Vano Smbati Siradeghyan (; November 13, 1946 – October 15, 2021) was an Armenian politician and writer. He held several high-ranked positions in the 1990s. He served as Minister of Internal Affairs from 1992 and 1996 and as Mayor of Yerevan from 1996 to 1998. After President Levon Ter-Petrosyan's resignation in February 1998, criminal charges were filed against Siradeghyan. He disappeared in April 2000 and was wanted by Interpol until his death in 2021 at the age of 74. Today, Siradeghyan is seen as one of the most influential and controversial figures of post-Soviet Armenia.
Early years
Siradeghyan was born on November 13, 1946 in the village of Koti (then called Shavarshavan) in northeastern Armenia, near the Azerbaijani border. From 1966 to 1969, he served in the Soviet Army. He graduated from Yerevan State University in 1974. In 1983 he published his first book titled Kiraki ("Sunday").
Political career
In 1988, Siradeghyan became one of the main members of the Karabakh Committee, which demanded that the Soviet authorities transfer the Armenian-populated Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast of the Azerbaijan SSR to the Armenian SSR. In December 1989, Siradeghyan and other leading members of the Karabakh Committee were arrested, but were freed in May 1990. The Pan-Armenian National Movement was founded by members of the Karabakh Committee the same year.
Siradeghyan was appointed the Minister of Interior Affairs in 1992 by President Levon Ter-Petrosyan, a post he held until 1996. According to journalist David Petrosyan, Siradeghyan "controlled part of the local market in oil products, part of the incomes generated from transport junctions, the greater part of the food market, the smaller part of bread production, and the woodwork and timber industry."
Siradeghyan was criticized for his harshness against political opposition. In 1994, Ashot Manucharyan, Siradeghyan's former colleague from the Karabakh Committee, accused him of "subverting democracy and fueling corruption", while another former Karabakh Committee member, Hambartsum Galstyan, claimed Siradeghyan was responsible for 30 politically motivated murders (Galstyan was killed by unknown assailants in December 1994, which was followed by speculation that Siradeghyan had ordered the killing). He also played a key role in the forcible crackdown against Vazgen Manukyan's supporters' protests after the controversial 1996 presidential election. In an interview in January 1999, Siradeghyan admitted that the government had resorted to vote-rigging to secure Ter-Petrosyan's victory without a runoff election and stated that after the crackdown, President Ter-Petrosyan fell into a three-month depression and wanted Siradeghyan and Defense Minister Vazgen Sargsyan to resign. According to Siradeghyan, "the whole state apparatus was demoralized, paralyzed and no government was formed during [the ensuing] three months."
In November 1996, Siradeghyan resigned from his position at the Interior Ministry. On November 14, 1996 he was appointed Mayor of Yerevan by presidential decree. In July 1997, Siradeghyan was elected head of the Pan-Armenian National Movement's executive body. He was a member of the National Assembly of Armenia from 1997 to 1999.
Charges and arrests
On February 1, 1998, Siradeghyan resigned from his position as Mayor of Yerevan. Two days later, on February 3, 1998, President Levon Ter-Petrosyan resigned as a result of disagreements with "hard-line military leaders" Defence Minister Vazgen Sargsyan, Prime Minister Robert Kocharyan and Interior and National Security Minister Serzh Sargsyan over the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement negotiations with Azerbaijan. After Ter-Petrosyan's resignation, Siradeghyan became the leader of the Pan-Armenian National Movement.