktsutiun role in Iranian Constitutional Revolution">{{cite book | last = Berberian | first = Houri | title = Armenians and the Iranian Constitutional Revolution of 1905–1911 | publisher = Westview Press | year = 2001 | pages = p. 116–117 | id=ISBN 0813338174 }}</ref> Political parties, notably the Dashnaktsutiun, wanted to influence the direction of the revolution towards greater democracy and to safeguard gains already achieved. The Dashnak contribution to the fight was mostly military, as it sent some of its well known fedayees to Iran after the guerrilla campaign in the Ottoman Empire ended with the rise of the Young Turks.<ref name="Early Dashnaktsutiun role in Iranian Constitutional Revolution">{{cite book |first = Houri | last = Berberian | title = Armenians and the Iranian Constitutional Revolution of 1905–1911 | publisher = Westview Press | pages = p. 116–117 | year = 2001 | id=ISBN 0813338174 }}</ref> A notable ARF member already in Iran was [[Yeprem Khan]], who had established a branch of the party in the country. Yeprem Khan was highly instrumental in the Constitutional revolution of Iran. After the Persian national parliament was shelled by the [[Russia]]n Colonel [[Vladimir Liakhov]], Yeprem Khan rallied with [[Sattar Khan]] and other revolutionary leaders in the Constitutional Revolution of Iran against [[Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar]].<ref name="Yeprem Khan role in Iranian Constitutional Revolution">{{cite book | last = Berberian |first = Houri | title = Armenians and the Iranian Constitutional Revolution of 1905–1911 | publisher = Westview Press | date = 2001 | pages = p. 132–134 | id=ISBN 0813338174 }}</ref> Relations between Sattar Khan and the ARF oscillated between amity and resentment. Sometimes he was viewed as being ignorant, while at other times he was dubbed a great hero.<ref name="Yeprem Khan role in Iranian Constitutional Revolution">{{cite book | last = Berberian |first = Houri | title = Armenians and the Iranian Constitutional Revolution of 1905–1911 | publisher = Westview Press | date = 2001 | pages = p. 132–134 | id=ISBN 0813338174 }}</ref> Nonetheless, the ARF came to collaborate with him and alongside Yeprem Khan posted many victories including the capture of [[Rasht]] in February 1909. At the end of June 1909, the fighters arrived in [[Tehran]] and after several battles, took over the [[Majlis of Iran|Majles]] building and the Sepahsalar mosque. Yeprem Khan was then appointed chief of Tehran police. This caused tensions between the Dashnaks and Khan.<ref name="Yeprem Khan role in Iranian Constitutional Revolution">{{cite book | last = Berberian |first = Houri | title = Armenians and the Iranian Constitutional Revolution of 1905–1911 | publisher = Westview Press | date = 2001 | pages = p. 132–134 | id=ISBN 0813338174 }}</ref>
===World War I and the Armenian Genocide===
{{Seealso|World War I|Armenian Genocide|Armenian resistance}}
[[Image:Aram Manoogian.gif|150px|thumb|right|[[Aram Manougian]], one of the leaders of the [[Van Resistance]]]]
In 1915, Dashnak leaders were deported and killed alongside other Armenian intellectuals during a purge by Ottoman officials against the leaders of the empire's Armenian communities.<ref name="Dashnak leaders killed during Armenian Genocide">{{cite web | url= http://www.armenianreporteronline.com/old/21042001/c-khachig.htm | title= Eyewitness account of the start of the Armenian Genocide|accessdate=2007-01-03}}</ref> The ARF, maintaining its ideological commitment to a "Free, Independent, and United Armenia", [[Armenian resistance|led the defense of the Armenian people]] during the Armenian Genocide, becoming leaders of the successful [[Van Resistance]]. [[Jevdet Bey]], the Ottoman administrator of Van, tried to suppress the resistance by killing two Armenian leaders (Ishkhan and Vramian) and trying to imprison Aram Manougian, who had risen to fame and gained the nickname "Aram of Van".<ref name="Van Resistance">{{hy icon}} {{cite book |first = Mihran | last = Kurdoghlian | title = Hayots Badmoutioun (Armenian History) | publisher = Hradaragutiun Azkayin Oosoomnagan Khorhoortee, Athens Greece | pages = p. 92–93 | year = 1996 }}</ref> Moreover, on [[April 19]], he issued an order to exterminate all Armenians, and threatened to kill all Muslims who helped them.<ref>{{cite book |first = Clarence D | last = Ussher | title = An American Physician in Turkey | publisher = Boston | pages = p. 244 | year = 1917 }}</ref>
About 185,000 Armenians lived in [[Vaspurakan]]. In the city of Van itself, there were around 30,000 Armenians, but more Armenians from surrounding villages joined them during the Ottoman offensive. The battle started on [[April 20]], [[1915]], with Aram Manougian as the leader of the resistance, and lasted for two months. In May, the Armenian battalions and Russian regulars entered the city and successfully drove the Ottoman army out of Van.<ref name="Van Resistance">{{hy icon}} {{cite book |first = Mihran | last = Kurdoghlian | title = Hayots Badmoutioun (Armenian History) | publisher = Hradaragutiun Azkayin Oosoomnagan Khorhoortee, Athens Greece | pages = p. 92–93 | year = 1996 }}</ref> The Dashnaktsutiun was also involved in other less-successful resistance movements in [[Zeitun Resistance|Zeitun]], [[Shabin-Karahisar Resistance|Shabin-Karahisar]], [[Urfa Resistance|Urfa]], and [[Musa Dagh]]. After the end of the Van resistance, ARF leader Aram Manougian became governor of the [[Administration for Western Armenia]] and worked to ease the sufferings of Armenians.
