The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) is an Armenian nationalist and socialist political party which was founded in 1890 in Tiflis, Russian Empire (now Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia) by Christopher Mikaelian, Stepan Zorian, and Simon Zavarian.
It became active within the Ottoman Empire during the 1890s with the aim of uniting reformist groups and defending Armenian villages from massacres, and they formed fedayi groups to provide armed resistance to genocidal attacks. In 1918, the party was instrumental in the creation of an independent Armenian republic following the end of World War I, although the republic fell to the Soviet communists in 1920. After its leadership was exiled by the communists, the ARF established itself within Armenian diaspora communities, where it helped Armenians preserve their cultural identity. After the Dissolution of the Soviet Union, the ARF returned to Armenia and became a minor party in Parliament. Its branch in Lebanon also held parliamentary representation due to its support among the Armenian diaspora there, and it was a part of the March 8 Alliance.
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