Bronze statue to Anastas Mikoyan disappeared from foundry, says Haykakan Zhamanak daily
The bronze statue to Anastas Mikoyan, an n Armenian-born Soviet leader and a close associate of Joseph Stalin, has disappeared from a Yerevan foundry in yet unknown circumstances, Haykakan Zhamanak daily reports. On Thursday, employees of the foundry told the newspaper that the statue had been removed from the foundry, but they did not say where it was taken and by whom. “Neither the Yerevan Municipality, nor Gagik Stpenayan, the sculptor in charge of the casting process, knew anything about the whereabouts of the statue,” writes the newspaper. Earlier, Haykakan Zhamanak reported that the bronze statue was already ready but will not be put on display at present. The information had been provided to the newspaper by chief architect of Yerevan Tigran Barseghyan. The newspaper says the uproar from civil society members and social media users, as well as the reaction of foreign diplomats to the Municipality’s decision to erect a statue to the Soviet-era statesman made the city authorities reconsider their decision and now they are in two minds.
