Mother Armenia: Difference between revisions
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Fixing date (based on the page in Armenian): 1967 -> 1950. The statue of Stalin that preceded the statue of Mother Armenia couldn't have been built after it. Also, the new statue was erected not immediately after the previous one was taken down. |
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==Mother Armenia statue in Yerevan== |
==Mother Armenia statue in Yerevan== |
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[[File:Մայր Հայաստան հուշարձան.jpg|thumb|left|Aerial view]] |
[[File:Մայր Հայաստան հուշարձան.jpg|thumb|left|Aerial view]] |
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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]], [[Grigory Arutyunov|Grigor Harutyunyan]], the first secretary of the [[Communist Party of Armenia (Soviet Union)|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, |
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]], [[Grigory Arutyunov|Grigor Harutyunyan]], the first secretary of the [[Communist Party of Armenia (Soviet Union)|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.<ref>{{Cite web| url= https://armenpress.am/arm/news/938650|title= "The Legend Lives On" (In Armenian)|date= June 23, 2018}}</ref> 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".<ref>[http://www.a1plus.am/am/social/2010/05/7/armenia-monument "Mother Armenia" needs care (In Armenian)]</ref> In contrast to the right-angled shapes of the external view, the interior is light and pleasing to the eye and resembled [[St. Hripsime Church, Echmiadzin|Echmiadzin's seventh-century St. Hripsime Church]]. |
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In spring 1962, the statue of Stalin was removed, with one soldier being killed and many injured during the process, and |
In spring 1962, the statue of Stalin was removed, with one soldier being killed and many injured during the process, and in 1967, the statue of Mother Armenia, designed by [[Ara Harutyunyan]], was installed in its place.<ref>{{Cite web| url= https://armenpress.am/arm/news/938650|title= "The Legend Lives On" (In Armenian)|date= June 23, 2018}}</ref> |
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The prototype of "Mother Armenia" was a 17-year-old girl Genya Muradian. Ara Harutyunyan met her at the store and persuaded her to pose for the sculpture.<ref>{{Cite web|url= https://www.rferl.org/amp/mother-armenia-yerevan-iconic-statue/31145539.html|title= Meeting 'Mother Armenia,' The Woman Behind Yerevan's Iconic Statue|date=March 11, 2021|author=Amos Chappl|work=RFE}}</ref> |
The prototype of "Mother Armenia" was a 17-year-old girl Genya Muradian. Ara Harutyunyan met her at the store and persuaded her to pose for the sculpture.<ref>{{Cite web|url= https://www.rferl.org/amp/mother-armenia-yerevan-iconic-statue/31145539.html|title= Meeting 'Mother Armenia,' The Woman Behind Yerevan's Iconic Statue|date=March 11, 2021|author=Amos Chappl|work=RFE}}</ref> |
Revision as of 08:35, 2 August 2022
Mother Armenia | |
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Location | Victory Park, Yerevan, Armenia |
Coordinates | 40°11′42.90″N 44°31′29.34″E / 40.1952500°N 44.5248167°E |
Elevation | 51 meters (167.3 feet) |
Built | 1967 |
Architect | Rafayel Israyelian |
Sculptor | Ara Harutyunyan |
Governing body | Ministry of Defence of Armenia |
Mother Armenia (Template:Lang-hy 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
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.[1] 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".[2] 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 in 1967, the statue of Mother Armenia, designed by Ara Harutyunyan, was installed in its place.[3]
The prototype of "Mother Armenia" was a 17-year-old girl Genya Muradian. Ara Harutyunyan met her at the store and persuaded her to pose for the sculpture.[4]
"Mother Armenia" has a height of 22 metres (72 ft), thus making the overall height of the monument 51 metres (167 ft), including the pedestal. The statue is built of hammered copper while the pedestal-museum is of basalt.[5]
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 Shusha.
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Edged forms of the heroic looking figure
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Entrance to the military museum in the base. Historical design as a stepped portal with filigree ornaments
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View of Mother Armenia monument
See also
External links
References
- ^ ""The Legend Lives On" (In Armenian)". June 23, 2018.
- ^ "Mother Armenia" needs care (In Armenian)
- ^ ""The Legend Lives On" (In Armenian)". June 23, 2018.
- ^ Amos Chappl (March 11, 2021). "Meeting 'Mother Armenia,' The Woman Behind Yerevan's Iconic Statue". RFE.
- ^ Monuments of Yerevan Archived 2011-10-02 at the Wayback Machine