At the end of [[World War I]], members of the Young Turks movement considered [[executors of the Armenian Genocide]] by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation were assassinated during [[Operation Nemesis]].<ref name="Operation Nemesis">{{cite web | url= http://www.hyeetch.nareg.com.au/genocide/punish_p1.html | title= Punishment of the Executors of the Armenian Genocide|accessdate=2007-01-03}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Avakian | first=Lindy V. | title=The Cross and the Crescent | publisher=USC Press | year=1989 | id=ISBN 0-943247-06-3}}</ref>
===Democratic Republic of Armenia===
{{Main|Democratic Republic of Armenia}}
As a result of the collapse of the Russian Empire in 1917, the Armenian, Georgian, and [[Muslim]] leaders of the Caucasus united to create the [[Transcaucasian Federation]] in the winter of 1918. The [[Treaty of Brest-Litovsk]] had drastic consequences for the Armenians: Turkish forces reoccupied Western Armenia. The federation lasted for only three months, eventually leading to the proclamation of the Republics of Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan. The negotiators for Armenia were from the ARF.<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.hayastan.com/armenia/history/armenia/index10.php | title= Transcaucasian Federation|accessdate=2007-01-03}}</ref>
[[Image:James G Harbord Report-Cabinet of Democratic Republic of Armenia-1919.png|thumb|left|280px|The members of the First Cabinet, [[Aram Manougian]], [[Drastamat Kanayan]], [[Hovhannes Katchaznouni]] ]]
With the collapse of the Transcaucasian Federation, the Armenians were left to fend for themselves as the Turkish army approached the capital of [[Yerevan]]. At first, fearing a major military defeat and massacre of the population of Armenia, the Dashnaks wanted to evacuate the city of Yerevan. Instead, the Military Council headed by Colonel Pirumian decided that they would not surrender and would confront the Turkish army.<ref name="Sardarapat">{{cite web | url= http://armenianhistory.info/thefirst.htm | title= The First Republic|accessdate=2007-01-03}}</ref> The opposing armies met on [[May 28]] [[1918]], near [[Sardarapat]]. The [[Battle of Sardarapat|battle]] was a major military success for the Armenian army as it was able to halt the invading Turkish forces.<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.armenianow.com/archive/2004/2003/may30/features/index.htm |title= Genocide survivors recall victory at Sardarapat|accessdate=2006-12-30}}</ref> The Armenians also stood their ground at the [[Battle of Kara Killisse (1918)|Battle of Kara Killisse]] and at the [[Battle of Bash Abaran]]. The creation of the [[Democratic Republic of Armenia]] (DRA) was proclaimed on the same day of the Battle of Sardarapat, and the ARF became the ruling party. However, the new state was devastated, with a dislocated economy, hundreds of thousands of refugees, and a mostly starving population.<ref name="Sardarapat">{{cite web | url= http://armenianhistory.info/thefirst.htm | title= The First Republic|accessdate=2007-01-03}}</ref>
The ARF, led by [[Andranik Toros Ozanian|"Zoravar" Andranik]], tried several times to seize [[Shusha]] (known as Shushi by Armenians), a city in Karabakh. Just before the [[Armistice of Mudros]] was signed, Andranik was on the way from [[Zangezur]] to Shusha, to control the main city of Karabakh. Andranik's forces got within {{convert|26|mi|km|0}} of the city when the First World War ended, and Turkey, along with [[Germany]] and [[Austria-Hungary]], surrendered to the [[Allies]].<ref name="Pre-Soviet history of Karabakh">{{cite web | url= http://www.cilicia.com/armo19i.html |title= Pre-Soviet history of Karabakh|accessdate=2006-12-30}}</ref> British forces ordered [[Andranik Toros Ozanian|Andranik]] to stop all military advances, assuring him that the conflict would be solved with the [[Paris Peace Conference, 1919|Paris Peace Conference of 1919]]. Andranik, not wanting to antagonize the British, retreated to Gorin, [[Zangezur Mountains|Zangezur]].<ref name="Pre-Soviet history of Karabakh"/>
The Armenian Revolutionary Federation had a strong presence in the DRA government. Most of the important government posts, such as prime minister, defence minister and interior minister were controlled by its members. Despite their tight grip on power, the ARF was unable to stop the impending [[Communist]] invasion from the north, which culminated with a Soviet takeover in 1920.<ref name="ARF.am"/> The ARF was banned, its leaders exiled, and many of its members dispersed to other parts of the world.<ref name="ARF.am"/>
== Exile ==
[[Image:ArmenianDiaspora.png|thumb|300px|The ARF established branches in the [[Armenian diaspora]].]]
