Sardarapat Memorial is a memorial complex to the

Battle of Sardarabad The Battle of Sardarabad ( hy, Սարդարապատի ճակատամարտ, translit=Sardarapati chakatamart; tr, Serdarabad Muharebesi) was a battle of the Caucasus campaign of World War I that took place near Sardarabad, Armenia, from 21 to ...

located in the village of

Araks , az, Araz, fa, ارس, tr, Aras The Aras (also known as the Araks, Arax, Araxes, or Araz) is a river in the Caucasus. It rises in eastern Turkey and flows along the borders between Turkey and Armenia, between Turkey and the Nakhchivan excl ...

, in the Armavir Province of

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...

, 11 kilometers southwest of Armavir town.

Design

The memorial was designed by architect

Rafael Israelyan Rafayel "Rafo" Israyelian ( hy, Ռաֆայել Իսրայելյան; 8 September 1973) was a Soviet Armenian architect. Seen as a follower of Alexander Tamanian, Israyelian designed some of Soviet Armenia's most prominent structures, including t ...

while the sculpting is by Ara Harutyunyan, Arsham Shahinyan and Sambel Minasyan. The entrance is flanked by huge winged oxen made of red tufa. A flight of steps leads to a square from which a 26-metre-high bell tower rises. The beautiful trellised structure with its twelve bells can be seen from afar. The bells ring every year on the day of the historic victory. The monument is guarded by massive ancient style Armenian-winged lions, and is flanked by a memorial garden for

Karabakh Karabakh ( az, Qarabağ ; hy, Ղարաբաղ, Ġarabaġ ) is a geographic region in present-day southwestern Azerbaijan and eastern Armenia, extending from the highlands of the Lesser Caucasus down to the lowlands between the rivers Kura and ...

(Arstakh) martyrs.

History

In the early 1960s, initiatives in honor of the battle were conceived, one of the main authors of which was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Armenia Yakov Zarobyan, who pointed to an interest in perpetuating historical events in the Armenian diaspora. In 1964, Zarobyan's report was sent to the

Central Committee of the CPSU The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, – TsK KPSS was the executive leadership of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, acting between sessions of Congress. According to party statutes, the committee directe ...

, after which

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

gave its consent for the project. In 1966, a change in the leadership of Soviet Armenia took place, during which Zarobyan was replaced by

Anton Kochinyan Anton Yervandi Kochinyan ( hy, Անտոն Երվանդի Քոչինյան; 25 October 1913 – 1 December 1990, Yerevan) was a Soviet Armenian politician. He was Chairman of the Council of Ministers from 1952 to 1966, and the First Secretary ...

, under whom, the construction of the memorial was carried out. masis.tv/ref> In 1968 during the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the

Battle of Sardarapat The Battle of Sardarabad ( hy, Սարդարապատի ճակատամարտ, translit=Sardarapati chakatamart; tr, Serdarabad Muharebesi) was a battle of the Caucasus campaign of World War I that took place near Sardarabad, Armenia, from 21 to ...

that took place on May 22–26, 1918 a memorial park was laid out on the spot of the battlefield. In 1969, the Sardarapat Memorial Complex was nominated for the

USSR State Prize The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, Gosudarstvennaya premiya SSSR) was the Soviet Union's state honor. It was established on 9 September 1966. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, t ...

. In the early 1980s, the leaders of the Armenian SSR, the

Georgian SSR The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic (Georgian SSR; ka, საქართველოს საბჭოთა სოციალისტური რესპუბლიკა, tr; russian: Грузинская Советская Соц� ...

and the Azerbaijan SSR ( Karen Demirchyan,

Eduard Shevardnadze Eduard Ambrosis dze Shevardnadze ( ka, ედუარდ ამბროსის ძე შევარდნაძე}, romanized: ; 25 January 1928 – 7 July 2014) was a Soviet and Georgian politician and diplomat who governed Georgia fo ...

and

Heydar Aliyev Heydar Alirza oghlu Aliyev ( az, Һејдәр Әлирза оғлу Әлијев, italic=no, Heydər Əlirza oğlu Əliyev, ; , ; 10 May 1923 – 12 December 2003) was a Soviet and Azerbaijani politician who served as the third president of Az ...

respectively) visited the memorial complex as part of the session of the Military Council of the

Transcaucasian Military District The Transcaucasian Military District, a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces, traces its history to May 1921 and the incorporation of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia into the Soviet Union. It was disbanded by being redesignated as a Grou ...

. The presence of Azerbaijan's Aliyev at the memorial is notable in that it marked the only time an Azeri leader paid respects to Armenia's war dead.

Notable events

The

Republic Day Republic Day is the name of a holiday in several countries to commemorate the day when they became republics. List January 1 January in Slovak Republic The day of creation of Slovak republic. A national holiday since 1993. Officially cal ...

celebrations are held at the memorial every year, with the

President of Armenia The president of Armenia ( hy, Հայաստանի Նախագահ, Hayastani Nakhagah) is the head of state and the guarantor of independence and territorial integrity of Armenia elected to a single seven-year term by the National Assembly of Arm ...

, the

Prime Minister of Armenia The prime minister of Armenia is the head of government and most senior minister within the Armenian government, and is required by the constitution to "determine the main directions of policy of the Government, manage the activities of the Gov ...

, and the

President of Artsakh The president of Artsakh or president of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic is the head of state and head of government of the ''de facto'' Republic of Artsakh. In a constitutional referendum held in 2017, citizens of the Republic voted in favor o ...

visiting to lay a wreath at the monument. In the centennial celebrations of the Armenian state in 2018, a ceremonial military parade was held at the memorial, which featured hundreds of soldiers dressed in military uniforms from the First Armenian,

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

uniforms from

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, as well as veterans of the first Nagorno-Karabakh War. It also featured units of the

Armenian Army The Armed Forces of Armenia ( hy, Հայաստանի զինված ուժեր, Hayastani zinvats uzher), sometimes referred to as the Armenian Army ( hy, Հայկական Բանակ, Haykakan Banak), is the national military of Armenia. It consist ...

, the Border Service of the National Security Service, the

Police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

, forces of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and servicemen of the

Russian 102nd Military Base The Russian 102nd Military Base ( hy, Ռուսական 102-րդ ռազմակայան; russian: 102-я российская военная база) is a Russian military base in Gyumri, Armenia, under the command of the Southern Military Distri ...

Significance

Sardarapat Memorial is a symbol of pride and survival, the Sardarapat Memorial marks the place of Armenia's successful last-ditch effort to save the nation from obliteration at the hands of the Turks in the

on May 22–26, 1918. Against tremendous odds, and during the haunting backdrop of

genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Lat ...

during the previous few years, Armenia's makeshift army rebuffed the Turkish troops and safeguarded the small portion of historic Armenia, what became the current republic as it stands today. On the grounds of the historic battle one can today visit the Sardarapat Ethnography and Liberation Movement History Museum adjacent to the outdoor monument.

References

External links