Sargis Lukashin
Sergei Lukyani Lukashin ; 18 was an Armenian Old Bolshevik and Soviet statesman.
Early life and career
Lukashin was born in December 1883 in the Armenian-populated city of New Nakhichevan near Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia. In 1901, he graduated from the Nakhichevan-on-Don Armenian Theological Seminary, where he befriended the future Soviet Armenian statesman and revolutionary Alexander Miasnikian. In 1906, Lukashin moved to Saint Petersburg where he studied law at the Saint Petersburg Imperial University and personally me with Vladimir Lenin in 1907. At first a supporter of the Armenian Social-Democratic Labour Organization, he joined the Bolshevik Party in 1906. In addition to his studies at the Imperial University, Lukashin studied economics at the Saint Petersburg Polytechnic Institute and was arrested several times for revolutionary activity. After graduating from Saint Petersburg Imperial University in 1910, he and his wife fled to Germany and Switzerland.Lukashin returned to Saint Petersburg in 1910 and worked as an attorney and clerk for the Armenian Church. During World War I, he served in the Imperial Russian Army as a sapper. He participated in the Bolsheviks' armed rebellion in Petrograd during the October Revolution, after which he moved to Rostov-on-Don and fought on the Southern Front of the Russian Civil War. It was during this time that he adopted the nom de guerre Lukashin, which originated from his father's nickname, Lukash. In 1918, Lukashin worked in the Cheka and as the secretary of the Moscow regional bureau of the Bolshevik Party. In 1919 he returned to the Don region and occupied various positions there until 1921.
Leadership in Armenia
Working closely with Miasnikian, Lukashin served as one of the early leaders of Soviet Armenia during Lenin's New Economic Policy. From 1921 to 1922, he was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Armenia and between 1922 and 1925, he served as the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars. Lukashin oversaw the rebuilding of the Armenian economy and the first steps toward the industrialization of the republic, which was suffering from a severe refugee crisis, famine, and disease. Lukashin played a significant role in the development of industries in Kapan, Alaverdi, and Leninakan. He also oversaw the electrification of Armenia, the development of canals and irrigation, and sanatoriums at Dilijan and Arzni. Additionally, he supported Viktor Ambartsumian's studies in Leningrad.Lukashin was a strong supporter of the Transcaucasian SFSR. From 1925 to 1928, he was Vice Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the TSFSR and occupied various ministerial positions. From 1928 to 1937, Lukashin occupied various positions at the all-union level having to do with construction and heavy industry.