Imperial Russia The Military Career of Giorgi Arutyunov

[Chuck In Oregon]

The first image is of Giorgi Arutyunov as a cadet at Mikhail's Artillery School. If I'm not mistaken, this later became the Tbilisi Artillery Academy, which still exists and serves the same role. Nice looking kid, posing with his new sword in a fine carved chair.

[Chuck In Oregon]

This next image is of the front page of brand-new Subaltern Arutyunov's academy graduation program, dated July 1, 1917.

[Chuck In Oregon]

This is the back page, page four, of Subaltern Arutyunov's graduation program. If you count up eight lines from the bottom of the text, you can see where someone has underlined his name as it carried over from the line above. This was a major event and something that the whole family could take pride in. It definitely would have been the occasion for a celebratory supra.

[Chuck In Oregon]

Subaltern Arutyunov immediately shipped out to the Turkish Front. He must have been a very good leader. His men voted him this very late "Soldier's Committee" George Cross (as it was then known). Officers could only earn one by vote of their soldiers, which was not often coming, this late in the war. This must have been a huge source of pride to Giorgi Arutyunov and to his family and friends.

[Chuck In Oregon]

No good endings in these stories, friends.

On September 15, 1917, Subaltern Arutyunov suffered grave wounds while serving with the 1st Division, 39th Artillery Brigade of the Caucasus Army on the Turkish Front. He died of his wounds on September 30. This notification letter from the military hospital in Tbilisi was written to his family on October 4. The backlog must have delayed its writing for four days.

[Chuck In Oregon]

Among Subaltern Arutyunov's last effects that were returned to his family were two army regulation pamphlets, which I also have, and this miniature Georgian dagger, or khindjal. This was likely to have been presented to him as a good luck or family remembrance memento, most likely by his father.

One story out of ten million.

Chuck

[Guest Rick Research]

So short a life...

the chief physician wasted no words (no, literally, he didn't) on expressions of sympathy or patriotic fluffery.

Imagine getting a postcard "Your son is dead."

I suppose they'd run out of ... words by then.

[Chuck In Oregon]

Rick, I thought this little group might interest you.

Chuck