{{See also|Armenian diaspora}}
After the communists took over the short-lived Democratic Republic of Armenia and ARF leaders were exiled, the Dashnaks moved their base of operations to where the [[Armenian diaspora]] had settled. With the large influx of Armenian refugees in the [[Levant]], the ARF established a strong political structure in [[Lebanon]] and to a lesser extent, [[Syria]]. From 1921 to 1990, the Dashnaktsutiun established political structures in more than 200 states including the [[United States|USA]], where another large influx of Armenians settled.<ref name="AZG Armenian Daily"/>
With political and geographic division came religious division. One part of the Armenian Church claimed it wanted to be separate from the head, whose seat was in [[Echmiadzin]], [[Armenian SSR]]. Some Armenians in the US thought [[Moscow]] tried to use the Armenian Church to promote Communists' ideas outside the country. The Armenian Church thus separated into two branches, Echmiadzin and Cilician, and started to operate separately. In the US, Echmiadzin branch churches of the [[Armenian Apostolic Church]] would not admit members of the ARF. This was one of the reasons why the ARF discouraged people from attending these churches and brought the representatives from a different wing of the church, the Armenian [[Catholicate]] of [[Cilicia]], from Lebanon to the US.<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.axcessnews.com/index.php/articles/show/id/11419| title=Soviet background separates two Armenian churches in US|accessdate=2007-06-28}}</ref> In 1933, Dashnaks were suspects in the assassination of Armenian [[archbishop]] [[Levon Tourian]] in [[New York City]]. Prior to his murder, the archbishop had been accused of being exclusively pro-Soviet by the ARF.<ref>{{cite book |first = Touraj & Sanjyot | last = Atabaki & Mehendale | title = Central Asia And The Caucasus: Transnationalism And Diaspora | publisher = Routledge (UK) | pages = p. 136 | year = 2005 | id = ISBN 0415332605 }}</ref> However, the ARF itself was legally exonerated from any direct complicity in the assassination.<ref>{{cite book |first = Richard G. | last = Hovannisian | title = The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times | publisher = Palgrave Macmillan | pages = p. 416 | year = 1997 | id = ISBN 0312101686 }}</ref>
During the 1950s, tensions arose between the ARF and Armenian SSR. The death of [[Catholicos]] Garegin of the [[Holy See of Cilicia]] prompted a struggle for succession. The National Ecclesiastic Assembly, which was largely influenced by the ARF, elected [[Zareh of Aleppo]]. This decision was rejected by the Echmiadzin-based [[Catholicos of All Armenians]], the anti-ARF coalition, and Soviet Armenian authorities. Zareh extended his administrative authority over a large part of the Armenian diaspora, furthering the rift that had already been created by his election.<ref name="Modern Armenian history">{{cite book |first = Richard G. | last = Hovannisian | title = The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times | publisher = Palgrave Macmillan | pages = p. 418 | year = 1997 | id = ISBN 0312101686 }}</ref> This event split the large [[Armenians of Lebanon|Armenian community of Lebanon]], creating sporadic clashes between the supporters of Zareh and those who opposed his election.<ref name="Modern Armenian history">{{cite book |first = Richard G. | last = Hovannisian | title = The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times | publisher = Palgrave Macmillan | pages = p. 418 | year = 1997 | id = ISBN 0312101686 }}</ref>
Religious conflict was part of a greater conflict that raged between the two "camps" of the Armenian diaspora. The ARF still resented the fact that they were ousted from Armenia after the [[Red Army]] took control, and the ARF leaders supported the creation of a "Free, Independent, and United Armenia", free from both Soviet and Turkish hegemony. The Social Democrat Hunchakian Party and [[Ramgavar Party]], the main rivals of the ARF, supported the newly established Soviet rule in Armenia.<ref name="Modern Armenian history">{{cite book |first = Richard | last = Hovannisian | title = The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times | publisher = Palgrave Macmillan | pages = p. 418 | year = 2005 | id = ISBN 0312101686 }}</ref>
=== Armenian Revolutionary Federation In Lebanon ===
{{Politics of Lebanon}}
