Garegin Srvandztiants

Srvandztiants was educated at the seminary of Varagavank monastery under the mentorship of Mkrtich Khrimian, well-known Armenian religious figure.

Under his tutelage, Srvandztiants toured Eastern Armenian (also known as Russian Armenia) where he surveyed the living condition and cultural characteristics of the local population.

[3] In 1862 he moved with Khrimian to the St. Karapet Monastery near Mush, where he edited the journal Artsvik Tarono (The Eaglet of Taron).

[3] After the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78), the rights of Armenians were guaranteed under Article 16 of the Treaty of San Stefano, stipulating that the Russian forces occupying the Armenian-populated provinces in the eastern Ottoman Empire would withdraw only with the full implementation of reforms.

Srvandztiants was then tasked to collect data and information of the Armenian population in the eastern provinces and report to the Patriarch of Constantinople.