Ter-Petrosyan was born in Aleppo , Syria , to a family which survived the Armenian Genocide and took part in the Musa Dagh Resistance . His family emigrated to Soviet Armenia the same year he was born . In 1968 , he graduated from the Oriental Studies Department of the Yerevan State University . In 1972 , he completed his postgraduate studies at the Leningrad State University . In 1987 , he received his doctoral degree from the same university . In 1972-78 , Ter-Petrosyan worked as junior researcher at the Literature Institute of Armenia named after Manouk Abeghian . From 1978-85 , he held the post of science secretary at Matenadaran named after Saint Mesrob Mashdots . Since 1985 , he has worked at Matenadaran as a senior researcher . He is married to Lyudmila ( née Pleskovskaya ) ; the couple has one son , David , and three grandchildren ( Hayk , Levon , Armine ) . Petrosyan speaks at least seven languages ( Armenian , Assyrian , Russian , French , English , German , Arabic )
Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
Levon Ter-Petrosyan