From 1923 to 1958, conflicts erupted among Armenian political parties struggling to dominate and organize the diaspora. In 1926, a struggle between committees of the ARF and Hunchakian parties for control of the newly established shanty-town of [[Bourj Hammoud]] in Lebanon led to the assassination of ARF member Vahan Vartabedian. As retaliation for the murder, Hunchakian members Mihran Aghazarian and S. Dekhrouhi were assassinated in 1929 and 1931 respectively.<ref>{{cite book |first = Leonard | last = Weinberg | title = Political parties and terrorist groups | publisher = Routledge (UK) | pages = p. 19 | id = ISBN 0714634913 }}</ref> In 1956, when Bishop Zareh was consecrated Catholicos of Cilicia, the Catholicos of Echmiadzin refused to recognize his authority. This controversy polarized the Armenian community of Lebanon. As a result, in the context of the [[Lebanon crisis of 1958|Lebanese civil strife of 1958]], an armed conflict erupted between supporters (the ARF) and opponents (Hunchakians, Ramgavars) of Zareh.<ref name="Modern Armenian history">{{cite book |first = Richard | last = Hovannisian | title = The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times | publisher = Palgrave Macmillan | pages = p. 418 | year = 2005 | id = ISBN 0312101686 }}</ref>
Prior to the [[Lebanese Civil War]] of 1975–90, the party was closely allied to the [[Kataeb Party (Lebanon)|Phalangist Party]] of [[Pierre Gemayel]] and generally ran joint tickets with the Phalangists, especially in [[Beirut]] constituencies with large Armenian populations.<ref name="Armenians and Lebanon">{{cite book |first = Division | last = Federal Research | title = Lebanon a Country Study | publisher = Kessinger Publishing | pages = p. 185 | year = 2004 | id = ISBN 1419129430 }}</ref> The refusal of the ARF, along with most Armenian groups, to play an active role in the civil war, however, soured relations between the two parties, and the [[Lebanese Forces]] (a militia dominated by Phalangists and commanded by [[Bachir Gemayel]], Pierre Gemayel's son), responded by attacking the Armenian quarters of many Lebanese towns, including Bourj Hammoud.<ref name="Armenians and Lebanon">{{cite book |first = Division | last = Federal Research | title = Lebanon a Country Study | publisher = Kessinger Publishing | pages = p. 185 | year = 2004 | id = ISBN 1419129430 }}</ref> Many Armenians affiliated with the ARF took up arms voluntarily to defend their quarters. In the midst of the Lebanese civil war, a shadowy guerrilla organization called [[Justice Commandos Against Armenian Genocide]] emerged and carried out a string of assassinations from 1975 to 1983. The guerrilla organization has sometimes been linked to the Dashnaks.<ref>{{cite book | last = Verluise | title = Armenia in Crisis: The 1988 Earthquake | publisher = Wayne State University
Press | pages = p. 143 | year = 1995 | id = ISBN 0814325270 }}</ref>
A major change occurred in the parliamentary election of 2000. Negotiations to form a joint ticket between the ARF and the [[Karama]] (Dignity) party of [[Rafik Hariri]] broke down over Hariri's insistence that all candidates elected on his list, including ARF candidates, would have to form a unified parliamentary block subsequently—a rarity in [[Politics of Lebanon|Lebanese politics]]. This would make the Armenian vote in the Chamber subservient to Hariri's wishes.<ref name="Armenian and the 2000 Parliamentary elections in Lebanon">{{cite web | url= http://groong.usc.edu/ro/ro-20000907.html |title=Armenians and the 2000 Parliamentary elections in Lebanon|accessdate=2006-12-30}}</ref> In addition, Hariri refused the ARF proposal to choose an Armenian candidate for the sole seat allocated to Lebanon's [[Protestant]] community (many of whom are ethnically Armenian), insisting that the seat should go to an ally of his.<ref name="Armenian and the 2000 Parliamentary elections in Lebanon"/> The ARF decided to go it alone, although other Armenian parties joined Hariri's list. In an unprecedented sweep, the Dignity movement and its allies captured 13 of Beirut's 19 seats, and the ARF was left with only one parliamentary seat, its worst result in many decades.<ref name="Armenian and the 2000 Parliamentary elections in Lebanon"/> The ARF called for a boycott of the 2005 Beirut elections, disturbed that the four seats normally reserved for Beirut's large Armenian community had gone unopposed to Hariri's candidates.<ref name="2005 Beirut elections">{{cite web | url= http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/05/29/news/lebanon.php |title= Tashnag party boycotts.|accessdate=2006-12-30}}</ref>
Speculation arose that the Lebanese branch of the ARF had broken away from the main party's political ideology of socialism and embraced capitalism.<ref name="Armenians and Lebanon">{{cite book |first = Division | last = Federal Research | title = Lebanon a Country Study | publisher = Kessinger Publishing | pages = p. 185 | year = 2004 | id = ISBN 1419129430 }}</ref> Davit Lokian, a prominent ARF member and [[Minister of Agriculture]] of Armenia, denied these claims.<ref name="Davit Lokian interview">{{cite web | url= http://www.yerkir.am/eng/index.php?sub=interview&id=41 |title= Interview with Davit Lokian denying ARF Lebanon had embraced capitalism.|accessdate=2006-12-30}}</ref> The Dashnaktsutiun has an official newspaper in Lebanon known as the ''[[Aztag Daily Newspaper]]''.
