Grigor Artsruni

Artsruni believed in the necessity of development of capitalism in Armenia and supported the idea of armed resistance as a solution for the Armenian question.

[2] Grigor's paternal ancestors, the Yeran-Artsrunis, were a notable family in Van in Ottoman Armenia who claimed descent from the ancient noble house of Artsruni.

[1] He spoke only Russian and French until his early teenage years and only began to study Armenian when he when he entered the Tiflis gymnasium.

[5] In 1872, he established the newspaper Mshak ('Cultivator' or 'Toiler'), which, as Lisa Khachaturian notes, he intended to be "a central unifying organ that would enlighten, entertain, and coordinate the concerns of Armenians and other ethnic groups inhabiting the Caucasus, while also covering Europe and the Russian Empire."

Mshak's low price allowed it to reach a broader audience, and it had higher circulation numbers and a much longer lifespan than most other Armenian publications.

[5] Besides his journalistic and publishing activities, Artsruni also wrote memoirs, a novel (Evelina, 1891), short stories, essays, feuilletons, and other kinds of works.

He supported a number of liberal reforms, such as the guaranteeing of freedom of the press and conscience, the separation of Church and state, regulation of the wage system and working day, improvement of housing conditions for workers, and the establishment of national educational institutions and commercial arbitrage courts.