Of Armenian descent, Shadunts was born in
Jabrayil,
Elisabethpol Governorate,
Russian Empire (now Azerbaijan) in 1898. He received his early education in
Shusha. In 1917, Shadunts became a member of the
Communist Party. He became an activist for the communist cause in Azerbaijan. In 1921, he went to Armenia and participated in the fighting as a result of the establishment of
Republic of Mountainous Armenia. After the Republic of Mountainous Armenia was dismembered, Shadunts became the Executive Secretary of the Municipal Committee in Yerevan in 1923. Shadunts' reputation was formally reestablished in 1957. ==References==