[[Armenians of Lebanon|Ethnic Armenians]] are allocated six seats in Lebanon's 128-member [[National Assembly of Lebanon|National Assembly]]. The Lebanese branch of the ARF has usually controlled a majority of the Armenian vote and won most of the ethnic Armenian seats in the National Assembly, although it currently holds two seats: Mr. Hagop Pakradounian from Metn area and Mr. George Kasarji from Bekaa Valley area.<ref name="The Lebanon"/> It has generally avoided entanglement in sensitive domestic issues, usually supporting whichever government has been in power. However, the ARF harshly criticized the Lebanese government's decision in 2006 to invite the deployment of Turkish troops as part of the multilateral [[UN]] peacekeeping force.<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.armeniandiaspora.com/archive/69586.html |title= Armenians protest Turkish deployment in Lebanon | accessdate=2006-01-04}}</ref>
On [[August 5]], [[2007]], a by-election took place in the [[Metn]] district, which includes the predominantly Armenian area of Bourj Hammoud, to replace the slain anti-Syrian minister [[Pierre Amine Gemayel|Pierre Gemayel]]. The ARF decided to support [[Camille Khoury]], the candidate backed by opposition leader [[Michel Aoun]]'s [[Free Patriotic Movement]]. Camille Khoury faced off against Phalangist leader [[Amine Gemayel]] and subsequently won the seat.<ref name="2007 by-election I">{{cite web | url= http://yalibnan.com/site/archives/2007/08/lebanon_polls_a_1.php |title= Lebanon polls: Armenians back pro-Syrian candidate to victory|accessdate=2007-08-08}}</ref> The ARF's move shocked the Lebanese community; the fact that the Armenians voted for a candidate strongly allied with the pro-Syrian [[Hezbollah]] militants was the big surprise of the by-election.<ref name="2007 by-election I"/> Government supporters blamed Gemayel's loss on the Armenians. Amine Gemayel accused the ARF of cheating and called for the ballot in Bourj Hammoud to be cancelled. Gemayel said that he had fared better "among Christians" and accused the Dashnaktsutyun of trying to "impose its will on the people of Metn", implying that the Armenians were neither proper Lebanese nor true [[Christians]].<ref name="2007 by-election III">{{cite web | url= http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2007/857/re4.htm |title= New political landscape|accessdate=2007-08-09}}</ref> Lebanese politician [[Gabriel Murr]] accused the ARF of rigging the vote as "they always do". Murr pointed out that Aoun didn't win the [[Maronite Church|Maronite]] vote but that he had won the Armenian vote, which was included in the Metn district to manipulate the electoral results.<ref name="murr">{{cite web | url= http://www.beirutbeltway.com/beirutbeltway/2007/08/democracy-in-fr.html |title= Democracy in fractions|accessdate=2007-08-09}}</ref> [[Hagop Pakradounian]], a leader of the ARF in Lebanon, and the Armenian Deputies Bloc asked for a public apology.<ref name="2007 by-election IV">{{cite web | url= http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=84410 |title= Tashnag says offers of compromise were snubbed|accessdate=2007-08-08}}</ref> Pakradounian and the Armenian Deputies Bloc called comments made by Amine Gemayel and Gabriel Murr over the Armenian community's support for the Free Patriotic Movement racist and condemned them. The current ARF Central Committee Chairperson in Lebanon is Mr. Hovig Mkhitarian. The ARF Lebanon branch is headquartered in Bourj Hammoud in the Shaghzoian Centre, along with the ARF Lebanon Central Committee's ''Aztag Daily'' newspaper and "Voice Of Van" 24-hour radio station.<ref name="2007 by-election IV"/>
== Post Soviet-Armenia ==
{{Politics of Armenia}}
=== Armenia ===
The ARF has always maintained its ideological commitment to "a Free, Independent, and United Armenia".<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.arfshant.org/index.aspx?PAGEACTION=Home | title=ARF Shant Student Association|accessdate=2007-01-07}}</ref> The term ''United Armenia'' refers to the borders of Armenia recognized by [[President of the United States|U.S. President]] [[Woodrow Wilson]] and outlined in the [[Treaty of Sèvres]].<ref>{{cite web | url= http://net.lib.byu.edu/~rdh7/wwi/versa/sevindex.html | title=Treaty of Sèvres|accessdate=2007-01-07}}</ref> After Armenia fell under Soviet control in 1920, the ARF, spread throughout the Armenian diaspora, fought Soviet rule over Armenia and rallied in support of Armenian independence. It contributed to organizing a social and cultural framework aimed at preserving the Armenian identity.<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.arf.am/English/ | title= Armenian Revolutionary Federation - Dashnaktsutiun |accessdate=2007-02-03}}</ref> However, because of tight communist control, the ARF could not operate in the Armenian SSR as the political party remained banned until 1991.
When independence was achieved in 1991, the ARF soon became one of the major and most active [[List of political parties in Armenia|political parties]], rivaled mainly by the [[Pan-Armenian National Movement]] (PANM). Subsequently, on [[December 28]], [[1994]], [[President of Armenia|President]] [[Levon Ter-Petrossian]] in a famous television speech banned the ARF, which was the nation's leading opposition party, along with ''[[Yerkir]],'' the country's largest daily newspaper.<ref name="ARF History"/> Ter-Petrossian introduced evidence that supposedly detailed a plot hatched by the ARF to engage in terrorism against his administration, endanger Armenia's national security and overthrow the government. Throughout the evening, government security forces arrested leading ARF figures, and police seized computers, fax machines, files and printing equipment from ARF offices. In addition to ''Yerkir'', government forces also closed several literary, women's, cultural, and youth publications.<ref name="ARF History">{{cite web | url= http://arf.am/English/history/004history.htm| title=ARF newspaper banned|accessdate=2006-12-27}}</ref> Thirty-one men, who would later be known as the "[[Drastamat Kanayan|Dro Group]]" (named after the Dro Committee, the group that was allegedly behind the plot), were arrested.
