Alexander Minasi Movsisian (Armenian: Ալեքսանդր Մինասի Մովսիսեան; born April 18, 1858; died August 7, 1935) is better known by his pen name Alexander Shirvanzade (Armenian: Ալեքսանդր Շիրվանզադէ). He was an Armenian playwright and novelist. He was an important figure in the realist movement in Armenian literature.

Life and work

Alexander Movsisian was born on April 18, 1858, into a tailor's family in Shamakhi, a city in the historical province of Shirvan (then called the Shemakha Governorate in the Russian Empire, now part of Azerbaijan). He later used the name Shirvanzade, which means "son of Shirvan" in Persian. Shamakhi was once a busy and diverse city that was important for trade and government, but it was losing importance as nearby Baku grew. Shirvanzade first studied at a school run by a Protestant Armenian preacher and later attended an Armenian parish school. His father believed learning Russian would be more useful, so he moved Alexander to a local Russian school, which he graduated from in 1872. As a young man, he joined amateur theater groups and wrote a short play called a vaudeville.

Shirvanzade’s father faced financial trouble after trying to start a dye-making business, so he moved the family to Quba to work as a tailor again. In 1875, at age 17, Shirvanzade left Shamakhi to find work in Baku to support his family. He never returned to his hometown. For eight years, he worked as a clerk and bookkeeper in government offices and private companies, including oil businesses. He observed the rise of a new wealthy class and the competition for oil in Baku, which shaped his views on politics and society.

In Baku, Shirvanzade lived with his relatives, the Abelians, a family known for its cultural and intellectual members. It was here that he began reading literature and the press. He studied works by Armenian authors such as Khachatur Abovian, Raffi, and Perch Proshian, as well as the poetry of Mikayel Nalbandian and Raphael Patkanian, and the plays of Gabriel Sundukian. He also read Russian and European authors like Stendhal, Balzac, Flaubert, Zola, and Shakespeare, especially enjoying Shakespeare’s works. He studied philosophy and economics and used the library of the Armenian Philanthropic Society of Baku, where he later worked as a librarian. He wrote articles for Armenian and Russian newspapers about the oil industry and the lives of workers. In 1883, he published his first literary works in the Armenian newspaper Mshak: a short story titled “Hrdeh navt’agortsaranum” (Fire at the Oil Wells), which described the poor treatment of oil workers, and a novella titled Gortsakatari hishatakaranits’ (From the Diary of a Salesman). That same year, he moved to Tiflis (now Tbilisi, Georgia), where he met many Armenian writers and intellectuals.

In 1885, he published his first major novel, Namus (Honor), in the weekly Ardzagank’, which brought him recognition. The novel is set in Shamakhi and tells the story of two people whose lives are ruined by strict traditions and the power of money. Another work, Fat’man yev Asadë (Fatma and Asad, 1888), deals with similar themes. He worked as a secretary for Ardzagank’ from 1886 to 1891 and published more stories, articles, and reviews there. He supported realism in literature, believing it should avoid being too biased or copying life exactly (he opposed naturalism).

During the 1890s, Shirvanzade wrote many works. According to scholar Hrant Tamrazian, his best works were created in the 1890s and around the time of the 1905 Russian Revolution, a period of strong social and political change. In 1895–96, during the Hamidian massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Shirvanzade, a member of the Hunchakian Party (a socialist and Armenian nationalist group), wrote articles defending Armenians and organized aid for them in Russia. He was accused of inciting rebellion and imprisoned in Tiflis. While in prison, he wrote his novel K’aos (Chaos, 1898), considered his masterpiece and a top example of Armenian realism. The story takes place in Baku and shows how money causes conflict in the family of an Armenian oil magnate, reflecting the effects of industrial capitalism.

In 1898, Shirvanzade was exiled for two years to Odessa, where he continued writing. After returning to Baku, he wrote plays about women’s rights, such as Yevgine (1903) and Uner iravunk’ (Did She Have the Right? 1903). His drama Patvi hamar (1904, translated as For the Sake of Honor in 1976) addresses both capitalism and women’s issues. Shirvanzade is seen as a key figure in Armenian drama, writing both plays and comedies. He continued the work of Gabriel Sundukian in showing modern Armenian life and social problems. In 1916, Maxim Gorky said Shirvanzade’s works were read not only in the Caucasus but also in England, Scandinavia, and Italy.

From 1905 to 1910, Shirvanzade lived in Paris. He wrote about the suffering of Armenians during the Armenian genocide and criticized the Ottoman government and the policies of powerful nations. In 1919, he went abroad again for medical care, living in France and the United States. He returned to the USSR in 1926 and settled in Yerevan. He published his collected works in eight volumes and revised many of his writings. He also wrote his memoirs, Kyank’i bovits’ (From the Crucible of Life), which Kevork Bardakjian called a lively and insightful account of people, places, and events. The book describes many important Armenian cultural figures he knew, including actor Petros Adamian and writers Raffi, Ghazaros Aghayan, Perch Proshian, and Gabriel Sundukian. He joined the Union of Soviet Writers and the Union of Azerbaijani Writers, participating in their founding congresses in 1934. Shirvanzade died in Kislovodsk in 1935 and was buried in Komitas Pantheon, located in Yere

Legacy

Several of Shirvanzade's works were made into movies in Armenia during the Soviet era: Namus in 1925, Char vogi in 1927, Patvi hamar in 1956, Morgani khnamin ("Morgan's In-law") in 1970, and Chaos in 1973. A street and a school in the city of Yerevan are named after him, and a theater in Kapan is also named in his honor.

Works

The following items are from the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.:

• Artistē (1924)
• Char ogi; Namus; Patwi hamar (1979)
• Erker: hing hatorov Collected works in 5 volumes. (1986–1988)
• Erker (1983)
• Erkeri zhoghovatsu: tasě hatorov (1959)
• Evil spirit: a play Translated from Armenian Char ogi by Nishan Parlakian. (1980) ISBN 0-934728-01-1
• For the sake of honor Translated from Badvi hamar and with an introduction by Nishan Parlakian. (1976)
• Erkeri liakatar zhoghovatsu (1934)
• Iz-za chesti (1941)
• Izbrannoe (1947, 1949, 1952)
• Kʻaos: vēp (1956)
• Melania: vēpik: kovkasean irakan keankʻitsʻ (1938)
• Sobranie sochineniĭ 3 volumes. (1957)
• Tsʻawagarě (1958)
• Verjin shatruaně: sēnario (1937)
• Yōtʻ patmuatskʻner (1920)