(armenianweekly.com) YEREVAN — On February 10, 2017, the launch of former Armenian Revolutionary Federation – Dashnaktsutyun  (ARF-D) Bureau member, editor, and historian Yervant Pamboukian’s Materials On The History of the ARF-D (Նիւթեր Հ.Յ. Դաշնակցութեան պատմութեան համար) multi-volume series took place at the Mesrob Ashjian hall of Armenia’s National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Institute of History.

Armenia’s Minister of the Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan, head of Armenia’s National Academy Radik Martirosyan, chair of the NAS History Institute Ashot Melkonyan, chair of the NAS Oriental Studies Institute Ruben Safrastyan, ARF-D Bureau members Giro Manoyan and Armen Rustamyan, ARF Supreme Council of Armenia representative Aghvan Vardanyan, as well as several historians, academics, politicians, and guests.

During the event, NAS History Institute chair Ashot Melkonyan noted that Pamboukian’s work was a result of meticulous research and that his series is a vital resource for historians and academics. He also noted that the series has great political value, especially since it is deals with the history of the Armenian Genocide.

Historian Gervorg Khudinyan presented the history of the formation of the ARF-D’s archives, noting that the concept of chronicling the history of the party though its archives was first conceived by one of the founders of the ARF-D, Stepan Zorian (Rostom) and that Pamboukian’s work is the continuation of that legacy. Khudinyan went on to explain that has been very difficult to maintain the ARF-D archives, and that Pamboukian’s dedication of collecting and making them available to readers is appreciated by many.

“This series is called Materials On The History of the ARF-D, but it is, in fact, a collection of primary sources of Armenian history from 1890 to 1915,” said Khudinyan.

After congratulatory remarks from distinguished guests, Pamboukian was awarded the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute’s James Bryce Gold Medal. The event concluded with short remarks by Pamboukian.