Mikayel Nalbandian (; ) was a Russian-Armenian writer, poet, political theorist and activist.
Nalbandian was born in Nakhichevan-on-Don, an Armenian town in southern Russia, and traveled extensively, although he visited Armenia itself only once. A radical intellectual, Nalbandian was an avid advocate of secularism and anti-clericalism, the use of modern Armenian (as opposed to classical Armenian) and a vocal critic of the conservative clergy of the Armenian Apostolic Church. He also espoused anti-Catholicism. Inspired by the Enlightenment and the Italian unification, Nalbandian advocated reform, cultural nationalism and agrarianism among Armenians. In his later years he was influenced by Russian radicals such as Alexander Herzen and Nikolay Chernyshevsky. For his association with them, he was persecuted and died in exile at 37.
A champion of modernism, he is seen as a follower of Khachatur Abovian. In turn, he influenced many others, including the novelist Raffi, Armenian nationalist revolutionaries (especially the Dashnaks), and Armenian Marxists, such as Alexander Miasnikian. Nalbandian was widely revered in the Soviet period, while Dashnaks adopted "Mer Hayrenik", based on his poem "The Song of an Italian Girl", as the anthem of the First Republic of Armenia in 1918. It was re-adopted by independent Armenia in 1991. Another poem by Nalbandian, glorifying freedom, has become a celebrated anthem since it was written in 1859.
Life
Early years
Mikayel Nalbandian was born on 14 November (2 November in Old Style), 1829 in Nakhichevan-on-Don (New Nakhichevan), an Armenian-populated town near Rostov-on-Don founded by Crimean Armenians in 1779, after they were relocated by Catherine the Great. His father, Ghazar (or Lazar, d. 1864), and earlier ancestors were farriers (and/or blacksmiths), from which they got their last name, which originates from Persian nalband. He first studied, from 1837 to 1845, at the private school of Father Gabriel Patkanian, a pioneer of modern Armenian education. He was taught Russian and French and was exposed to Western literature and science. Patkanian's school was shut down by Catholicos Nerses Ashtaraketsi in October 1845. Nerses and Harutiun Khalibian, the pro-clerical mayor of Nakhichevan, believed Patkanian went too far by promoting secular subjects at his school.
From July 1848 to July 1853 Nalbandian worked as the secretary of Archbishop Matteos Vehapetian, the primate of the diocese of New Nakhichevan and Bessarabia, seated in Kishinev, in modern Moldova. During those years he was mostly based in Kishnev, but regularly visited his hometown and Odessa, Kherson, and Crimea for health treatment. During this period, he was known as a dpir, a low-level rank in the Armenian church akin to a clerk or deacon. For his liberal writings, he incurred the enmity of the church authorities. Catholicos Nerses developed an enmity towards Nalbandian for his alleged immoral writings. He was forced to flee Kishnev and New Nakhichevan to avoid religious persecution.
Moscow
Nalbandian thereafter abandoned his plans to become a priest, and moved to Moscow in late July 1853. In October 1853 he began teaching the Armenian language at the Lazarev Institute of Oriental Languages in Moscow, after receiving a certificate from the Saint Petersburg Imperial University. There, he became acquainted with Stepanos Nazarian. Nalbandian was briefly arrested in Moscow in January 1854 for alleged "illegal activities", prompted by the Catholicos Nerses. He was fired from the Lazarev Institute in September 1854. After twice failing to enter as an regular student, Nalbandian attended the Imperial Moscow University from 1854 to 1858 as an auditing student of medicine.
In 1858 he collaborated with Stepanos Nazarian to establish the monthly journal Hyusisapayl («Հիւսիսափայլ», Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis), which was published in Moscow until 1864. It has been characterized as a radical, secular, and anti-clerical journal, which was the earliest public voice of liberalism among Armenians. The name was influenced by the journal Poliarnaia zvezda ("Northern Star"), published by Russian radicals Herzen and Ogarev in London. He left the editorial board of the monthly in the fall of 1859; however, his works continued to be published there. Until his departure, Nalbandian authored and translated most of the articles for Hyusisapayl.