Gerard Libaridyan, an historian and close adviser of Ter-Petrossian, collected and presented the evidence against the defendants. He later stated in an interview that he was unsure if the evidence was true, inviting the notion that the party was banned because of its increasing chances of winning seats in the July 1995 parliamentary elections.<ref>Interview in 2001 by Aram Abrahamyan on Horizon Armenian Programming.</ref> Several months after the elections, most of the men were found not guilty with the exception of several defendants charged for engaging in corrupt business practices. The ban on the party was lifted, however, less than a week after Ter-Petrossian fell from power and was replaced by [[Robert Kocharyan]], who was backed by the Dashnaks.<ref name="ARF.am"/>
[[Image:Dashnak Hq Armenia.JPG|thumb|left|200px|The headquarters of the ARF in the capital of Armenia, [[Yerevan]]]]
As of 2007, the ARF is not part of but has a cooperation agreement in place with the governing coalition, which consists of two parties in the government [[Coalition government|coalition]], the [[Republican Party (Armenia)|Republican Party]] and [[Prosperous Armenia]] Party. The [[Country of Law]] party was also a member of the governing coalition until it pulled out in May 2006. With 16 of the 131 seats in the [[National Assembly of Armenia]], the Armenian Revolutionary Federation is the major socialist party in Armenia and the third-largest party in parliament.
In addition to its parliamentary seats, the following governmental ministries are also headed by ARF members: Ministry of Agriculture, Davit Lokian;<ref name=>{{cite web | url= http://www.gov.am/enversion/gov_staff_3/kazm_sep6.htm| title=Davit Lokyan profile at Armenian Government website|accessdate=2006-12-29}}</ref> Ministry of Education and Science, Levon Mkrtchian;<ref name=>{{cite web | url= http://www.gov.am/enversion/gov_staff_3/kazm_sep8.htm| title=Levon Mkrtchian profile at Armenian Government website|accessdate=2006-12-29}}</ref> Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, Aghvan Vardanian;<ref name=>{{cite web | url= http://www.gov.am/enversion/gov_staff_3/kazm_sep11.htm| title=Aghvan Vardanian profile at Armenian Government website|accessdate=2006-12-29}}</ref> Ministry of Healthcare, Norair Davidian.<ref name=>{{cite web | url= http://www.gov.am/enversion/gov_staff_3/kazm_sep1.htm| title=Norair Davidian profile at Armenian Government website|accessdate=2006-12-29}}</ref> On [[July 13]], [[2007]], the [[ARF History Museum]] was inaugurated in Yerevan, displaying the history of the party and of its notable members.
In 2007, the ARF announced that it would nominate its own candidate to run for [[president of Armenia]] in the [[Armenian presidential election, 2008|February 2008 presidential election]]. In an innovation on November 24-25, 2007, the ARF conducted a [[non-binding]] Armenia-wide [[primary election]]. They invited the public to vote to advise the party which of two candidates, [[Vahan Hovhannisyan]] and [[Armen Rustamian]], they should formally nominate for president of Armenia in the subsequent official election. What characterized it as a primary instead of a standard [[opinion poll]] was that the public knew of the primary in advance, all eligible voters were invited, and the voting was by secret ballot. Nearly 300,000 people voted in make-shift tents and mobile ballot boxes. Vahan Hovhannisyan received the most votes and was subsequently nominated for the presidential election by the ARF Supreme Council in a secret ballot.<ref>[http://www.a1plus.am/en/?page=issue&iid=55090 "ARFD Nominates Vahan Hovhannissian."] ''A1+''. 30 November 2007. 18 December 2007.</ref> In the presidential election, Hovhannisyan placed fourth with 6.2% of the vote.<ref>[http://www.defacto.am/index.php?OP=71396441 "RA CEC DECLARED SERGE SARGSIAN ARMENIA’S PRESIDENT"], defacto.am, 25 February 2008.</ref>
{{Politics of Nagorno Karabakh}}
=== Nagorno-Karabakh ===
[[Image:Armenianshushi.jpg|thumb|left|260px|Members of the Dashnak battalion celebrating the [[Capture of Shusha|capture of Shushi]] in front of the [[Ghazanchetsots Cathedral]].]]
