page_title: Aram Manukian
section_title: Tributes
hierarchical_section_title: Aram Manukian / Tributes
caption_attribution_description: English: Aram Manukian
context_page_description: Aram Manukian, also referred to as simply Aram, was an Armenian revolutionary, statesman, and a leading member of the nationalist Armenian Revolutionary Federation party. He is widely regarded as the founder of the First Republic of Armenia.
  Born and educated in Russian Armenia, he was mostly active in Van, one of the largest cities in Turkish Armenia. He rose to prominence there as a community organizer. During the first months of World War I he worked with local Ottoman officials to de-escalate rising tensions until mid-April 1915, when Turkish forces laid siege to the city. He led the successful Armenian civilian self-defense of Van. As a result, tens of thousands avoided being deported and massacred by the Turkish government while the Armenian Genocide was underway. He briefly served as the head of the provisional government in Van.
  Following the Russian Revolution and the collapse of the Caucasian front in 1917–18, Aram was "popular dictator" of the unconquered area around the city of Yerevan.
context_section_description: On July 17, 2018 Aram Manukian's statue was officially unveiled near the Republic Square metro station in attendance of ARF leader Hrant Markarian, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, President Armen Sarkissian and Catholicos Karekin II. In his speech, Pashinyan called Aram the "greatest apostle of our modern history." The choice of the statue and location were criticized and both the Ministry of Culture and the Urban Development Committee declared their reservations. 
  Aram Manukian's bust was unveiled before the Armenian police headquarters in 2009 due to the fact that he was Armenia's first Interior Minister, which includes the police department. The ARF-affiliated Yerkir Media criticized the Armenian government, saying: "Find another nation, which pays tribute to the founder of their statehood by a bust, yet alone before the police headquarters, just because Aram Manukian was the Minister of Internal Affairs of the First Republic." Historian Tigran Petrosyants suggested that the Yerevan Municipality erect a statue of Aram in the city.
  In Kapan, a neighborhood is named after him. In 2009 Aram's bust was unveiled in the city.
  A medal of the Armenian Police named after Manukian is "awarded to a Police employee for significant contribution to the Police system operations development, strengthening law and order, combatting crime, maintenance of public order and security protection, staff education."
  In 1989 a volunteer regiment Aram Manukian was founded in the city of Ararat, which took part in the Nagorno-Karabakh War.
  The Canadian branch of the Armenian Youth Federation named its Cambridge, Ontario chapter after Aram Manukian.
caption: The house where Aram Manukian lived in Yerevan between 1917 and 1919
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