PROFESSOR A.A. HARAHA-SHIAN – ARMENIAN BY NA-TIONALITY, UKRAINIAN IN SOUL

Professor Ara Armenakovych Harahashian was born in Armenia on June 18, 1902. At the age of 13, he remained a full orphan, as during the aggressive actions on the part of Turkey, his family died. He had to be evacuated first to Russia, and then in 1919 he moved to Ukraine, which accepted him very hospitably. In 1921 he entered the medical faculty of the Kharkiv Medical Institute. After graduating from it at the age of 28, as a capable organizer of medicine, Harahashian worked as chief physician of a tuberculosis sanatorium, later as the Head of the District Health Department. Having established himself as a successful manager in this position, in 1938 he headed the Medical Service of the former Izmail region, now the territory of Odessa region. From there, he was mobilized to war, during which he headed the front hospital. After the war, Harahashian again returned to his post in Izmail region. In 1947-1948, he opposed the Holodomor organized by Communist regime in Moldova and Bessarabia. The party communist elite did not forgive him and discharged him from employment. All further activity of the son of the Armenian people is connected with Ivano-Frankivsk region. Here in 1951 he organized one of the first anti-goiter dispensaries in Ukraine and introduced diagnostics and treatment of thyroid diseases with radioactive iodine. In addition, he was a wonderful teacher, working in Ivano-Frankivsk Medical Institute as the Dean of the Medical Faculty, and later as a Vice-Rector of educational work. His life was cut off in 1967 at the height of his forces due to the damage of bone marrow by radioactive iodine and the development of aplastic anemia. Residents of Ivano-Frankivsk, taking into account his special merits, named one of the streets of the town in his name.