After the [[Soviet Union]] expanded into the [[South Caucasus]], it established the [[Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast]] (NKAO) within the [[Azerbaijan SSR]] in 1923.<ref name="karabagh">{{cite web | url= https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/am.html |title= CIA - The World Factbook -- Armenia |accessdate=2007-01-27}}</ref><ref>{{hy icon}} {{lang|hy|Լեռնային Ղարաբաղի Ինքնավար Մարզ (ԼՂԻՄ)}} (''Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast'') [[Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia]], Vol. 4, Yerevan 1978 p. 576</ref><ref name="dewaal">{{cite book | last =de Waal | first = Thomas | title = Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan Through Peace and War| publisher = New York University Press| year = 2003 | isbn = 0-8147-1945-7}}</ref> In the final years of the Soviet Union, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation established a branch in Nagorno-Karabakh. In January 1991, the Dashnaktsutiun won the parliamentary election and governed as the ruling party during the entirety of the [[Nagorno-Karabakh war]].<ref name="ARF Karabakh">{{cite web | url= http://www.karabakh-open.com/src/index.php?lang=en&id=2&nid=1865 |title= Electioral history of Karabakh |accessdate=2007-02-04}}</ref> The Dashnaks actively supported the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh (or [[Artsakh]] as Armenians call it). It aided the [[Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army]] by sending armed volunteers to the front lines and supplying the army with weapons, food, medicine and moral support.<ref>{{cite book |first = Division | last = Federal Research | title = Armenia a Country Study | publisher = Kessinger Publishing | pages = p. 141 | year = 2004 | id = ISBN 1419107518 }}</ref> [[Shamil Basayev]], commander of the [[Chechen people|Chechen]] volunteer forces in the Nagorno-Karabakh war, claimed that he and his battalion had only lost once, and that defeat came in Karabakh in fighting against the "Dashnak battalion".<ref name=TERROR-IN-KARABAKH>{{cite news |title=Terror in Karabakh: Chechen Warlord Shamil Basayev's Tenure in Azerbaijan |url=http://ermeni.org/english/chechen-terrorists-azerbaijan.htm |accessdate=2007-02-15 |publisher=The Armenian Weekly On-Line: AWOL }}</ref> After deciding not to run in the second parliamentary elections, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation ran in the 1999 elections and won 9 of the 33 seats in the [[National Assembly of Nagorno Karabakh]].<ref name="ARF Karabakh">{{cite web | url= http://www.karabakhopen.com/src/index.php?lang=en&id=2&nid=1865 |title= Electioral history of Karabakh |accessdate=2007-02-04}}</ref> At the June 2005 [[elections in Nagorno Karabakh|elections]], the Dashnaktsutiun was part of an electoral alliance with [[Movement 88]] that won 3 out of 33 seats.
== Political philosophy and goals ==
The principal founders of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation were socialists, and [[Marxism|Marxist]] elements were omnipresent in the introductory section of the party's first program written by [[Rosdom]], entitled "General Theory".<ref name="ARF History (1)">{{cite web | url= http://www.arf.am/English/history/001history.htm| title=ARF history|accessdate=2006-01-29}}</ref> The ARF first set down its ideological and political goals during the [[Abdul Hamid II|Hamidian regime]]. It denounced the Ottoman regime and the unbearable conditions of life for its Armenians and advocated changing the regime in power and securing more rights through revolution and armed struggle. The ARF had and still has [[socialism]] within its [[political philosophy]]. Its program expresses the entire, multifaceted make-up of the Armenian revolutionary movement, including its national-liberation, political, and social-economic aspects.<ref name="ARF History (2)">{{cite web | url= http://www.arf.am/English/history/002history.htm| title=ARF history (2)|accessdate=2006-01-29}}</ref>
Despite subsequent modifications, the above-mentioned principles and tendencies continue to characterize the ideological world of the Dashnaktsutiun, and its approach toward issues has remained unchanged. In recent decades, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation reasserted itself ideologically and reformulated the section of its program called "General Theory", adapting it to current concepts of socialism, democracy and rights of self-determination.<ref name="ARF History (2)">{{cite web | url= http://www.arf.am/English/history/002history.htm| title=ARF history|accessdate=2006-01-29}}</ref> Its goals are:
* Creation of a free, independent, and united Armenia. The borders of [[United Armenia]] shall include all territories designated as Armenia by the [[Treaty of Sèvres]] as well as the regions of [[Artsakh]], [[Javakheti|Javakhk]], and [[Nakhichevan]] (See map).<ref name="ARF Shant Student Association">{{cite web | url= http://www.arfshant.org/index.aspx?PAGEACTION=Home| title=Goals of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation|accessdate=2006-12-29}}</ref>
* International condemnation of the [[Armenian genocide|Genocide]] committed by the Ottoman Empire against the Armenians, return of the lands which are claimed to be occupied, and just reparations to the Armenian nation<ref name="ARF Shant Student Association"/>
* The gathering of worldwide expatriate Armenians on the lands of United Armenia.<ref name="ARF Shant Student Association"/>
