Mother Armenia

Mother Armenia (Armenian: Մայր Հայաստան Mayr Hayastan) is a female personification of Armenia. Her most public visual rendering is a monumental statue in Victory Park overlooking the capital city of Yerevan, Armenia.

Mother Armenia statue in Yerevan

Aerial view

The current statue replaces a monumental statue of General Secretary Joseph Stalin that was created as a victory memorial for World War II. During Stalin's reign of the Soviet Union, Grigor Harutyunyan, the first secretary of the Armenian Communist Party's Central Committee and members of the government oversaw the construction of the monument which was completed and unveiled to the people on November 29, 1950. The statue was considered a masterpiece of the sculptor Sergey Merkurov. The pedestal was designed by architect Rafayel Israyelian. Realizing that occupying a pedestal can be a short-term honour, Israyelian designed the pedestal to resemble a three-nave basilica Armenian church, as he confessed many years later "Knowing that the glory of dictators is temporary, I have built a simple three-nave Armenian basilica".^[1] In contrast to the right-angled shapes of the external view, the interior is light and pleasing to the eye and resembled Echmiadzin's seventh-century St. Hripsime Church.

In spring 1962, the statue of Stalin was removed, with one soldier being killed and many injured during the process, and replaced by the Mother Armenia statue, designed by Ara Harutyunyan.

"Mother Armenia" has a height of 22 metres, thus making the overall height of the monument 51 metres, including the pedestal. The statue is built of hammered copper while the pedestal-museum is of basalt.^[2]

Symbolism

The Mother Armenia statue symbolises peace through strength. It can remind viewers of some of the prominent female figures in Armenian history, such as Sose Mayrig and others, who took up arms to help their husbands in their clashes with Turkish troops and Kurdish irregulars. It also recalls the important status and value attributed to the older female members of an Armenian family.

Its location on a hill overlooking Yerevan makes it look like a guardian of the Armenian capital. Every year on 9 May, thousands of Armenians visit the statue of Mother Armenia and lay flowers to commemorate the Armenian martyrs of the Second World War. The pedestal hosts the Mother Armenia Military Museum of the Ministry of Defense. When first built it housed a military museum dedicated to World War II. Today, a large proportion of the exhibition space is devoted to the Nagorno-Karabakh War of 1988–1994. On display are the personal belongings, weapons, and documents of participants, and the walls are decorated with their portraits. Among other historical artifacts, there is a map on which Armenian forces worked out their campaign for the capture of Shushi.

See also

• List of statues by height

References

Yerevan landmarks Historic and other landmarks Shengavit Settlement Erebuni Fortress Teishebaini Katoghike Tsiranavor Church of Avan Yerevan Red Bridge Yerevan Ararat Wine Factory Yerevan Brandy Factory Komitas Pantheon Mother Armenia Tsitsernakaberd Genocide Memorial Yerevan Cascade Yerevan TV Tower Yerablur Cemetery Places of worship Katoghike Church Surp Zoravor Astvatsatsin Church Saint John the Baptist Church Blue Mosque Saint Sarkis Cathedral Russian Church of the Holy Mother of God Saint Sarkis Church of Nor Nork Saint Gregory Cathedral Holy Trinity Church Surp Anna Church Mordechai Navi Synagogue Demolished structures Saint Paul and Peter Church Holy Mother of God Kathoghike Church Yerevan Fortress Gethsemane Chapel Abbas Mirza Mosque Saint Nikolai Cathedral Shah Abbas Mosque Saint Gregory the Illuminator Church Nature and parks Hrazdan River Yerevan Lake Lovers' Park English Park Yerevan Botanical Garden Khachatur Abovyan Park Circular Park Victory Park Lyon Park Tumanyan Park Buenos Aires Park Entertainment Moscow Cinema Nairi Cinema Yerevan Circus Yerevan Zoo Yerevan Vernissage Yerevan Water World Dalma Garden Mall Yerevan Mall Culture, art and museums Yerevan Opera Theater Sundukyan State Academic Theatre Hovhannes Tumanyan Puppet Theatre Stanislavski Russian Theatre Paronyan Musical Comedy Theatre Hrachya Ghaplanyan Drama Theatre Komitas Chamber Music House National Library of Armenia Khnko Aper Children's Library National Gallery of Armenia History Museum of Armenia Matenadaran Institute of Ancient Manuscripts Erebuni Museum Sergei Parajanov Museum Cafesjian Museum of Art Komitas Museum Education Yerevan State University National University of Architecture and Construction of Armenia Komitas State Conservatory Armenian State Pedagogical University Yerevan State Medical University Armenian National Agrarian University National Polytechnic University of Armenia Yerevan State Linguistic University Armenian State University of Economics American University of Armenia French University in Armenia Russian-Armenian University French International School QSI School Ayb School Science and technology National Archives of Armenia National Academy of Sciences Yerevan Physics Institute Yerevan Computer Research and Development Institute Armenicum Center CANDLE Synchrotron Research Institute Tumo Center for Creative Technologies Nerses Mets Medical Research Center Sport venues Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium Hrazdan Stadium Alashkert Stadium Mika Stadium Banants Stadium Yerevan Football Academy Tigran Petrosian Chess House Hovik Hayrapetyan Equestrian Centre Karen Demirchyan Complex Yerevan Velodrome Transportation Yerevan Railway Station Trolleybuses in Yerevan Erebuni Airport Zvartnots International Airport Yerevan underground stations Squares, streets and bridges Republic Square Freedom Square Garegin Nzhdeh Square Aram Street Abovyan Street Mashtots Avenue Sayat-Nova Avenue Baghramyan Avenue Tamanyan Street Komitas Avenue Liberty Avenue Northern Avenue Victory Bridge Hrazdan Gorge Aqueduct Great Bridge of Hrazdan Davtashen Bridge Government and financial institutions Presidential Palace Government House National Assembly National Security Service Yerevan City Hall Constitutional Court Police of Armenia Central Bank Armenian Stock Exchange Category:Yerevan