Mother Armenia
Encyclopedia
Mother Armenia is the female personification
of Armenia
. Her most visual rendering is a monumental statue in Victory Park overlooking the capital city of Yerevan
, Armenia
.
, 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 basilic Armenian church, as he confessed many years later "Knowing that the glory of dictators is temporary, I have built a simple three-nave Armenian basilic". 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 meters, thus making the overall height of the monument 51 meters, including the pedestal. The statue is built of hammered copper while the pedestal-museum is of basalt.
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 strategic 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 World War II
. The pedestal hosts the Mother Armenia Military Museum of the Ministry of Defense. When first built, it was a military museum dedicated to the World War II
. Now a large proportion of the exhibition space is devoted to the Nagorno-Karabakh War
of the 1980-90s. There are personal belongings, weapons and documents of the heroes, and walls are decorated with their portraits. There is a historical map on which Armenian forces worked for the capture of Shusha, among other historical artifacts.
National personification
A national personification is an anthropomorphization of a nation or its people; it can appear in both editorial cartoons and propaganda.Some early personifications in the Western world tended to be national manifestations of the majestic wisdom and war goddess Minerva/Athena, and often took the...
of Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
. Her most visual rendering is a monumental statue in Victory Park overlooking the capital city of Yerevan
Yerevan
Yerevan is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously-inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country...
, Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
.
History
The current statue replaces a monumental statue of Joseph Stalin that was created as a victory memorial for the second world war. During Stalin's reign of the Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, Grigor Harutyunyan, the first secretary of the Armenian Communist Party
Armenian Communist Party
The Armenian Communist Party is a communist political party in Armenia.It considers itself the successor of the Communist Party of Armenia of the Soviet Union, since the former leadership of this party, headed by Aram Gasparovich Sarkisyan, dissolved it and established the Democratic Party of...
'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
Sergey Merkurov
Sergey Dmitrievich Merkurov was a prominent Soviet sculptor-monumentalist of Greek-Armenian descent. He was a People's Artist of the USSR, an academic at the Soviet Academy of Arts, and director of the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts from 1944 to 1949...
. The pedestal was designed by architect Rafayel Israyelian
Rafayel Israyelian
Rafayel Israyelyan |Georgia]] - 8 September 1973, Yerevan, Armenia) was an Armenian architect and designer based in Yerevan, Armenia. He is author of an immense architectural heritage of civil buildings, monuments and design works.-Background and Education:...
. Realizing that occupying a pedestal can be a short-term honour, Israyelian designed the pedestal to resemble a three-nave basilic Armenian church, as he confessed many years later "Knowing that the glory of dictators is temporary, I have built a simple three-nave Armenian basilic". 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
St. Hripsime Church, Echmiadzin
Saint Hripsimé Church is one of the oldest surviving churches in Armenia. The church was erected by Catholicos Komitas atop the original mausoleum built by Catholicos Sahak the Great in the year 395 AD that contained the remains of the martyred Saint Hripsimé to whom the church was dedicated. The...
.
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 meters, thus making the overall height of the monument 51 meters, including the pedestal. The statue is built of hammered copper while the pedestal-museum is of basalt.
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 MayrigSose Mayrig
Sose Mayrig , real name - Sose Vardanian was an Armenian female hajduk , the wife of famous hajduk leader Serob Aghpur. She was surnamed "mayrig" by Serob's hajduks for her bravery and maternal concern for Armenian youth.She participated in the many fedayee fightings...
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 strategic location on a hill overlooking Yerevan
Yerevan
Yerevan is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously-inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country...
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 World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The pedestal hosts the Mother Armenia Military Museum of the Ministry of Defense. When first built, it was a military museum dedicated to the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Now a large proportion of the exhibition space is devoted to the Nagorno-Karabakh War
Nagorno-Karabakh War
The Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in the small enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan, between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh backed by the Republic of Armenia, and the Republic of Azerbaijan...
of the 1980-90s. There are personal belongings, weapons and documents of the heroes, and walls are decorated with their portraits. There is a historical map on which Armenian forces worked for the capture of Shusha, among other historical artifacts.