LOS ANGELES–His Excellency Arkady Ghoukassian–President of Mountainous Karabagh Republic (MKR)–personally presented the Republic’s Mesrob Mashdots medal to Professor Richard Hovannisian during a reception ceremony at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Nazarian in Glendale–California–on November 26. Hovannisian is the Holder of the Armenian Educational Foundation Chair in Modern Armenian History at the University of California–Los Angeles (UCLA) and the author of numerous publications relating to the Republic of Armenia–the Karabagh issue–and the Armenian Genocide.
The Mashdots medal and certificate were awarded to Professor Hovannisian for his academic and intellectual activities relating to MKR. President Ghoukassian praised Hovannisian’s ground-breaking studies on the history of MKR and its attempts to gain international recognition of its right to self-determination.
Professor Hovannisian expressed his appreciation to President Ghoukassian and the people of the MKR–in whose name the award was made–and spoke briefly about his intellectual discovery of Karabagh in the 1960s–and his having to come to know the region intimately long before he was able to visit and see it in person.
The Mashdots award is the latest in a number of similar recent honors bestowed on Hovannisian.
He was previously awarded the Mesrob Mashdots medal by His Holiness Karekin II and the Knight of
Cilicia medal by His Holiness Aram I–successive patriarchs of the Catholicosate of Cilicia–and the St. Sahag and St. Mesrob Medal and encyclical by His Holiness Karekin II of the Holy See of Etchmiadzin. He has also been awarded the Movses Khorenatsi medal by the Republic of Armenia for his contributions to Armenian history and culture. Hovannisian has received honorary doctorate degrees from Yerevan State University and from Artsakh State University in Stepanakert. He is the recipient of resolutions of commendation from the US Congress–California State Legislature–Los Angeles City Council–Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors– the Armenian National Academy of Sciences–and numerous Armenian cultural and civic organizations.
Most recently–Hovhannisian has been organizing semiannual conferences at UCLA on historic Armenian cities and provinces–with the proceedings of the first three conferences on Van–Bitlis-Mush–and Kharpert now published under his editorship–to be followed by Garin/Erzerum–Sepastia/Sivas–Dikranagerd/Diarbekir–and others.
