Christopher Ivanyan
| Kristapor Ivanyan | |
|---|---|
| Native name | Քրիստափոր Իվանյանի |
| Birth name | Kristapor Ivanyan |
| Born |
20 December 1920 Tiflis, Georgia |
| Died | 30 August 1999 (aged 78) Saint Petersburg, Russia |
| Allegiance |
 Soviet Union Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Armenia
|
| Service/branch |
 Soviet ArmyNagorno-Karabakh Defense Army  Armed Forces of Armenia
|
| Years of service | 1938–1978 1992–1998 |
| Rank | Lieutenant general |
| Commands held | 195th Mortar Regiment 318th Infantry Division 280th Guards Tank Regiment 52nd Rifle Brigade 14th Army |
| Battles/wars |
World War II Nagorno-Karabakh War |
| Awards | see below |
Kristapor Ivanyan (Armenian: Քրիստափոր Իվանյանի; 20 December 1920 – 30 August 1999) was a Soviet and Armenian lieutenant general. He fought in both World War II and the Nagorno-Karabakh War, both taking place a span of fifty years apart, and is one of the founders of the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army.
A military school in Stepanakert is named after Ivanyan. In 2001, the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic renamed the town of Khojaly to Ivanyan in his honor, and a statue of Ivanyan was unveiled in Stepanakert on the tenth anniversary of the proclamation of Nagorno-Karabakh’s independence.
Ivanyan was born in Tiflis to Armenian parents. He joined the Soviet Armed Forces in 1938. In 1940 he graduated from the Tbilisi Artillery School. During the Eastern Front of World War II, Ivanyan fought in Crimea, Transcarpathia, and Czechoslovakia. Ivanyan served as an Artillery Regiment Commander advisor from 1941 to 1942, and from 1942 to 1943 became commander of the 195th Mortar Regiment. From 1943 to 1944, he was the 318th Infantry Division Artillery commander, as part of Czechoslovakia. He was wounded several times, and was awarded various orders and medals. In 1949, he graduated from the Frunze Military Academy, and then was the head of the preparatory artillery corps from 1949 to 1952. Ivanyan than became the 280th Guards Tank Regiment commander from 1952 to 1955, as part of the Soviet forces stationed in the Federal Republic of Germany. Then from 1956 to 1958, he was the Special Guards Tank Regiment commander. Ivanyan was the Head of the Department of Military at the Odessa State University from 1958 to 1961, then took graduate courses from the Leningrad Military District Artillery Academy, graduating in 1962. He was the Odessa Military District commander of the 52nd Rifle Brigade from 1962 to 1968 and the Odessa Military District's 14th Army commander of the missile troops and artillery from 1968 to 1973. In 1973, Ivanyan became the Transcaucasian Military District deputy commander of the missile troops and artillery. He served in the position for five years before retiring from the Soviet Army in 1978.
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