Yuri Grigoryevich Khachaturov (Armenian: Յուրի Գրիգորիի Խաչատուրով; born 1 May 1952) is a former Secretary-General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and former Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Armenia.

Contents

• 1 Early life
• 2 Military service
  • 2.1 Soviet Army
  • 2.2 Armenian Army
• 3 Arrest and trial
• 4 Personal life
• 5 Awards
• 6 References

Early life

Khachaturov was born in Tetritskaro, Georgian SSR on 1 May 1952. After graduating from the Secondary School Tetritskaro in 1969, he entered the Tbilisi Artillery Command of the Red Banner School, where he graduated from with honors in 1974. After graduation, Khachaturov was appointed commander of the platoon firing artillery regiment of infantry divisions of the Far Eastern Military District. He served as a battery commander, chief of staff, deputy commander of an artillery battalion commander of the anti-tank artillery battalion in the Far Eastern Military District from 1976 to 1982.

Military service

Soviet Army

From 1982 to 1985, he studied at the Kalinin Artillery Military Academy in Leningrad. Afterward he was appointed Chief of Staff of the Missile Forces and Artillery Tank Division of the Belarusian Military District. Khachaturov served as Chief of Staff of the Missile Forces and Artillery 5 Guards Motorized Rifle Division 40th Army in Afghanistan from 1987 to February 1989. For his service in the Soviet–Afghan War, he was honored with an Order for Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR, two Soviet Orders of Red Star, and the Afghan Order of Star (2nd degree).

Armenian Army

Khatchaturov laying a wreath with Belarusian Defense Minister Andrei Ravkov.

After serving in Afghanistan, Khachaturov was appointed commander of an artillery brigade of the Belarusian Military District in October 1989. After the Fall of the Soviet Union, a special decree of the Defence Ministry of Belarus for Khachaturov's services had been seconded to the Ministry of Defence of Armenia and he was appointed commander of the Armenian 2nd infantry regiment in April 1992. He took part in the hostilities of the First Nagorno-Karabakh War and was actively involved in the protection of the state border.

In September 1992, Khachaturov became Chief of the Armenian Border Guard. He was one of the initiators of the formation of the Goris Infantry Regiment (1993-1994), Tavush Motorized Brigade (1994-1995), and the first and fourth army corps (1996-1997 and 1997-2000 respectively), units and formations. Khachaturov also held the post of commander of the operational areas and the Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia.

In 1995, by decree of the President of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosyan, Khachaturov awarded the rank of Major General. He was promoted to Lieutenant General in 2000 and Colonel General on 15 April 2008. On 21 March 2000, he was appointed Deputy Minister of Defence of Armenia. Khachaturov was appointed the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Armenia in April 2008, just after Serzh Sargsyan was made President of Armenia. It was in this position where he commanded the 2011 Independence Day Parade on Republic Square celebrating the 20th anniversary of independence. He was dismissed in October 2016.

On 1 May 2012, the president of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, Bako Sahakyan awarded Khachaturov the Mesrop Mashtots Medal.

Arrest and trial

On July 26, 2018, Khachaturov was charged with "overthrowing the cons*utional order" during his actions as commander of the Yerevan garrison during the events of March 1-2, 2008, when opposition protests led by Levon Ter-Petrossian were forcefully suppressed by police and military forces; Ter-Petrossian accused the authorities of rigging the results of the presidential elections held in February of that year. A year later, he was released from custody on bail of 10,000 dollars, while Armenia appealed to the CSTO and proposed to relieve Khachaturov from the post of the secretary general of the organization. Khachaturov was tried alongside ex-president Robert Kocharyan, ex-defense minister Seyran Ohanyan (who was Chief of the General Staff in March 2008), and former secretary of the Security Council Armen Gevorgyan. The trial ended in March 2021 after the Cons*utional Court of Armenia declared uncons*utional the article of the criminal code under which Khachaturov was being tried.

Personal life

He is currently married and has three sons. One of his sons, Grigory, is a major general in the Armenian Army, serving currently as the commander of the 3rd Army Corps in Vanadzor. Aside from Armenian, Khachaturov is also fluent in the Russian language.

Awards

Armenia

• Order of the Combat Cross
• Order of Vardan Mamikonian
• Mesrop Mashtots Medal
• Order of Nerses the Gracious
• Medal of Marshal Baghramyan
• Andranik Ozanian Medal
• Medal "For Military Cooperation"
• Medal " For Strengthening Community"
• Hero of Artsakh
• Order of the Combat Cross

Soviet Union

• Order of the Red Star, twice
• Order for Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR, 3rd cl*
• Medal "Veteran of the Armed Forces of the USSR"
• Jubilee Medal "60 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"
• Jubilee Medal "70 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"
• Medal "For Impeccable Service", 1st cl*
• Medal "For Impeccable Service", 2nd cl*

Foreign

• Medal of Zhukov

References