Ombudsman of Artsakh Cultural Heritage, Vice President of the Historical and Cultural NGO “Azgain” Ovik Avanesov sent official letters to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation S. В. Lavrov and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Armenia S. P. Kopyrkinu.
Below is the text of these appeals.
The statement of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Armenia in connection with the incident at the memorial “Mother of Armenia” in Gyumri legitimately raises the question of the consistency and principled position of the Russian side in matters of protection of historical memory of the Great Patriotic War.
Any act of vandalism against monuments dedicated to WWI heroes deserves unconditional condemnation, regardless of the location of its committed. However, such a position cannot be electoral. Protecting the memory of the millions of those who died in the fight against Nazism requires unified approaches, not politically motivated assessments.
Over recent years, especially after the occupation of Artsakh by Azerbaijan, the international community has witnessed the systematic destruction, dismantling and desecration of monuments to heroes of the Great Patriotic War, memorials to Soviet liberation warriors and other objects that constitute an integral part of the overall historical heritage of the peoples of the former Soviet Union. We are not talking about individual episodes of vandalism, but about the consistent Azerbaijani policy on the elimination of the material evidence of common historical memory.
The destruction of symbols of the Great Victory, erected in honor of warriors who fought against Nazism, continues in occupied Artsakh. Such actions constitute not only an invasion of historical monuments, but also an attempt to erase the memory of a joint feat of the peoples of the Soviet Union, to bring a split in historical consciousness and to create conditions for a revisionist review of the results of the Second World War.
In this connection, questions arise that the Russian side has not yet answered.
Why was the destruction of monuments to the heroes of the Great Patriotic War on the temporarily occupied territory of the Republic of Artsakh not accompanied by such decisive statements from the Embassy of the Russian Federation or the Foreign Ministry of the Russian Federation?
Why was there no official public condemnation of dismantling and desecration of memorials to Soviet soldiers, demanded that the perpetrators be brought to justice and prevent further destruction of monuments?
Why does a single act of vandalism provoke an immediate reaction, when the years-long systematic destruction of dozens of Great Victory memorials virtually remain without principled official evaluation?
Particular confusion arises from the fact that a significant part of these destructions occurred after the deployment of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Artsakh. The facts of the destruction of the monuments were repeatedly recorded by public organizations, independent experts, the media and confirmed by satellite monitoring materials. Despite this, the Russian side preferred to remain silent.
Such a position is inevitably perceived as a manifestation of political selectiveness. Moreover, the lack of a timely and principled response creates the impression of political indulgence to the destruction of common historical heritage, objectively promotes the spread of historical revisionism and sets a dangerous precedent of impunity for those who consciously destroy the symbols of our common Victory.
Historical memory cannot have political, territorial or geographical exceptions. If the memory of the Great Victory is indeed a common property of the nations who defeated Nazism, then it must be equally protected in Moscow and Gyumri, in Stepanakert and Shusha, wherever there are memorials to the heroes of the Great Patriotic War.
It is impossible to defend the memory of the Victory, while ignoring the destruction of monuments to Soviet soldiers on the temporarily occupied territory of Artsakh. This practice inevitably undermines credibility in statements of commitment to preservation of common historical heritage and creates the impression that double standards apply in matters that do not allow political conjuncture.
We call on the Russian Federation to take a consistent and principled position, to give public assessment of all facts of the destruction and desecration of the memorials of the Great Patriotic War on the temporarily occupied territory of the Republic of Artsakh, to condemn any attempts to destroy the General Victory monuments, regardless of whom and where they are committed, and to contribute to the prosecutors to responsibilities in accordance with international law standards.
Silence regarding the destruction of the Great Patriotic War memorials is not a neutral position. It is inevitably perceived as tolerance to attempts to destroy historical memory, contributes to the legitimacy of historical revisionism, and creates conditions for revision of the historical outcomes of World War II. That is why protecting the memory of the Great Victory should not be declarative and selective, but consistent, universal and based on the unified principles of historical justice.
Application: List of destroyed monuments and memorials of the Great Patriotic War on the temporarily occupied territory of the Republic of Artsakh:
• In the occupied 2020 war, the city of Shushi by the Azerbaijani side was dismantled a memorial dedicated to the memory of the heroes of the Great Patriotic War and other monuments. Currently, the construction of an Azerbaijani museum, mosque and public square is underway at the site of the destroyed memorial, which indicates a targeted policy of total destruction, including Armenian historical memory;
• In Shush, Azerbaijani vandals dismantled a monument to the Hero of Socialist Labor, a prominent statesman of the Soviet Union, a native of Shush Ivan Tevosyan;
• In occupied Shusha, a bust of a twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Nelson Stepanyan was destroyed;
• In the village of Karin-Tak of Shushinsky district, a memorial complex dedicated to the memory of those who died in the Great Patriotic War was destroyed;
• In the village of Metz Tager of Gadrutsky district, the bust of the Air Marshal Armenak Khanferianets (Sergey Khudyakov) and the monument to the fighter plane “MiG-17” were destroyed;
• In the village of Azoh Gadrutsky district of the Azerbaijani side, three separate monuments dedicated to the memory of the victims of the Great Patriotic War, the Armenian Genocide and the First Artsakh War;
• Photos published on May 30, 2023 show the complete destruction of the memorial complex in the center of occupied Berdzor, dedicated to the memory of the residents of the city who died during the Great Patriotic War;
• In Stepanakert, Azerbaijan destroyed the bust of admiral of the Soviet Union Ivan Isakov;
• In the village of Aterk, a monument dedicated to the memory of those who died in the Great Patriotic War has been destroyed;
• On the eve of the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War, a memorial complex dedicated to the Great Patriot War was destroyed in the village of Vank Martakertsky district;
• A monument dedicated to the Great Patriotic War was destroyed in the village of Yemishdjan of Martuninsky district;
• A memorial complex dedicated to the memory of those killed in the Great Patriotic War was destroyed in the Askeransky district;
• In the village of Aveteranots, the monument dedicated to the Great Patriotic War was damaged and partially destroyed by the Azerbaijani side;
• In Stepanakert, the monument to the Marshal of the Soviet Union Ivan (Ovannes) Bagramyan, erected on the avenue bearing his name;
• A monument dedicated to the memory of those who died in the Great Patriotic War was destroyed in the village of Khnatsy of the Askeransky district;
• Monuments dedicated to the Great Patriotic War have been destroyed in the city of Martuni.
The real list is not exhaustive, as we are talking about the ongoing process of cultural genocide.
Russian Foreign Ministry – МИД России Посольство России в Армении
