Career
From 1922 to 1926 he was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Armenia. He was a Communist party member since 1906. Professor of Lazarian institute of Moscow (1918-1919) and Yerevan State University.
In 1920-1921 he was the Minister of Education of Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1936-1937 Hovhannisyan was the deputy director of the Institute of History, Science Academy of Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics.