[1] Zavarian was born in the village of Igahat in the Tiflis Governorate of the Russian Empire (now Aygehat in Lori Province, Armenia).

[2] He graduated from the Nersisian School in Tiflis, then attended the Petrovsky Agricultural Academy in Moscow, where he met Christapor Mikaelian and Stepan Zorian.

[3] He later settled in Tiflis, where he co-founded the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) with Christapor Mikaelian and Stepan Zorian in 1890.

[3] He also conducted research for the party and performed organizational work during his many travels across Europe and the Ottoman Empire.

[2] In 1902, he went to Geneva, where he served as a member of the editorial board of Droshak, the ARF's official newspaper.