Nikos Kapetanidis

Nikos Kapetanidis (, 1889–1921, aged 32) was a Pontian Greek journalist and newspaper publisher from Rizunda. He was hanged by Turkish nationalists serving under Mustafa Kemal during the Amasya trials.

Life and career Kapetanidis was born in Rize, a city in the Pontus region of the Ottoman Empire (modern Turkey). He attended the Phrontisterion of Trapezous, a Greek middle-level school in Trebizond. He began criticizing the education system while studying at the Phronsisterion of Trapezous. Kapetanidis was frustrated with the lack of skilled teachers. In his opinion, most contemporary teachers didn't encourage critical or creative thinking. Photiadis and Iliadou-Tachou argue that the rise of Turkish nationalism during the early 1900s fueled Greek nationalism and populism within the Ottoman Empire. Kapetanidis was one of the few Pontians who vocally supported these nationalist ideas.

After graduation, he became one of the most prominent journalists and active members of the local Greek press.

He spoke on educational issues through his newspaper, supporting the use of vernacular Greek in the local schools. Moreover, he insisted that education shouldn't be controlled by the religious authorities, in particular the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. Kapetanidis believed that teachers should train students as nationalist thinkers. In his mind, religious education was far less important than nationalist education. Kapetanidis also stated that teachers should receive high wages. At the time, many Pontic Greek teachers left the profession because of low pay. A year before his death, he wrote in , "For the sake of our dignity as Romans...you must not think that teaching us means begging." later called Atatürk, executed him. He was among several notable Greeks killed as a result of the Amasya trials. His last words before he died were "Long live the land of the Hellenes."

Legacy A bust of Nikos Kapetanidis, sculpted by Gagik Altumian, stands in Marousi, Greece. A full-body statue of Kapetanidis, made by Giorgos Kikotis, was revealed in Stavroupoli, Thessaloniki, in September 2021, on the 100th anniversary of his death. A relief on the base depicts the execution of Pontian men in Amasya. The sculpture was vandalized the same month.