Ivan Lazarev

Ivan Davidovich Lazarev (, Hovhannes Davti Lazarian; ; 17 October 1820 – 14 August 1879) was an Imperial Russian Army general of Armenian origin. Biography Hovhnanes Lazarian (Ivan Lazarev) was born on 17 October 1820 in Shushi in Nagorno Karabakh, then part of the Russian Empire, and studied at a school in that city. In 1839 he began his military career in the Caucasus, where, for his actions, he was made an officer in 1842. North Caucasus Before the war in Western Armenia in 1877, General Lazarian made his name in the northern Caucasus. He was assigned, like many officers, to fight in the Murid War in Dagestan against the Imam Shamil. Lazarian, unlike most officers, took the time to study and learn the Tatar language. It was a language that was known throughout the Caucasus region by the peasants, and hence foot soldiers. With this knowledge he was the first to enter into negotiations with the Muslim rebels and was the one to set up the plans for the peace processes. In 1840 he was involved in the arrest of Hadji Murad. His crowning achievement in this theater was the talks he held with the defeated Shamil, whom he led to choose peace and surrender to the governing forces in 1859. That diplomatic act made him a general after being bestowed military orders of the highest rank.