* Strengthening Armenia's statehood, institutionalization of democracy and the rule of law, securing the people's economic well being, and establishment of social justice, and a democratic and socialistic independent republic in Armenia<ref name="ARF Shant Student Association"/>
The ARF is often accused of having a present strategy that does not differ from the one used during the time of the Ottoman Empire. Its tactics are viewed as still being aimed at convincing [[Western world|Western governments]] and diplomatic circles to sponsor the party's demands.<ref>{{cite book |first = Monte | last = Melkonian | title = The Right to Struggle: Selected Writings of Monte Melkonian on the Armenian National Question | publisher = San Francisco, Sardarabad Collective | pages = p. 55–57 | year = 1990 | id = ISBN 0-9641569-1-1 }}</ref>
In 1907, the Dashnaktsutiun joined the [[Socialist International]] and remained a full member until 1960, when it decided to pull out of the organization. In 1996, it was re-accepted as an observer member, and in 1999 the Dashnaks earned full membership in the international organization.<ref name="Socialist Int.">{{fr icon}} {{cite web | url= http://www.cdca.asso.fr/cdca/cdca-fra_rejoint_internationale_socialiste.htm| title=La F.R.A. Dachnaktsoutioun rejoint l'Internationale Socialiste|accessdate=2006-03-11}}</ref>
A member of the ARF is called ''Dashnaktsagan'' (in [[Eastern Armenian]]) or ''Tashnagtsagan'' (in [[Western Armenian]]). Other than calling each other by name, members formally address one another as ''[[Comrade]]'' (Ընկեր or ''Unger'' for boys and men, Ընկերուհի or ''Ungerouhi'' for girls and women).<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.anca.org/ancadesk.php?adid=29 | title=Spotlight: ANC of Rhode Island |accessdate=2007-03-14}}</ref>
== Affiliate organizations ==
The ARF is considered the foremost organization in the Armenian diaspora, having established numerous Armenian schools, community centers, scouting and athletic groups, relief societies, youth groups, camps, and other organs throughout the world.<ref name="AZG Armenian Daily"/> The ARF also works as an umbrella organ for the [[Armenian National Committee]], the [[Armenian Relief Society]], the [[Homenetmen|Homenetmen Armenian General Athletic Union]], the [[Hamazkayin|Hamazkayin Cultural Foundation]], and many other community organizations.<ref name="AZG Armenian Daily"/> It operates the [[Armenian Youth Federation]], which encourages the youth of the diaspora to join the political cause of the ARF and the Armenian people. The ARF-affiliated [[Armenian National Committee of America]],,<ref>{{cite book |first = Varoujan | last = Karentz | title = Mitchnapert the Citadel: A History of Armenians in Rhode Island | publisher = iUniverse | pages = p. 162 | year = 2004 | id = ISBN 0595306624 }}</ref> and its sister organizations such as the Armenian National Committee of Canada subsequently have played a significant role in the campaign for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide in their respective countries. The ARF Shant Student Association and the ARF Armen Karo Student Association are organizations of college and university students on various campuses and are the only ARF organizations whose membership is exclusively from this group. Unlike the Armenian Youth Federation, one can not be an ARF Shant member without being a rank-and-file party member.
== Notes ==
<div class="references-small">
'''α.''' {{Note_label|Precision|α|none}}Note that red is the colour used on the Dashnak flag and also the colour that represents the Socialist ideology.
'''β.''' {{Note_label|Supernova|β|none}}Note that the photo [[:Image:Fedayees.JPG|ARF Fedayees]] shows fedayees under the ARF flag with the words in Armenian, "Azadootioon gam Mah" ("Liberty or Death").<ref>{{cite book | last = Winter | first = Jay Murray | title = America and the Armenian Genocide of 1915 | publisher = Cambridge University
Press | pages = p. 240–241 | year = 2004 | id = ISBN 0521829585}}</ref>
</div>
== Citations ==
{{reflist|2}}
==External links==
*[http://www.arfd.am/ Official web site - Armenian Revolutionary Federation]
*[http://www.arfshant.org Armenian Revolutionary Federation Shant Student Association]
*[http://www.arf.am/English/ History of the Armenian Socialist Party]
{{Armenian political parties}}
{{Nagorno Karabakh political parties}}
[[Category:Political parties in Armenia]]
[[Category:Armenian political parties in Lebanon]]
[[Category:Political parties in Nagorno-Karabakh]]
[[Category:Political parties in the Ottoman Empire]]
[[Category:Political parties of the Russian Revolution]]
[[Category:Political parties of minorities]]
[[Category:Socialist parties]]
[[Category:Socialist International]]
[[Category:Political parties established in 1890]]
[[az:Daşnaksütyun]]
[[ca:Dashnak]]
[[cs:Arménská revoluční federace]]
[[da:Armeniens Revolutionære Føderation]]
[[de:Armenische Revolutionäre Föderation]]
[[es:Dashnak]]
[[fa:فدراسیون انقلابی ارمنی]]
[[fr:Fédération révolutionnaire arménienne]]
[[hy:Հայ Յեղափոխական Դաշնակցութիւն]]
[[id:Federasi Revolusionaris Armenia]]
[[it:Federazione Rivoluzionaria Armena]]
[[lt:Armėnijos revoliucinė federacija]]
[[nl:Dashnak]]
[[pt:Federação Revolucionária Armênia]]
[[ru:Дашнакцутюн]]
[[simple:Armenian Revolutionary Federation]]
[[sv:Armeniska revolutionsfederationen]]
[[tr:Ermeni Devrimci Federasyonu]]