General Loris Melikian (1825-1888), whose name had gone down in history as the man who almost saved Russia, came from old Armenian noble families in Transcaucasia. He joined the service of the Russian government and during the war in the Northern Caucasus and the Russian-Ottoman war of 1853-1856, showed his bravery and strength of character. During the Russian-Ottoman war of 1877-1878, Loris Melikian was the commander of the Caucasian army and took take the cities of Kars and Erzurum. During the great famine which followed this war, Tsar Alexander II selected Loris Melikian, who in addition to being an eminent military leader was also a competent organiser and director, as his Minister for the Interior and gave him a free hand in his department, so that Loris Melikian became the undisputed leader of Russia. Loris Melikian, who had a great mind and an extraordinary political sense, showed, like Gladstone, that the real duty of a good politician and man of power is to prevent revolution through enacting reform and that society can have so stronger foundation than development and progress. It was Melikian who strained to guide the Russian tsarist oppressive regime towards monarchy and subverse terrorist actions. Following the example of Capo d'Istria 192, Melikian tried to lead Russia towards liberalism. With public opinion in his favour, he obtained the permission of Tsar Alexander II to draft a constitution and proclaim a monarchy. However, the same day that he was going to present the new written laws to the Tsar, Alexander II was killed by a hand grenade during a terrorist attack. His son and successor, Alexander III, a narrow-sighted prince, repudiated the plan and instead implemented an aggressive policy, the result of which is known history.
Poghos Bey was also an important person, the private adviser and right-hand man of Mohammed Ali Pasha, known as the founder of the modern Egypt. "He, a noble example of a prime minister who ruled over Egypt for many years, had neither enemies nor any person who envied him, and despite the assets of government being at his disposal, he died a poor man." 193
Nubar Pasha (1825-1899) was born into an Armenian family, living in Izmir, and received his education in Switzerland and France. When he joined the service of the Egypt government, he was appointed as private secretary to Mohammed Ali Pasha, crown prince, son and successor of Ibrahim Pasha. Nubar Pasha subsequently led the Egyptian delegation in the discussions of the construction of the Suez channel. When he was appointed as Foreign Minister of Egypt, he founded various courts and when, as the prime minister of Egypt in 1884, he was faced with the difficult situation of England's occupation of his country, he adapted as best he could the resources of the country to suit the prevailing situation. In 1888 he withdrew from politics under suspicious circumstances. In fact, for his efforts in defending the rights of Egypt, he had gained a powerful enemy in the shape of Lord Cromer, England's mightiest man in Cairo, as Nubar Pasha was convinced that a country is drawn into corruption and decay if it falls under occupying rule.
Tsarist Russia was also furnished with a number of Armenian soldiers who displayed great courage during the Caucasus wars (we will return to this in the next chapter).
Traces of Armenians are also found in England, where a man of Armenian origin, Alexander Rafael Gharamian, was a member of the parliament. In the middle of the 19th century, he was appointed as representative to the chamber of commerce in the city of St. Albans. 196
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